Evening star., 1949-05-30
This and That
By Charles Z. TYdcetrell
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CHEVY CHASE.
Dear Sir:
Tell us something about spiders. please.
Now and then find one In the house. or
out in the yard, and while I am afraid OF
them. they always fascinate me.
"Will they bite?
II let the big yellow ones alone, but am
not so much afraid of the smaller black
ones. yours. M. d. A."
The little black cnes are the very ones
to be scared Of. Matilda!
Those big yellow spiders will do you no
harm, but the small black ones might pos
sibly be black widow spiders.
The black widows are well left alone. They
can cause all sorts of trouble, although
there is treatment now that Is supposed
to keep you from dying.
Yes. those old black widow spiders live
up to their rather terrifying name.
Fortunately. most yards do not have the
black widows.
The big yellow garden spiders are rather
on the harmless side. although very fright
ening to some persons. The fear Of spiders
seems q part Of some natures 1t Is some
thing on the same order aS fear Of snakes.
Fear Of cats belongs to the same group
Of phobias. Our own opinion is that fear of
cats Is solely mental.
The Chinese say that people who are
afraid OF cats were rats in q previous REIN
carnation.
Any one interested In spiders always has
plenty Of material. (Too much. the busy
housewife thinks)
They are at work on insects from early
spring to late fall. In modern homes they
function the year around. but are more
likely to be seen indoors In spring and
autumn.
Sometimes they spin q line from lamp
shade and drop down on 1t when the light
is turned on In the evening.
Occasionally one spins web. or maybe
just Z single line. from the lid Of a phono-
graph. and runs madly whenever It Is lifted.
Usually these specimens are milk white.
often so small that magnifying glass must
be used to see the many legs.
There are $500 species In the United
States.
Spiders are not really insects, though most
Of us tend to think Of them as such.
They are close relatives, though. as is
quite evident; they have four instead Of
three pairs Of legs. and have the body di-
vided into two instead Of three divisions
Spiders never have wings.
Most Of our spiders have eight eyes.
These eyes, arranged in rows. enable them
TO see even the smallest insects on which
they feed.
Their spinning. Of course. is their most
famous work.
Spiders use their silk for more than catch
ing food. as important as that is.
They spin to make egg sacks. to make re-
treats for themselves and babies to noat
away ct win.
Their silk lines are roads In the air: and
usually they leave drag line. Is 1t is called.
behind them.
This drag line keeps them from failing.
but enables them to fall suddenly away
from an enemy. and yet to hold in midair.
The spider web Is one OF the most famous
patterns In the world.
Man has attempted to- initiate II. but
always his productions look very clumsy
In comparison with the real thing.
Grass spiders weave mere sheets OF silk.
These sheets are most easily seen In the
dew in the morning. and II you look closely
enough, you win see the master spinner
waiting In q little tube he has woven be-
meath 70 conceal him.
some spiders simply chase their victims
These are called wolf spiders. The great
hairy tarantulAs and the trap door spiders
Of the South live IN the ground These.
distinctly. are not typss Of interest TO any
one except specialtsts.
Small garden spiders. fortunately. and the
types we have indoors, - . rule. are good
-ettisons. Ard not to- .scary" - watch.