284 ] The Wonderful Ways of Insects and Spiders 



The Spider's Homemade Parachute: To start its journey, the 

 young spider climbs up a tall blade of grass or a larger plant. 

 There it spins a silken thread and sends it out on the air. When 

 it is long enough, the friction of air currents on it buoys it up- 

 ward, and the spider, letting go its hold, is off on its journey to 

 an unknown destination. Usually the flight is ended by the spider's 

 bumping against an elevated object, but sometimes it helps decide 

 its own fate by pulling in the streamer till all buoyancy is lost. 

 "Flying" spiders have been discovered in mid-ocean! 



Flying or ballooning is not the habit of just a few kinds of 

 spiders. Most species use this means of getting from one area to 

 another. 



Daddy Longlegs 



If you observe the habits of this creature which, like the 

 spider, is almost "all legs," you will find that it does not have 

 the spider's ways. It does not spin silk, and it lays its eggs under 

 stones or in crevices but gives them no other protection. Though 

 it has eight legs and in many other ways resembles spiders, it is 

 in an animal division of its own. We recognize it quite easily by 

 its hairlike and remarkably long legs. If our legs were as long in 

 proportion to our bodies as "daddy's" are to his, we would stand 

 something like forty feet off the ground! 



"Tell Me Where the Cows Are": Some children still learn the 

 strange old custom of grasping a "daddy" and saying, "Tell me 

 where the cows are, or I'll kill you." Its waving legs, as the little 

 creature struggles to get away, are directed to all points of the 

 compass, so that if there are some cows about, they are sure to 

 be indicated. To a very young naturalist, this seems a satisfying 

 experiment! But later he can learn facts about daddy longlegs 

 that are much more interesting than this fanciful idea. 



How "Daddy" Uses His Long Legs: This creature has the power 

 of regrowing legs if they are broken off. The several pairs are of 

 varying lengths: The first pair is usually the shortest, the second 

 pair the longest and the fourth pair next in length. When you 

 watch "daddy" running you can see that the second pair of legs 



