The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-03-04
The Wonders of Cobwebs

See anything peculiar about this 2 - a natu-
rahst asked of "A reporter who had dropped into
his sanctum at High Bridge. The object he held
mp was "A block Of earth about eight inches in
length and four in width. resembling more than
anything else the frozen cart. lifted out OF a
small flower pot, with the upper surface planted
with growing mossos and small plants Of various
kinds. In this block of earth, he continued,
there Is a regular palace. and the door is right
under your nose A. he spoke he inserted a
long pin into the ground among the moss and
and lifted up an oval door that exposed "A large,
deep we'll, lined with silk in a most gorgeous
manner, and as "A CLEAN Of sunlight from the
window caught the gossamer it seemed changed
to molten silver, deepening In the interior TO a
golden yellow, and at every move scintillating
with dazzling rays Of iridesconco, in strange con-
trast to the rough and sombre surroundings.
It's wonderful, - the naturalist said. You
hardly expect SO much from a spider, and the
most skillful work from human hands fails to
come up to this. It's the castle Of the trap-door
spider mygale, and this one / found near Char
lesion, :. c. You see it's "A well about five
inches deep and two wide, lined with silk, and
having on top a door that fits so exactly that
your close examination failed 10 detect II. A
perfect hinge Of silk allows Il TO work freely, and
1t is SO nicely arranged that il always closes after
the owner has passed in or out.
Glow did these mosses and weeds get on tho
door of the trap ~
." In many cases the spider places them there,
its idea being TO make the place resemble, as
nearly as possible, the surrounding country, and
so skilful are they in hiding their doors that l
hunted TWO weeks htlolt l lOunu tnlS one NLU
then it was only by chance. l had been tramp
ing through the woods nearly all day, and was
stretched out on "A bank about half asleep, when
l heard n rustic at my elbow, and looked down
just in time to see a trap door fly up and go
down with a jerk, and You may be sure com-
menced operations at once. When / had To-
Gated the door exactly | dug "a trench all around
it, down about IA foot, and worked as near the
trap ms | could, and after trimming il down as
you see it, / gave it four or five good coats of
glue, and ultimately got it ont safely. While L
was at work il was curious to see the alarm OF
the spider. Every few minutes the door would
lift "A little, and l would see the hairy leg Of the
little fellow, but the slightest tap would send il
down. After one of these retreats / inserted my
knife blade into the door and tried 10 lift it.
Something was holding il back on the other side,
evidently, rs il did not lift up with the ease with
which / had seen it under the nimble handling
of the owner. Bending down and lifting the
door at the same time, l saw the cause. The
spider was holding the door down. It's mandi-
bles were fastened into the silken lining, while
with its feet it was bracing back and holding on
with all its strength, and only when / had lifted
it almost out did it let go and retreat TO the lower
part of the well, where it coiled up its legs and
pretended TO be dead"
"How do they build the traps?"
just as a man would build a well. After
making their selection of "a locality, they COM
mence taking out bits Of earth with their mouths
and pushing them away with their legs. As
soon as they get below the surface n shoringup
process is begun. silk is spun and attached 10
IL Will ny HblhG StNItlipH- nc uODi IL n pro
longation of this silken wall; so, as the spider
works down, caying in Is prevented in this way,
and finally the outer side of the door, which IL
naturally bright, is covered with soil, and bits of
moss are placed on it. There are a number OF
different kinds Of trapdoor spider in this country
and Europe, some having two or three traps in
the different parts of the well, the spider re-
treating from one to another rs danger presses.
Here's n spider, - he said handing down one
of q number of glass jars covered with fine gauze,
'that builds n web tunnel after the general shape
of the trap, but it is infinitely more delicate, and
is always at right angles with the surface, and
contains no DOORS
b. holding the jar up against the sun, the
fairy-like tunnel can be traced, following around
the side of the jar, perfectly cylindrical, and, af-
ter extending four or five inches, widening out
into a broad web, or platform, was held in
place by myriads of single silvery and almost
microscopic cables extending from it to the mp
per part Of the glass.
"'The web in front, 4" the naturalist continued,
SIS to catch prey, and the whole edifce was built
in one night. BY rights. the spiders would be
alternating, or in a winter sleep; but / am
keeping them in n warm room to prevent this,
and see what they will do, or what the effect will
be. There is n fly. Now watch the spider"
The reporter held n large hand magnifying
glass over the web, .aud the fly was released in
the jar, landing ON the fatal platform. At the
first hum the spider darted ont, with its eyes
flashing and its two fore legs in the air. The
instant the fly struck, the spider was on it grasp
ing it firmly in its jaws, and soon had it in the
silken tunnel.
Here's another fellow, he said, taking down
another Jar, that seems TO have no system
about building, but hangs its lines and cables in
every direction, forming great sheets OF web.
Some in my stable arc two feet long"
A fly was put in and "A different method Of at
tack became apparent. The spider waited until
the fly had become entangled in the web, and
then rushed TO the front. Silk was taken from
the spinnerets with the legs so quickly that it
was impossible to follow its movements, and
l-;1I alIrt f6a rr1t4aVturtafa within ord zee
wings were in a few seconds bound down firmly
by the silken bands. The spider then drew
nearer to end this tragedy. when another of the
same species, that had been a silent witness,
cIambered down from n shelf Of web above, and
evidently entered a counter claim. With fore
legs high in air, eyes glistening like sparks Of
fire, they moved towards each other, and like a
fash they struck with their fore feet, and, with
Iiuhtning-like movements Of the other legs, tried
TO entangle each other. Curious beads Of a yell
low liquid appeared on their legs, which at first
seemed to come from wounds on the limbs, but
it was soon seen 70 come from the mouth. They
were actually foaming with rage. and the secre
ton was evidently used TO render the cables Of
silk sticky and adhesive. The result of this wa-
fare was that the Legitimate owner Of the fly soon
succeeded in entangling the invader to such TN
extent that il barely escaped.
Here's n spider that never builds n nest. 1t
was a short, hairy little fellow, and, on a fly
being introduced, it bounced on 1t like a tiger.
- If a man could jump as far, in proportion to
his size, Harlem River would be nothing. They
only use their web as n cautionary measure.
That Is, in making a long jump from an eleva-
ton, they fa5ten a single cable TO the point of
departure, and if they miss they swing off by it
and recover their position. They show great
cunning stealing up on a fly as a cat does on
a mouse, turning their heads this way and that,
and then, with a leap, landing fairly on the back
Of the victim, killing it with one nip of their
poisonous fangs. OF all the 4 900 species of
spiders known, % (taking down a glass covered
dish) this one can be called King" 1t was a
horrible creature, although dead. It's body was
as big as a large mouse, and when placed in a
saucer its hairy legs hung over the sides. Its
the tarantula, and q shipwrecked one at that. I
was cruising among the islands OFF Cuba when
2 we picked up a deserted schooner. She was in
good condition, and the only living thing aboard
was a number of these spiders, and l secured
; this one. There are other ones that are some.
| times pictured as catching small birds. and there