SPIDERS AND THEIR WAYS. 



379 



When tlie spider hears an enemy investigating her burrow, she 

 runs below the second door and pushes it up, so that the marauder 

 will think he has happened upon an empty nest, the second door 

 forming the bottom of it. The babies are born in the tubes, and 

 remain with their mother until they are able to make nests for 

 themselves. 



These spiders spend the days in their burrows, but at night 

 they all flock out to enjoy themselves. They fasten open their 

 doors and make little webs over the grass. Many night- wander- 

 ing beetles are caught, and then comes the banquet, which con- 

 sists of the softer parts of the beetles. In the morning the closest 

 observer could not find a trace of the preceding night's revelry, so 

 carefully have the spiders cleared away all webs, beetle legs, and 

 wing covers. 



One group of spiders is called Lycosa, which means wolf 

 spider. Perhaps they were named from the similarity of their 

 habits to those of the wolf, being like him wandering and pre- 

 daceous. 



One of these is the tarantula, a great hairy fellow who inhab- 

 its warm countries. The species received its name from the Ital- 

 ian city of Tarentum, 

 where they have been 

 found in large num- 

 bers. There is a curi- 

 ous superstition con- 

 nected with the ta- 

 rantula's bite. If a 

 person was bitten it 

 was thought nothing 

 could save his life but 

 the playing of some 

 lively dancing tunes. 

 When he heard these 

 he was supposed to be 

 unable to resist the 

 temptation to dance. 



Thus he grew very warm, and the perspiration came out in great 

 beads all over him, each bead filled with poison. After he had 

 danced as long as he possibly could, the poison had all escaped 

 from his system. The tarantulas feed on small birds as well as 

 insects. Indeed, one of the great southern species is called the 

 bird-catching spider. 



In India, where all animals are treated with consideration and 

 even reverence, the little children often keep these spiders for 

 pets. They tie a cord round a spider and lead it about, feeding it 

 with worms and insects. Mother Lycosa always carries her egg 



Lycosa tarantula. 



