NATTkAL IIIST"1:Y. 



RECREATIVE NATURAL HI8TOKY. 



Till-: SPIDEE.-PART II. 



LY wondorfol as the structure of the foot of the spider, 

 .1 in tli.- preceding lesson on this interesting insect (see 

 page 303), is the formation of the organs with which tho spider 

 and kills his prey. Tho instruments with which this is 

 1 -vailed tliu mmilli hands, or mandibles or falceit are as 

 litti -i I for their purpose as tho fang of tho viper. Most reader* 

 must have observed tho manner in which the spider seizes a fly ; 

 how firmly tho victim H gripped by the two mandibles, which 

 ii as spears and poison tubes. Tho sharp points piorco 

 tii>' insect ; tho poison in then injected into tho wound through 

 a tube which runs down each mandible from the venom reser- 

 voirs at tho upper end. Thus tho entrapped fly is assailed in 

 four ways at our.o: pierced by tho mandibles, stupefied by the 

 poison, bitten by the mouth of its foe, and fettered by tho lines 

 of web. 



The circulation of tho blood may bo clearly seen, through a 

 microscope, in tho leg of tho common hairless spider. Tho 

 heart is in tho form of a tube, placed in tho abdomen, and 

 beating strong enough for tho "pulso" 

 to bo easily noted. 



The breathing apparatus is not the same 

 in all spiders, most of them having what 

 may bo called two lungs, some four, and 

 a few eight. Air is admitted to the 

 breathing apparatus through two or four 

 openings, called stigmata or spiracles, 

 placed on the under part of tho abdo- 

 men. 



Wo cannot find any concentrated mass 

 of nervous matter in tho spider to which 

 the term brain may be given ; but many 

 "nerve knots," called ganglions, an- 

 swer the same purpose. From these, 

 nerves are sent off to various parts of the 

 body. 



It seems desirable that we should here 

 pause to give a fuller account of tho mason 

 or building spider, to which a brief allu- 

 sion was mado in a former paper on this 

 subject. This spider belongs to the My- 

 gale* family, but only some species become 

 masons ; others being noted for tho great 

 size and strength of their webs. The 

 building spiders are mostly found in tro- 

 pical countries, but some are met with in 

 tho south of France, Italy, and Greece ; 

 others have been discovered in New South 

 Wales, and one (Atypus Sulzeri) has been 

 observed near London, and in several 

 parts of the south of England. 



The building spider (Cteniza nidulans) f seems in general to 

 select a clay soil for its habitation ; often tho sloping side of a 

 bank, from which water can readily run off. In this earth tho 

 animal scoops out a tube-shaped hole, varying in depth from 

 one to six inches, and being about one inch in diameter. When 

 the cell has been made, tho spider covers the rough walls with 

 ft layer of very fine cement-like substance. So thoroughly 

 does this harden, that it may sometimes be detached from the 

 clay walls like a casting, without breaking, notwithstanding its 

 extreme thinness. This first layer of cement is then covered 

 with a lining of soft but tough web, resembling fine whitish 

 silk ; on tliis another layer of mortar is placed, and this is 

 also covered by a lining of web, as before. In this manner the 

 spider proceeds in its marvellous work, until often not loss 

 than fifteen layers of fine cement alternate with as many of 

 soft but tenacious web. Thus one of these wonderful cells 

 often consists of thirty distinct walls. It is no marvel Jxat such 

 a house should bo waterproof, however wot the soil in which 

 tho compact domicile is formed. 



The trap-door which covers the nest is deserving of more 

 attention than tho house it protects and conceals. This door 



1. NEST OF BUILDING SPIDER WITH THE ENTRANCE 

 CLOSED. 2. NEST WITH ENTRANCE OPE*. 3. 

 THE BUILDING SPIDEK. 4. THE EYES (MAGNI- 

 FIED). 5 AND 6. PARTS OF THE FOOT AND 

 CLAW (MAGNIFIED). 



* An ancient name of the small field-mouse ; but now designating 

 those spiders which usually form nests in the ground, like mice, 

 t Nest-makiug, comb-ckwed-spider. 



49 N.F 



U usually composed, like the wallit, of alternate layer* of cement 

 and web. One peculiarity intuit, however, be noted. The** 

 layers gradually decrease in sice, like a eerie* of ' it *"'~'T*lBf 

 boxen, tho smaller fitting in into the burger beneath. One im- 

 portant result of thin arrangement in that the rim of the trap* 

 door has a conical shape, ao that it cannot easily be poshed 

 inwards upon tho spider, though readily opening outwards. 

 This slope of the door-edge is shown in the accompanying illus- 

 tration (Fig. 2>. 



The upper part of the nest is formed with an inrilinasjnn 

 exactly adapted to the angle of the door rim, so that when this 

 falls, the entrance to the spider's home is completely closed. 

 This fitting of the door to its frame is not the least wonderful 

 part of the structure. 



The hinge of tho door ia formed of the layers of web which 

 alternate with the beds of cement. The ends of these webe 

 are drawn out at one point and interlaced with the silky lining 

 of tho upper part of the nest, and thus form a strong connect* 

 ing band of tissue between the wall of the house and its trap- 

 door. The thicker the loor the more numerous will be the 

 web layers, and tho stronger the hinge, which will, therefore, 

 be always adapted to the weight it baa 

 to support. Sometimes it happens that 

 a door, especially in the Jamaica spider's 

 nest, is formed wholly of webs, without a 

 single layer of earth. Tho English mason 

 species, mentioned above, can scarcely be 

 said to form a door, the strong silky lining 

 of its tube protecting the entrance some- 

 what like a curtain. The inside* of 

 these movable nest-covers are generally 

 lined with tho same kind of soft bat 

 tough web, which gives smoothness to 

 the inner walls of the cells. Thus, when 

 the entrance is closed, the building spider 

 is most effectually sheltered in a luxuri 

 ously tapestried room. 



As the door shuts by its own weight 

 when the spider goes out, there is no 

 trouble in closing it, and when tho animal 

 wishes to enter, the lid is easily raised by 

 the claws. But predacious insects may 

 also wish to raise the opening and at- 

 tack the tenant in its snug home; the 

 mason spider has the means of baffling 

 such attempts. At the part of the door 

 furthest from the hinge, about thirty 

 small holes may sometimes be seen on 

 the inside ; by fixing the claws in these, 

 and pulling with all its force, the spider 

 is able to resist such attempts to invade 

 its home. 



Some nests have been found with two 



doors at tho same end, others with a door at each end. Some 

 persons have removed the lid, by way of experiment, and in 

 such cases a new cover has generally been constructed in a very 

 short time. Though the nest is so elaborately formed, there ia 

 no outward sign of the subterranean structure. The upper sur- 

 face of tho door resembles the common earth around, and as 

 the spider rarely comes out in the day-time, the discovery of its 

 singular home is by no means easy. 



Superstition and popular fancy have not quite neglected the 

 Bpi'lcr. In some parts a small species called Money-spinners 

 are deemed a sign of good luck to any person on whom they 

 may be found ; but to ensure this result the money-spinner must 

 be caught and thrown over the left shoulder. The Kentish 

 proverb Jf you ^^ ^ Ure fcnd ^^ 



Let a spider run alire," 



also connects this creature with man's prosperity. The Hamp- 

 ton Court Spider (Teyenaria damettica) ia a creature of doleful 

 aspect. These huge spiders were formerly believed to be the 

 embodied ghosts of Cardinal Wolsey and his aiders and abettors. 

 It is sometimes called the " cardinal spider." 



Spiders were formerly considered in rural districts to be acnre 

 for ague. Some years ago, a lady in Ireland was famous for ber 

 success in curing people thus affected. It appears that the only 

 medicine she employed was a large spider rolled uo in treacU. 



