Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1886-07-02
A Match.
The King of Spiders.

In wandering along the foothills of
the Sierras after rain, on what is
called adobe ground, the sharp-eyed OBJ
server will sometimes notice a sudden
movement of the earth. A seeming
leaf or bit Of the soil about as large as
silver dollar will drop, culver or
shake. Some little prescience on the
part OF the walker will enable him to
discover the cause Of this, and close and
careful examination will disclose an
oval spot, perhaps an inch and a-half
across, that seems separated from the
surface. Now insert the point Of your
knife into one side and lift. Surely
there is something holding back. Now
you gain quarter Of an inch and OBJ
tain glimpse into the black cavern SO
uncovered Of hairy, uncanny looking
object, the tenant you are trying to evict.
Another lift and something gives, and
you have opened the door Of one Of the
most cunningly devised and marvellous
structures in the entire animal king
dom-the trap door OF the king Of the
spiders, one Of the commonest but per-
haps laast known insects Of Southern
California; huge, hairy fellow, some
times three inches across, a menace to
timid walkers and not particularly APP
preciated by the professional naturalist
who is supposed to be ell rapport with
bugs and things.
The first one ever met, a blood rela-
ton of the a5ove-theAygale aricularia
of South America-was one stormy
night in the Gulf Stream, about two
hundred miles off Cape Florida. 1t
was blowing fresh, and about midnight
Il rush overhead brought us on deck,
where we found that the schooner was
lying to, and near at hand was dis
mantlcd hulk. The latter had been
stripped in hurricane, hailed from
Trinidad, South America, and was
loaded with the choicest preserved
fruits. The only living creature aboard
was one Of these gigantic spiders, that
when rescued it from the bilge the
ext morning, settled down in Ilarge
saucer, its claws or legs reaching to the
edge on either side-a most hideous and
repulsive object, the large hairy body
resembling that of a plethoric mouse.
The monster lives in South America,
in holes, and is close ally of the Cali
fornia species. 1t preys upon quite
large animals, birds the size of a SPAR
row falling victims to Its web and man
dibles, and altogether it is the most fe-
rocious and dreaded member Of the in
sect tribe. The Southern California
cousin Is equally disagreeable, and as
we pull it struggling and ugly from its
den, the type of the spider, with its di-
vided body, the abdomen attached by a
slender pedicle, is before us. If we PEN
citrate into its interior organization we
shall find that it breathes like the scor.
pion by lungs as well as air holes or
trachae. The infant spider has at first
four pairs of feet, like the grim adult
that seems all legs, fierce vertical man
dibles ending in hollow points, that ex-
tend into tubes, through which poison
passes from poison reservoirs in the
head. They vary as to their lungs ard
spinnerets; the large trap door spider
has four lung sacks, but the number of
spinnerets is restricted to two pairs.
Such are some of the general features of
the great spider, robbed of technical gar
nishing.
Every move Of the Cteniza Callfornica,
as the large trap door spider is called
in the construction of its nest, is SEEM
ingly instigated by wisdom. The selec-
tion of locality is in adobe ground, that
is as hard as stone in dry weather, and
the methods Of building their traps eau
uOl UuI eACltc tuc duiuii dtiou vi tuC Ou-
server. Their operations can best be
watched at night, but sometimes dur
ing the day. When the site is chosen,
the worker begins to loosen the earth
with its mandibles, carrying It away.
If the ground is hard, the work is slow,
bnt by moving in a circle cavern or
we'll as large rs large thimble will be
produced in an hour, and in day pit
three or four inches deep and an inch
in diameter will be dug. This accom-
plished, the silk department of the in
sect is brought into play, and the spin
nerets are attached repeatedly to the
sides of the wall until the interior sur
face is covered with wall paper Of the
finest silk, perfectly water-tight. Gen
orally the door is made next, but some
times before. In forming it the threads
are passed across the opening until
platform is constructed of more or less
sustaining power. Upon this the spi-
der heaps bits Of adobe, dirt or other
material, working and binding it to-
gether with silk until it has thickness
of an eighth of an inch. The silken
threads ara put on by rotary motion
OF the spiders body. Finally the upper
portion is sprinkled with powdered
adobe, so that the ever is the exact
color of the surrounding ground, and as
it has been made to fit the oriice or
opening of the we'll perfectly, it is
water-tight. The door has been per-
baps attached to the sides at several
points. These are all severed but one,