SPIDER WEBS 43 



Digging Spiders. Some kinds of spiders do not build webs, 

 but catch their prey by pouncing upon it as a cat catches a 

 mouse. Several kinds of spiders live in holes which they dig 

 in the ground and line with a smooth layer of their silk. 

 Some kinds leave the holes open, some cover them with trap- 

 doors, and others build boxes of sticks and leaves around the 

 entrances. If you find a smooth hole about the size of your 

 linger going straight into the ground, it is probably the home 

 of a large, gray -haired spider. 



A Spider's Eggs. On cobwebs in dwelling houses you may 

 sometimes find brown, pea-shaped balls. These are nests of 

 spiders' eggs. The eggs do not hatch out caterpillars, but fully 

 formed spiders. Before the young spiders leave the nest they 

 often eat one another until only a few are left. 



Under stones and boards and the bark of trees you may 

 sometimes find patches of silk about the size of a finger nail. 

 These, too, are probably the nests of spiders. You may some- 

 times mistake them for the cocoons of caterpillars. 



Daddy Longlegs. On low bushes you may sometimes see 

 small spiderlike creatures with enormously long legs. These 

 are daddy longlegs, or harvestmen. They can not harm an 

 animal or plant. They spin no webs, but live by pouncing 

 on small insects, mainly plant lice. How many legs has a 

 daddy longlegs? When it walks, how high above its feet 

 does it carry its body ? 



