The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-12-04
TINY SKILLED WORKERS.
Marvellous Accomplishments of
Some Spiders.
Though Not Attractive In Appearance
They Command Admiration for Their
Almost incredible \ hievements-
Fairy-Like Facts.

The best known mech anics of the in
sect world are the bees and ants,
wasps and hornets, all OF which are
very skillful in cooperative house build
ing; but it is only of late that people
have begun to look at the spiders and
to find out that, ugly as they are, and
nnlovable and selfish even among them
elves, they are wonderfully skill
iul little worhmen in several trades
How many more trades a longer OBJ
servation viii discover we cannot
guess, but already it is known that
there are masons, tent builders, bal
loon and divingbell makers, and
waterproof-silk manufacturers, be-
sides the common web-weavers winch
we all know.
The mason spider, unfortunately for
some other insects, does not earn his
living by his trade, although no one
can deny that he IS skilled laborer."
But he does not devote himself entire
" to his useful calling; in fact, he
makes it tsubservient to his better liked,
If less innocent occupation, that of
highway robber.
Like any ether bandit the mason
spider finds il necessary for his safety
10 SDenu u1ucn Ol Ills Ililc III 81
he eXcavates for himself a cave, not
very wide but from one to two feet in
.ength, sometimes running downward
IN a more or less slanting direction,
and sometimes on a level AS he is
luxurious in his tastes like many
another highwayman-nothing less
VIII please him than silken-hangings
for his retreat Like nearly all others
= i H.
spinner, and it is with silk of his own
spinning and weaving that he so beau
TRULY lines the entire length of his
cave.
After the sil1en hangings are flushed
to his satisfaction, he proceeds to Ia
Dor which requires all his skill, both as
a mason and a silk weaver, and that is
the trap door which is to close and hide
his retreat
For this purpose he first spins web
exactly covering the mouth of the cave,
but attached to it only on one side
Over this web. which though so very
fine is also very strong, he places an
extremely thin layer of earth; then
over this he weaves another web, and
again puts on layer of earth, and so
on, layer after layer of alternate silken
web and earth, cementing all together
with strong cement of his own pre-
pairing, until the door is thick and firm
enough to answer his purpose. OF
course the part of the web which is at
tached to the side of the cave forms the
hinge to the door. In most cases the
-pider leaves open the door to his re-
treat when he is out of it, only shut
ting it when he seeks safety within,
and opening it easily by pushing it up
from the inside when he wishes to get
out
But there are some of these cunning
worlmen who wish to secure their
caves from possible capture while they
are absent; so these extend the silken
layers of the lid on the hinge side in
,such a way as to form a sort of handle
or lever, just above the hinge. Having
done this they can let the door or lid
fall shut after they have passed
through, and when they wish to re-
enter they have only to press back upon
The lever, thus opening the door. As
the outside layer of this door is of
earth, the robber-mason-sp spiders con-
cealment is complete, for the most prac-
ticed eye can hardly, by the most dill
gent search, discover the door SO in
geniously made. This curious spider is
found in several places, but his habits
have been observed chiefly on tie Is
land of Zante, in the Mediterranean sea-
The tent-building spider is called by
naturalists CLOtho Dardndii To form
the fairy-like tent in which it lives and
raises its young, it first weaves tiny,
silken sheet with seven or eight sides,
which form so many angles, to which
are attached the slender silken ropes
which hold the tent to the surface of
the ground. So fine are the silxen
sheets that several of them, laid closely
upon each other, are required to make
the tent strong enough to resist the
rain and protect those under the shelter
of the tent. AS the spider must protect
its young from other enemies than the
weather it has cunningly contrived
that the different layers of the tent
shall form a labyrinth through which
it alone can find its way. To do this