The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-08-15
Steam Job Printing.
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time she reaches her house the spider
is stiff fnd dead. Sometimes have
seen the spider show fight. bet gener-
ally the dirt-dobber is too quick ~ give
him q chance.
"How many spiders does she put In
one cell. Cousin AllieP"
II have found from six to ten. IL
depends. think, upon the size Of tho
spiders.
"when it's full Of spiders what does
the dirt-dobber dop"
=. She then deposits tiny egg, that
looks almost like wee, wee worm
have read that the egg is laid in the
body of the dead spider. but this spring
have examined some thirty or forty
nests almost as soon rs they wcro
closed up, and in all cases ! have found
the egg on, not in, the spider.
WHAT does she do when the egg Is
laid. Alliep"
.As soon as the egg Is laid she goes
to work and seals the cell up sir-tight
with dirt, and then begins new one.
"But what becomes of the egg and
the spiders. shut up in that dark holeF''
asked Katie.
Out Of the egg comes tiny worm.
scarcely so large NJ rose thorn. and
it begins and eats the spiders up"
..Oh. dear! 1t will starve when the
last spiders gone" exclaimed Katie.
mo, 1t will not, for as soon as IL has
eaten all of the spiders it weaves out Of
its body silk white sheet and. rolling
it all about itself, goes to sleep for
about two months; ut the end OF which
time the ugly white worm has become
beSutiful dirt-dobber, with wings and
legs and feelers and eyes, and q body
like, but far more graceful, than
wasp's."
.But II is still in the dark prisonp"
said Katie.
Yes"
"And still rolled up in the sheetP''
..Stiil rolled up, but the silky sheet
has changed, too; II Is now a thin
brown shell, very brittle and easily
broken"
How does the dirt-dobber get out OF
his prison. Cousin Alliep" a =
by boring a round hole througlA
wall Of his cell.
"Did you ever sec one come out, AL
liep"
"Oh, yes. Only few weeks since.
/ had taken nest down, so that ooulq
look at 1t more closely, and about eleven
O'Clock that night heard such buzz
zing in one cell that It startled me.
Ten minutes after the buzzing began, n
bit of round earth fell from the upper
side OF the cell and out crawled tho
dirt-dobber, II was very unsteady on
its legs at first, and its wings seemed
damp and stiff for awhile, but In few
minutes had to put him inside Of tho
net, because he would insist upon fly
ing on the hot lamp chimney. Tho
next morning, when opened the win
dow, no one who had seen II come out
of the little dark cell would ever have
believed that IL was a brand-new dirt
dobber, to see with what an at-homo
air he flew away into the sunshine and
the great outside world"
docs the nest have to be air-tight,
Cousin Alliep'' asked Katie, AZ she
watched the dirt-dobber sealing up .
cell.
Il think IL does, for ! have noticed
that if the nest gets cracked, the dirt
| dobber stops all other work and pat,hcs
every crack carefully; but II Is not often
that even after all this trouble the
worms come to life. | have examined
several of these mended nests, and
!. nearly always found the worms dead. ]
! have also noticed two other species Of
! dirt-dobbers, besides this one that we
have watched" continued Allie, but
there Is not very much difference IN
. their habits, although some in thcii
looks. You see this one Is black and
hairy, and builds its nest in the COLI
living side by sideb
r "keal one-story houses" said Katie.
Eyes, that illustrates my meaning
very we'll Besides these, there are the
more common kind, with the yellow
legs and handsome body, which build
1 their cells one on top Of the other, some
times having three layer
| 'Three-story houses, You should saw
: Allie.
VERY we'll, dear. The third kind are
black and slender. II they can not find
, a suitable hole they build rough three
stored house Of dirt, but close 1t NJ
with a fine white substance, which
( think they make from their saliva, but
, of that am not sure. This kind SEEM
y to use only small round black spider,
: with scarlet dots on it, as food for theiI
: Young; while the other dirt-dobbers use
any Kind Of small wood or house spidel
that they can find"
do they live on spiders onlyP"
mo. they make a rough honey. bu
}, they never store it away as the bee
do"
.What becomes of them in the win
ter, Allfep"
: They hide in cracks and cranniea
Q lying torpid until Spring comes, whel
e such as have escaped the frost and coli
come forth to build houses which the
never live in themselves '-Lsttse d
" Barr, in Christian Union.