154 The Ottawa Naturalist. fjan 



eliminate our drones as effectively as they do theirs. And 

 man's latest triumph, the conquest of the air was long ago 

 consummated by the spider. It is true that the little spinner's 

 flying thread is at the mercy of the wind, and is not susceptible 

 of direction like the aeroplane or the dirigible, but still it enables 

 him to travel astonishing distances with ease and celerity. 



In the last week of September, 1911, an immense number 

 of "gossamer" spiders appeared in the district around Arnprior. 

 Every fence in the town and for at least five miles out into the 

 surrounding country was streaming with the exceedingly tenuous 

 lines of the little weavers. The threads, which were from about 

 5 ft. to 20 ft. long, were so fine that they would only be seen 

 when the sun glanced on them at a certain angle, but when 

 the eye caught them they looked like long ghostly hairs blowing 

 out in the wind. Examination showed that nearly all the 

 threads were anchored by one end to the fence rail or wire, 

 and that the spiders were running about actively, but in a 

 somewhat aimless manner. But here and there one of the little 

 line-weavers still had the thread attached to his spinneret, 

 and with his head to the breeze, which was so gentle as to be 

 scarcely perceptible, allowed the thread to float out behind him. 

 Presently he raised himself as high as possible on his tiptoes, 

 at the same time elevating his abdomen until he was almost 

 standing on his head. This seemed to be done to try if the 

 thread waving behind him in the wind was sufficiently long to 

 float him, and if its pull was not strong enough, he apparently 

 spun out a little more. After raising and lowering himself 

 several times in this manner, he suddenly let go his hold on the 

 fence and floated quickly away on the end of the line, taking a 

 course at an angle of about 45 with the horizon, and in a few 

 seconds was out of sight. Who can say how far he went? 

 Darwin in "The Voyage of Beagle" records large numbers of 

 such aeronauts sixty miles at sea off the coast of Patagonia. 

 Those the writer observed took a course S.E. Perhaps they 

 reached the St. Lawrence or even entered the United States. 



It was formerly thought that this "ballooning " was peculiar 

 to one species which was called the "gossamer" spider, but it 

 is now alleged to be common to the young of many different 

 species including several distinct families. Some spiders are 

 said to spin out three or four divirging threads onto the breeze, 

 but those the writer saw were contented with a single line 

 each. 



Charles Macnamara. 



