Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1901-08-24

Saltigrades have heen known n -
hundreds of miles in this way ave.
The bridge builders belong IN 81.
called orb weayers, because Of tha ia, -
SNAPPED WEB which they spin. r.,
clever creatures built suspansion ~. -lt.Ae
long before any one dreamed s'u-eS
Brooklyn bridge. Strangely pDougb Ne
they work IN way much like H.
human engineers. Settling on som, 3.
point like her "ball0oninr'' rafs .l.-1
NINE. orb weaver throws our her s5f.,.,,
web and waits for l. 10 catch ON d ..
or tree some feet away. When hi 3'.s4
pens she draws it Eght and begin.
cross on 1t. spinning another line ~
gees, ana crossing and recroSSipg 49,
and again until she considers her .','..--
Iouhdatl@n cab!e quite strong enough t.r
ner purpose. She now repeats th. Nh
process with second thread lower i 49, '-.'.'
Tnen with her two sustaining line. ..'
place she proceeds 20 spin her w-1 r
IWeel! tntlh, hopinS 10 catch unWary -,
sects IN hel aerial snare The>e -.
are fGTnd stretching between bush.
across small brooks or over less frp,,,'.,
ed county roads, the lines reaching AVIAN
twenty-five OF thirty feet ut times.
One of the largest and most comm. .
OF the ORB weavers Is found in the .,n,-
try meadows or along the bank~ If
streams. The upper part of the body /, d
pretty silver gray, and the ahdomr.. ~
> 4
ange-coiored legs are ringAd with M3.k
This little spinner makes a pre,ry v-.H
with heavy zigzag line running M ma
down the center which makes one rn.nt
that she must have been the spider VIZ
said to the fly in the nursery rbyma
The way into my pari0r is up a win.Iipr
stair If you find these webs in the grass
some day just touch one of them geBtlv
and see how the owner of this little mar
lor shows her Indignation or fright hv
setting the whole web shaking.
One set of orb weavers, like the Indian
braves of old. ornament their homes
with the skulls of their victims ami >h1p.
a funny array of heads and wings on 4
part of the web kept for that purpose
When the time comes to lay her eggs
the spider makes Il pear-Shaped bag NJ
eggsac, in which the eggs are carefully,
packed, like hundreds Of little vplloyv
Slobuies. to wait till the spring Matching
time. The Sacs of outdoor spiders ara
found hanging in the tall grass tightly
fastened by silken cords, so that they
will be safe through wind and storm
The outer covering is tough and glazed.
as we'll as waterproof. and no dron Of
rain can soak through to harm the egr>
Baby spiders hatch out like birds. in
stead of passing through a long traDSi-
tory state, like most insects In many
other ways the spider is different from
the ordinary insect. Insects usually have
six legs; spiders have eight. The <uj-
der's head and chest also are grown n.
gether, so that the body has only tw,
parts, instead Of the three seen in the
ant or bee. John Henry Comstock saws
thai the tiny thread spun by the spider
is made up of hundreds of threads all
fused together into one as they emerge
from the infinitely small spinning tubes.
The webs of orb weavers are not cas-
lily sped unless you search, but the
houses Of the brown grass spiders. who
spread their thick, fmneI-Iike webs on
top Of the grass, stare at you in great
numbers OH dewy mornings in August
and the farmer, as he sees them. saws
1T will be hot today" The webs are
really there all the time, but the shining
drops make them gliSten until the sun
has dried the dew. The owner Of this
home knows how to hide in her funnel
when boy comes dangerously near. and
sometimes she disappears mysteriouSy
through some private passage known only
to herself
Spiders are solitary little creatures. low
ing their own company hest of all lnd
you seldom find them relaxing their IN
social habits after they have passed their
first day of babyhood and are able to
shift for themselves.-New York Trib
me