Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-24
SKILLFUL BUILDERS
No Man Can Equal the Spiders in
Architecture.
STRENGTH AND PRECISION
Their Work is Regarded as Mar
veIous.
V A r I E T Y IN w B

| From the Chicago Tribune.
| There are certain members of the spider
| family which build structures that could
never be equaled by human hands, The
| aeronautic spider shoots suspension bridges
| from tree to tree; the geometric spider con-
| trives snares in which to entrap Its prey;
| the water spider constructs a diving bell
of shining silk and the trap-door spider
makes an underground nest which is a
| marvel Of accurate and elegant workman
| ship. Compared with any Of them man Is
| but a bungler.
| The tarantula is a well-known variety of
| the trap-door spider. The site of his house
| Is carefully chosen. Never Is 1t in a hol-
| low; always upon dry, sloping knoll.
| from which the moisture drains in every
| direction. A hole is first made, large
enough for the spider to pass comfortably.
and from three to fifteen inches In depth.
The excavation is done by two powerful
hooks which terminate the mandibles or
| jaws. These serve as pickaxes and spades
| for loosening the earth; it Is removed and
| carried above by the mandibles themselves.
| When finished the tube is smoothed and
polished and Is then ready for its silken
| lining.
This lining is spun from the body of the
| spider. 1t closely resembles the finest Jap
| anese paper. only it Is infinitely finer and
| thinner No human being could weave a
| fabric so exquisite, SO frail and yet so
| enduring.
Hinges ON the Doors.
The most wonderful part Of the work is
the making and attaching of the lid or
| door. 1t is perfectly circular in form, and
is composed of alternate layers of mud and
| silk. 1t swings on little hinge of silk
80 II z
more tightly has a fiange all around, which
| falls into corresponding groove
Trap-dcor spiders ara very careful to
! conceal the location Of their unique homes
| They make the top of the lid to correspond
| exactly with the surrounding ground. If
| that Is bare, the lid is bare. If it is cover
| ed with any kind of growth. bits Of it are
| cut and glued to the top. When the spider
| ventures abroad he pushes the lid open
| from the inside and emerges The lid then
closes of its own weight. Coming home the
| spider watches to see if he is observed and
| finding the coast clear. makes a lively
| scamper. opens the lid with his mandibles,
| and vanishes inside 1t Is curious fact
| that when the spider is inside his house
| the door cannot be opened on it's hinges by
human hands. Before it will open the clay
| must he broken
The way a spider makes a cable Is mar
| velous Gable it Is in every sense. for it is
| made of many threads. Inside the body
are the vessels which secrete the fluid that
| Is TO make SILK. INeSe vessels nave about
| 6.O0O outlets near the tip of the abdomen,
through each one of which the spider emits
| a thread at will. These threads unite about
one-tenth of an inch from the body, max
would take millions OF threads to make a
cable as large as human hair.
Uses of the Cable.
The wisdom of nature in thus ordering
| the spiders spinning apparatus Is appar-
| ent. The gumpy substance hardens quick
| er than IL 1t emerged as a single thread,
and We all know that cable is much
| stronger than a rope of the same size. Now,
when we see the uses to which the spider
puts his cable we appreciate the necessity
for its being firm and strong. But there is
another advantage When the spider wants
to attach the end of a cable to some OBJ
ject he only has to press 1t firmly, when
| the damp filaments spread out and become
glued fast.
travelling is called the aeronautic spider
When the desire to make a journey seizes
him he climbs tree or bulrush and
| raises his legs at frequent intervals in
search of a breeze. The moment one is
felt he eIaits a cable, and waits until the
loose end fastens itself to another object.
This is detected. not by looking. as might
be supposed. but by cautiously pulling at
| the cable with the legs. If the result of
the test is satisfactory the cable is cut off
and made fast to twig. and the spider
commits himself to his novel suspension
bridge. AS security against the first line
giving way, second is drawn over as the
spider moves.
Occasionally the aeronautic spider will
attach one end of his cable to a tree and
trust himself to the other swinging in the
air and paying out more line until the
desired object is reached. He has not the
power of coiling the cable back into his
body, is popularity believed. When he
| wishes to shorten it he simply gathers the
loose part into a packet CLUES the ends
| together and then throws the packet away.
The common snare-building spiders are
another interesting class. One of them,
the geometric spider, is so very mathemati-
cal in his work. Having chosen a situation
for the snare. he surrounds the area with
boundary line. which is attached to ada
cent objects. A thread Is then spun entire
ly across, and from the middle point Of this
another is carried to the boundary line.
Returning to the central point, the spider
carries another line to the margin. short
distance from the first, and SO continues
until he has a web which resembles a
wheel. He then begins at the center again
and carries spiral round and round
until the circumference is reached. Every
time the spiral crosses one of the spokes
of the wheel 1t is glued, thus making a
strong web.
Variety In Webs.
Another snare-building spider makes a
simpler web, very fine and closely woven.
The web is spun In the night, and is what
we so often see on the grass in the morning.
The spider turks underneath, head down.
ward, waiting for his prey to become en-
tangled IN the mesh above.
A third snare builder makes a web very
similar to the above. but draws a part of
1t downward in the form of tube At the
end of the tube is the spider himself The
tube is nearly horizontal at the entrance,
but gradually becomes perpendicular. 1t is
far more closely woven than the net. The
erd sometimes descends into a hole in
the ground though it oftener rests upon a
bunch Of twigs or grass. 1t is a very con-
venient and safe resting place for the
spider. He can stretch his limbs to his
hearts content, and, at the same time,
keep a sharp lookout for the next meal.
A spider breathes air just as we do, and
1t may therefore seem absurd to say there
is a species living under water. Neverthe-
less such is the case. Its subaaueous
nest Is kind of diving bell, and makes a
secure and most ingenious habitation. In
gently running streams, canals and bitches
the bell may be found, shining through the
water like little globe of silver.
1t is made of strong, closely woven white
silk in the form of half an egg. Some
times 1t is partly over the surface. but at
others entirely submerged. 1t is always at
| tached to some twig by threads. The spider
dwells inside, head downward, presumably