The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-03-21

-, ~ tt&ttslh. Author of IInf-4I-
nv - tAtTiclrc sur l'agrtyite. H.. r..rt. -
-' - r. Ht> IIutes a tIsS Al, ir,sItY .;,,s;,s
- I" La.iiih, q Il, RENE - don't ar, tti,
ARACHSoIDFA.
spiders are not insects in the real sensa
u Tie word, as many persons imagine.
insects have three pair Of legs, spiders
have four, the young are complete when
''ey leave the egg. they she'd their skin
several times but have no real metamor.
phosis like insects. Spiders are decidedly
"aeiIclal, inaSmuch as they wage per.
lF'uai war asaIn>, a grea, many insects.
anu are necessarily on the watch 10 catch
anu destroy all those. that in their errasic
night, happen 10 become entangled in
Their web; notwithstanding their good
services they are to most people an OBJ
Iect 81 horror or, a, least, Of disgust.
why; No one can say. 1t is repulsion
not calculated, and as such the more un.
Just AMI unfounded. The spider is not
more anc!ean than the ant or the bee.
The spider ioes no, cause sores 10 break
out II II falls on the hand or face. They
would no more poison person who had
swallowed one Of them than fly. The
sting 81 the spider is not venomous and
causes much less pain or harm than the
at'n, VI a bee or mosquito. The venom
even Of the Tarantula, which il secretes
has been declared insignificant by MANY
French and Italian na,uralis,s and one
of my friends remarked to me that he
thought that the sting Of the Tarantula
hal been invented by the Italians, in or.
der to have pretext for dancing the
Iarantula dance: fer the venom Of said
spider does not produce any accident
when lnoculated under the skin OF man
or beast The habits Of the different
species are very iissimilar for while
some are almost entirely stationary all
their lifetime, others are continually
N.Y. ing about and living entirely by
hunting. Take for example the common
house spider, Every one Of our reader.
has noticed it without tho slightest de. |
sire to inquire into the habits of the ten.
ant some dusty, out.of.the.way corner
Is selected, a stout line spun and fixed
10 one side AMI then the wall traversed
round to the appropriate point on the
other side and the line secured. This
SUSPENSION bridge is then carefully and
most ingenlou,ly strengthened and
braced by guy lines, and the web then
proceeded with. All the main lines are
carried to the extreme corner, where n
dark. funnelshaped retreat il formed,
AMI there the wary spider hides. The
least touch, however. OF the web aro,,ses
the lurking giant, who PUSHES out, and
II the victim is a smaller insect, it il en-.
braced and the fatal poison injected, the
body being carried OIL to the royal nal.
ace II. however, tho insect should be
of the larger kind, more wary course
Is adopted. 4 few extra lines are ran.
dly thrown around the body and legs.
anu then the spider retires until the
struggling insect has been weakened: at
his stage the spider again stalks forth.
,rapples with its victim and inflicts the
atal wound
There is another species: Sal,icus
aeniclls the hunting spider. II spins
10 web but depends entirely on its lean.
ng power for prey. You cannot fail of
elng amused by watching its move.
nents: how still it remains on the old
enrc@, facing the south. in some conye.
.ient creyice until a fly settles near it,
hen stealthily advancing, taking advan.
lge of any inequality in the surface Of
he fence OF pillar, tn approach its victim
hrrcrlved. and 81 warily is this done
nat II usually happens that sufficiently
ear approach is made. and then sud.
emily leap is taken and with such nc.
racy that the fly finds the enemy on
: back and receives the fatal poison lie.
lrr 1t has recovered from its surprise. The
uniting spider is n very courageous little
How, never hesitating To enter into
lortal combat with the common garden
'ider though its antagonist is so superior
SIZE anu weight, it not unfreQuentlv
-oves victorious. The garden spider
ears suit Of clothes Of reddish brown
'ior with a cross Of white spots on the
'ck, The thread spun is composed of
any lines. From the selected leaf or
.anch the spider drops to a convenient /.
ii or branch below and the psrpendic
ar line Of the net is made fast. The !
me mode is adopted in connecting the
ter leaves AMI branches surrounding
- space intended to bc webbed over,
Il IS soon as thus is lone the horizontal
e Is carried across the perpendicular.
= junction in the centre being carefully
tened with the aid Of this scaifoldinr.
rays Of the web are rapidly carried
and these are again hltei together
the circular threads. The beautiful
'metric net is completed and Mr.. Spi.
is ready for business
he little fellow that m. axes our fields