NATURAL HISTORY NOTES

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1509, 31 January 1901, Page 57

NATURAL HISTORY NOTES

When the home of one of the trapdoor spiders is. opened, it is generally found to contain quite a collection of the remains of her v ictims—legs, jaws, and wing-cases—which have been gradually accumulating since the burrow was made. Unfortunately, however, she does not confine herself to such legitimate prey. Like most spiders, she is eannabalistic in her tastes, and is only too ready to feast upon members of the opposite sex. When a male spider ventures, to approach her burrow he dees so at bis peril; for she is far larger and stronger than he is, and is in no wise loth to take advantage of her physical superiority. And, as a matter of fact, he is fully aware of his dange", and . takes such precautions as lie can against it. His first proceeding is to advance with the utmost caution, and to give a smart tap with his feelers upon the exposed portion of lier tube; his' next is to run away as fast as his legs will carry him- On reaching a place of safety he waits for a few minutes, and them returns, with even more caution than before, to see if her tangs are projecting through the walls .-of the tube. If not, he gives a second ’ap and runs away again. This performance is repeated half a dozen times, perhaps, in rapid succession. Then, if the object of his affections still manifest no signs of disapproval, he cuts a slit in the tube, and enters it in the. capacity of an accepted suitor, after wh. cli the slit is closed again, and the two inhabit the burrow together.—-‘‘Sunday Magazine.” *• The spiders patience and sagacity are remarkable. It not only: makes its beautiful web, with lines going out from the centre, and lines going round, and dors the latter with sticky drops; but, after the snare has been made, it quietly sits down and waits with Job-like patience for the fly, which is so long in coming. What angler would cast his hook m the same spot day after day for a week if lie never got a bite? But the spider sits quietly in the centre of the web. or behind a leaf at the side, or in a>. tunnel, or in a tiny sentry-box until at last a meal comes to the hungry watcher. Perhaps, after all, the entrapped individual may prove to be a dangerous wasp, or an ear-wig. The spider* ;s too discreet to expose its soft body to The sting of the one c r to the pincers cf the other, and therefore cuts the ropes and drops out the unwelcome visitor. Bub a scene of desolation lies before its eyes. The ropes are broken, and lhe web, constructed with so much" cleverness and. care, is a dismal wreck. The spider might well sit down and weep, but it never dreams of such a useless proceeding. It. simply sets to work without' fuss and without complaint, and repairs the broken snare, and then settles down for another spell of watching. Oh, for a good slice of the virtues of a spider!—Rev John Isabel], F.E.S., in “Day of Days.”