2 4 o AMERICAN SPIDERS 



has been found lately, that the web of a species of spider, common 

 in the cellars of this country, possesses very narcotic powers, and 

 it has been administered apparently with success in some cases of 

 fever." Hentz named this spider Tegenaria medicinalis in recog- 

 nition of the purported efficacy of its web. It is an abundant house 

 spider of the eastern United States. In close proximity to it lives 

 the cosmopolitan Tegenaria derhami, which is found in cellars all 

 over the world and was once an important source of cobweb for 

 Europeans. 



Deeply impressed in the minds of most people is the conviction 

 that spiders of any kind are poisonous, and that many are deadly. 

 It is this belief that keeps alive the popular distrust of these com- 

 paratively useful animals, a dread which in some cases produces 

 hysteria at the mere sight of them. Many regard spiders on a par 

 with poisonous reptiles and are always well supplied with tales of 

 their virulence. Perhaps not so curiously, these same individuals 

 will handle with small concern insects and animals far better 

 equipped to do them injury. No spider is too small to be con- 

 demmed as poisonous, and great size magnifies the reputation. 



People imagine that they have been bitten by spiders when the 

 actual culprits (Honi soit qui mal y pense) are fleas or bedbugs or 

 biting flies. The responsibility for mysterious skin eruptions acquired 

 during the night is often laid to a spider seen scurrying over the 

 rug at the bedside, or serenely spinning its web in the corner of a 

 window. It is not uncommon to attribute many types of dermatitis 

 to spider bite. All mistakenly. What are the facts? 



Spiders are shy animals that run away from pursuers whenever 

 they can. Almost without exception they will walk over the skin 

 of man and make no effort to bite, regarding his body merely as a 

 substratum. On the other hand, there are occasions when circum- 

 stances force them to attack. When they are squeezed or held they 

 usually respond by attempting to bite. This is about all that can be 

 expected of animals so poorly supplied with the higher sense organs 

 that they cannot adequately see or comprehend just what man is. 

 The most universally notorious spiders, the black widows, can be 

 taken from the familiar security of their tangled webs and allowed 

 to crawl over the hand, docilely unaware of the golden opportunity 

 to use their venom. 



Some few spiders have been charged with being vicious and 

 even with attacking man or animals without provocation. The 

 Australian Atrax has such a reputation and is said to be quite bel- 



