News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-06-10
THE ASPINWALL SPIDERS.
Big and PugnaciOus Insects Which Some
times Come to America.

'Iook out for the trampsl" said
! fruit dealer.
The Telegraph man. was admiring the
bright buff color of a bunch of bananas,
when big ugly spider crawled out and
ambled along on the counter. He was
a bundle of dark brown fuzz about the
size of your thumb, into which were
stuck several long, black legs.
He was a tramp all the way from AS
pinwall.
And like a tramp who had stolen
ride under a freight car on brake
beam, his legs seemed cramped from
the long journey in the crevices of
bunch of bananas. The poor fellow
was at loss where to go. He was
thousands of miles from home and
friendless, for people do not take kind
ly to big, ugly spiders. He was a
tramp, and in strange country.
eve killed one here the other night
with body as big as a biscuit. His
body popped like torpedo. They come
often in bananas, but we generally man
age to kill them. Up at the old store
one made his escape and made his home
under the counter. Then another es~
capped, and for a long time we lost sight
of them. One day we found web I'M
der the counter, and on looking closer
we found the home of the two tramps.
They had raised a large family of spiders,
and they were the cutest little things
you would care to see. They ran nimbly
into the web if you made a motion to
strike them, and many day we have
watched them imply for the amusement.
They caught every fly that came within
range, and now and then bug happened
within their reach and varied their bill
of fare. Although we knew they were
dangerous pets we did not disturb them,
for the reason that they seemed to be in
dustrious fly-catchers and were never in
cEned to sting. One afternoon a new
clerk saw one big fellow run around a
corner of the counter, and as he had
never seen a spider of such enormous
size, he imagined that to allow it to go at
large was equivalent to turning tiger
loose, and be killed the pet. The others
ran out, and for about an hour the new
clerk had about as much as he could
stand up to killing spiders"
do they ever bite2'
eyes, but it is a rare occurrence.
They fight like wildcats and they are
lgh-tempered, but they never trouble
anybody unless aroused and teased.
Although there are millions of punches
of bananas brought to this country
every season, and many thousand spi-
ders steal their way across with them,
you never heard of anyone being stung.
They are very peculiar things and differ
widely in their habits from the common
spider of this country, which makes
web like the centrepiece of a rising-sun
crazy quilt. They make a kind of nest
and then spread out lines of web in
every direction. On this single line,
which is as small as a silken thread, |
they run with ease, hanging to it with |
their long, flexible legs. When danger
threatens they have a way of drawing
in the line, and, budding together,
await the attack of the foe. When |
thus disturbed they make prodigious
leaps and arrange in a circle around the |
nest, which they seem to guard with
jealous care Then, when provoked,
they run all over the attacking party. |
They are game, and put up an ugly |
fight. "-Nacon Telegraph.