The Indianapolis journal., 1883-06-30
A MONSTER SPIDER.
Ugly but Harmless, and Liable To Be tkg
Victim of Living Death.

Ugly but Harmless, and Liable To Be ths
Victim of Living Death.
Baltimore Sun.
Mr., E. d. Todd, private watchman at the
corner of Mosher and Calhoun streets,
caught, on Monday in that locality a mon
ster spider, with diameter, when spread, of
over four inches. He brought it to the Sun
office. Professor Otto Lugger says it is the
"Mygale HentZu," an American species of
the gigantic bird spider, and is supposed to
have been brought to Baltimore in a ship
ment of bananas from Florida, As the
animal is nocturnal in It's habits it may be
in locality or wander about for some time
without being discovered. This spider
is enormously called tarantula IC
is found through all the dryer portions of
the Western and Southwestern States, ex-
tending into Mexico where it is replaced
by still larger species. 1t is considered a
very poisonous animal, though whether
truly so or not is point still to be demon
strated. Like all spiders, its fan-like mandi-
bles are perforated, and a canal commune
Gates with bag of poison located at its base.
When they bite, the poison is injected into
the wound. From the fact that its mandi-
bles cannot be separated to any great extent.
1t is very questionable whether it even could
infict bite on human finger. The habit
of this spider is to hide during the day in
closely woven tube of silk, which is either
suspended between foliage or between stones
In the tropical parts of South America
the spiders are very abundant in houses,
where they feed upon various kinds of do
mestic insect pests, and are not dreaded at
all. Large and formidable as it appears, it
yet has deadly enemy in large species of
digger wasp" which stings and paralyzes it.
The 'digger-wasp" is the so-called "tarantu-
lakiller." This wasp, though living itself
upon nothing but honey, still needs animal
food for its young. The mother wasp. after
having dug hole il some hard and dry soil
to the depth OF seven inches flies about in
search of one OF the large spiders. When
found, it darts like lightning upon the spider
and stings it. The poison injected into the
spider has the peculiar property OF
paralyzing without killing. The help
less spider is dragged to the prepared
nest, and liquid egg deposited on its
soft parts, and the hole closed The larvae
Matched from this egg feed upon the still liv-
ing but defenseless spider until full grown.
If the egg shoulo not hatch the spider will
remain in his hole for an indefinite pc rod
without dying or decaying.
Efforts have been made for long time bv
scientists to initiate artifcially fluid of this
peculiar character, with a view OF treating
Texas cattle as wasps treat spiders, for trans
port TO Europe. While in a paralyzed state
and not needing any food or water they
could be packed on ships like sardines and
killed as wanted after their arrival in Europe.
1t has been shown that such poison taken in
ternally is perfectly harmless to the con-
sumers of the meat. The system of medi-
cine known as Baumscheidtism had its origin
in consequence of Ba umscheidt being cured
of rheumatism and paralysis by the sting of
common digger wasp"