Weavers and Spinners. 



for the sturdiest of the family. In fact, cannibalism is 

 a very general habit among spiders, so that probably 

 a certain proportion of every brood of spiderkins perish 

 in this tragic fashion. 



The spiders are Nature 's most expert weavers and 

 spinners ; while the delicate beauty and the marvellous 

 skill displayed in the design and construction of their 

 webs and nests always excite our admiration and in- 

 terest. Indeed, many of the snares constructed by 

 spiders for the capture of their prey will be found on 

 closer inspection to be most perfect and complex in 

 their structure. I am afraid that to a large number 

 of people a spider offers no attractions in fact, to them 

 it is just " a nasty insect." Now, as a matter of fact, 

 a spider is not an insect, and very often is a very hand- 

 some creature, while it does invaluable service to man- 

 kind in devouring innumerable swarms of gnats and 

 flies. It would be out of place here to give a long 

 scientific description of the spider and its exact posi- 

 tion in the animal kingdom, and for our present purpose 

 it will suffice to say that the spiders form a connecting 

 link between the true insects and the Crustacea, the 

 division of the animal kingdom to which the crabs, 

 lobsters, shrimps, and prawns belong. 



A spider has eight legs, and is divided only into 

 two parts, for there is no division between the head 

 and shoulders ; whereas a true adult insect has only 

 six legs, and has the body divided into three distinct 

 regions head, chest or thorax, and abdomen. Again, 

 an insect breathes by a network of air-tubes running 

 all over its body, and connected with the exterior by a 

 series of more or less oval pores down the sides of the 



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