The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-01-27


getner, she attaches their extremities 10 the
twlg where she had been sitting. gives them
all a twist so as to make them into a rope,
and starts with the rope to walk across the
thread originally east. spinning the rope as
she goes, until she fastens its other extrem-
ltty upon the branch twelve feet away. And
thus she has established her first rope that
Is the beginning of her web"
ANOTHER WAY OF DOING.
But suppose there is no windr'
Then the problem is more complicated:
but she knows how to solve it. She drops
herself by thread from the first twtg to
the ground, and then runs across to the
distant tree on seven legs, holding up one
leg TO carry the thread; she climbs up the
other tree, and when she has reached the
spot contemplated, she fastens the threads
and, pulling in the slack claw over claw,
fetches il uaut. She then eats the slack
before going on with her labors, for the
spider Is a thorough economist. Having
drawn her first line between two points,
she casts another one parallel with it two
feet, say, below. Then running around TO
the middle points of the upper bridge,
she drops a thread to the lower
horizontal, connecting the two by a per-
pendicular. Next she drops two other
perpendiculars, one on either side of the
original one, and from the middle point of
the first perpendicular she draws radii in
every direction, until there are enough of
them to run all around upon. Now, begin
ming at point on the outside of this frame
work, she spins a spiral toward the center,
and having reached the center. she runs
another spiral outward to the edge of the
frame, destroying the former spiral, which
is not made of sticky web, not being de-
signed to be permanent for fly catching
Sometimes Mistress Spider does not approve
of her work, and tears it all apart, to begin
anew. One way in which the weaver man
ifests her intelligence is by The judicious
choice she makes of places for her webs.
A SPOT SHE is APT TO SELECT
is warm wall or the sunny side of house
where the flies like to settle. Or she will
spin her snare before a bunch of bright
flowers, which insects are apt to seek for
their sweets, or she will place it in an open
ing like broken window or among densely
foliated bushes, where there is a draft to
carry the victims into the trap. Sometimes
a spider will spin 400 threads of some length
in bunch, break them all off together and
let them fly with the wind in all directions.
One or two out of the lot will catch across
between available points and give the desired
start for the bridge. Then she fastens
the extremities of the accidental bridge
with new sticky threads-the other ones
were dry--and proceeds to business. With
the sixteen combs that she has to hold the
threads separate, and finger claw on each
foot besides. wherewith to fasten the
threads, she can perform her weaving oper-
alton with exceptional dexterity. The
second horizontal bridge beneath is ordi-
narily made by going to point a short
distance below the upper bridge on one
side, fastening the thread on convenient
UrOjaafipcr tvsyicr nlif,biu.r from fbnra tp ba
upper fridge, running across it, then down
the opposite side to the proper place, and
finally hauling i'll the slack.
vAGABoND SPIDERS.
'Do all spiders spin webs?"
''No; some spiders are called vagabond
spiders for the reason that they do not spin
webs. The most interesting sort of vagabond
spider is the so-called trap door spider, which
makes box, often as big as your two fists,
of earth cemented into a large mass by
the SPIDERS own eXcretion. The box has a
little trap door at one end with a strong
elastic thread to serve as a spring. The
nest look like nothing but a clod Of dirt
and the door springs to SO perfectly-even
in the case of those that have been kept
for years as curios-that you cannot see
any trace OF an opening. Another vagabond
spider lives in a hole in the ground foot
ueep, WIFI lLUle uesU on Top Oh Une mole
made of small sticks and grass. There is a
very curious weaving spider called the
'gossamer' or flying spider On warm
fall day you will often find the air adoat
with spiders webs. and if you examine
them you will find dozens of little spiders
in the webs. These gossamer spiders in
pleasant autumn weather attach a thread
to the ground, and permit the breeze to
blow them away off into the air. where they
remain suspended, at anchor, for days at a
time, often miles and miles from spot to
which they are anchored"
SPIDERS FOES.
'Have spiders any enemiesY'
PLENTY of them. Their worst foes are
wasps. A certain family of wasps--the
sort that makes mud cells under the caves
Of houses-always fills its cells full of spi-
ders. The wasp of this variety catches a
spider often much heavier aud bigger than
itself, and first stings it into insensibilitv
The spider thus stung is rendered senseless,
but not dead; it is put into a state Of coma
which lasts for long time, so that at the
end of from one to three years the spider is
still asleep, as it we're, though living. After
thus rendering the spider helpless the wasp
lays an egg in its body; the egg matches out
and the young larva feeds on the body of
the spider until it is ready to go out and see
the world This is natures way of repro
ducing that kind of wasp. In South America
eat spiders, and here some mice do
80 also, as well as snakes, turtles and birds.
Spiders have a way that is very curious of
themselves. If a wasp, for in
stance, approaches to attack the spinner
drops down to the ground by thread, like
a shot. and plays 'possum. But, should it
have q yellow or otherwise conspicuous
back, it takes care to fall with its dark
colored belly upward, so that it may lie
among the leaves or herbage unobserved."
USEFULNESS OF SPIDERS.
"What are spiders good forp'
"For one thing, they eat all the insects
they meet that they can conquer, including
and bedbugs. There are very few
collections Of spiders IN this country; the
one at the national museum is as yet an
embryo. There are probably 5000 varie-
ties of spiders in the United States. l have
got together in my collection about 1000
varieties. Some l have gathered myself
personally, others / have obtained through
with collectors and others
still | have secured by exchange. The
method of gathering them adopted by col
lectors is with net and sieve. Either the
specimen desired is seen and a canvass net
thrown over him, or the leaf mould is taken
up and sifted. A sieve full of leaf mould
will yield dozens of spiders every time.
Another way is to knock the bushes so as to
shake the spiders all into the net"
HOW SPIDERS ARE KEPT.
"Why do you keep all your 1000 speci-
81, IL lzAN - Ill IL