Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-09-05
Written for The Evening Star.
LORE ABOUT SPIDERS.
Things OF Interest About Creatures That
Weave Webs-FiIst Among SPINNER

Things OF Interest About Creatures That
Weave Webs-First Among spinner
WITHOUT THEN FLIES WOULD re 4 PIAouH-How
THEIR EYES ARE FoRXED-PRocxss IT WHICH
THEY MAKE THEIR wEB-RoPEs OF 1000
Strands.
"0H, THE NASTY THNaw
~ What is it, my DEAR" inquired her
husband calmly, Withdrawing his pipe from
his mouth.
"A horrid spider! Il was on the hack Of INV
neckw
did it bite you?"
NO, I'm thankful to say"
Then why do you call it horrid?' rejoined
tue naturalist spouse. Just suppose for .
moment that there were no spiders"
IT would be very NICE I'm sure"
on the contrary, my dear. it would be most
unfortunate Was not a plague Of flies one Of
the affections that troubled Egypt on account
OF the Pharaoh's obstinaoy? It must have been
caused by remarkable scarcity of spiders.
Undoubtedly tho most particular mission Of
spiders in this world is to keep down the multi
tudes OF flies which would otherwise swarm
over the earth aud gobble everything up. Did
you ever examine aspider' chewing apparatus?
Never; and don't want to-"
MY treasure, you have no scientific enthu-
siasm, fear. You should affect the quality,
though you have it not Permit me to assure
you that a spiders head is one Of the most
interesting objects in nature when seen under
the microscope. In front OF the head are two
claw-shaped fangs, shut up like a clasp knife
wnen not in use. but stiffiy erected when the
animal is excited, either to defend itself or to
a'ract It's prey. Each OF these fangs is a tube,
| az the lower end Of which is an oval sac full of
poison, while the pointed extremity is left open,
SO as TO afford venom duct most convenient
Tor the object intended"
MRS. SPIDER AND HER PREY
How learned that all sounds. Do proceed"
with pleasure. my love. My pipe is out;
LII thank you for n match. Well, as was
about to say, when Mrs. Spider-its always a
Mrs, because tho male spiders are only about a
nfteth OF the size of the females spin no webs
and seem to be useful for no other purpose
than the perpetuation Of their species in the
dlsfaf line-when Mrs. Spider sees a fiv caught
In her net by the gluten she attaches to the
thread, she planges into the unhappy victim
her two fangs. At the same instant a drop OF
poison exudes through each fang into the
| wound and the prey quickly dies. The strength
OF this venom must be really very great indeed,
lnasmuch "a so small q quantity as a single
spider secretes will cause a human being so much
discomfort Spider bites have been often fatal,
| 1t Is said, but only two or three varieties are
dangerous. and cases of deaths from their at
tacks are apt to be insufficiently authenticated
The poison is Of an acid nature, as il proved
6Oy the fact that litmus paper perforated by the
iangs OF an angry spider turns red around the
holes made by the bites.
HER EYES.
"Then, to conclude the subject, the spider
eats the fly
THAT is to say, my dear, she devours por-
lions OF the insect. She clasps her fangs down.
] n iu o. 4.
side parts into her mouth. The empty skin she
| REJECTS But was going to tell you something
| about the eyes with which Mrs. Spider sees her
prey before she grabs it. They are very won
derful organs of vision indeed and well wor tn
describing. Usually they are eight in number,
looking under the microscope like polished and
brilliant hemispheres OF diamonds, but their
| arrangement in the forehead of the animal
varies remarkably. Sometimes they are set in
| square and In other cases many different
| forms. Each eye Is covered with transparent
cornea. like that of q human being; 1t has a
crystalline lens and m iris surrounding the
pupil Of red, green or brown. The species that
20 abroad at night have each eye furnished
with a curtain, which reflects bright metallic
iuster and makes the eyes OF such spiders glare
| in the twilight like those OF cats"
THE WEBS OF SPIDERS.
| snow. that ia rather Interestingly
II am glad you think so, my treasure. Per-
h"Po you WhA AOt AIo ~ ~ DOE6 II tell YOU
| some things l have heard about the webs of
spiders. They were the first spinners, YOU
know. You may remember the ancient story
| OF Arachne, who commended with Minerva for
the prize at needlework. and not only was de-
| feated. but was transformed for her pains by
the offended goddess into a spider. l think
III try another pipe. Thank you; it's going
| now. Well, as ! was saying, spiders have
various ways of spinning and weaving.
Some hide in burrows, which they line with
| web. Others inclose themselves in silken
] tubes. strengthened on the outside with leaves.
Others yet weave nests, then issue threads to
entrap their prey. Still others spin great webs
OF close texture, like hammocks, and wait for
the insects that may become entangled. Ger
tain species spread silken filaments under water
| to capture aquatic insects. There are kinds of
spiders known the Jumpers and the run
ners, which catch their game by swift pursuit
| and by agile leaps. Others run crab-like, side
ways or backward, occasionally throwing out
| adhesive threads to entrap their victims"
How curious!'
USES OF THE SILK.
SIS 1t not? l must get new pipe stem; this
| one is getting foul. What was saving? Oh,
| about spiders webs. The animals not only use
their silk for building their nets and dwellings,
but for other purposes as well. With strands
OF 1t they bind the limbs of a struggling insect
they have captured. Asingie fiiament serves to
attach to earth certain varieties while like aero
nauts they float far off in the calm atmosphere
for hours. With softer threads than those en-
ployed for other objects they weave bags to re.
ceive their eggs and to serve as q nest for the
young. This silk is a thick, glutinous, transpar-
emit liquid, much like solution of gum arabic,
which can be drawn out into threads but
hardens quickly on exposure to the air. In
this much it resembles the filaments spun by
silk worms and other caterpillars.
The webs of spiders make a very beautiful
material for the weaving of various fabrics
which would have a high commercial value if
it were possible to obtain more Of it. Unfor-
tunately spiders cannot be set to spin peace
ably together like silkworms. Put any given
number Of the arachnids together and they
will fall promptly to killing and eating one
another until only one fierce and corpulent
specimen is left alive. 1t is only the impracti-
cabiity OF providing each spider with pen by
herself to spin in that prevents their product
from being regularly quoted at a high price in
the market"
HOW SHE SPINS.
'But how does the spider spin, pray?"
''The apparatus it uses for the purpose is far
more complicated than that of the silk worm.
Madam Spider has usually three pair Of spin
nerets, as they are called, at the hinder ex-
tremity of her body, through which the threads
are produced. The glands which secrete the
gummy fluid are situated inside the abdomen,
among the intestines These spinnerets con-
tain from 800 to 1000 fine tubes through which
the fluid is made to ooze at the will of the ami
nal ,y1lt hit - l.. Al,.-