IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14441, 6 February 1909, Page 7

IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

TIIK KATI ID AND ITS HABITS. (lit Jamks lUiriiMONti, F.L.S., F.Z.S.) ■Sin, i) rJic publication of some notes ou the kalip) a few months ago, correspondents in several pints of the Dominion have ionia'd.il information iu regard to this hamjsflne bill, vdiomous little spider's haliis, ,!lhough the Maoris say that their chiUmi have frequently succumbed to bites,! c:in tind only one authentic case of deat.i. This was a .Maori girl who was bitten at. W.-jihi. near Maketu, iu the ]ii\ of Plenty. Kb'.- was treated hv Mr Uiapman, a missionary, wiio resided ill IR< district, ai:d he •lilcudcd to her foi «early a fortnight, 'rubbing the part hlllfll with 11111100111:1. and appiying other remedies. She seemed to mover, but one day she suddenly became faint and pallid. Alter that she lost all desire for food, Inking only bread, and tea and sometimes a little wine. Nhe linsiercd in that condition fen- six weeks ami then died. It is stated that, some years ago all the members of a Maori (M.in.r party at the month of the Wanganai River were bitten, and that, two of tiieni died. The Maoris also s;iy t hat when a war party camped in the wine place for a tlighi 10 men were bitten, some suffering severely. Neither of these statements, however, bus been authenticated.

11l one case, reported from the westcoast of the Wellington province, a .Maori woman stated that a few minutes after she was bitten she had pains all over her. ihiit was lollowcd bv shivetings, which continued for about' four minutes, and returned at irregular inteivals. Her husband applied a hot. wasted potato to Uio seat of pain, which reli-eved it. Sho recovered in three days. Ei-ht, years ago a. young man went- into Dr Fy'lfc's surijrry in Wellington and complained that lie had been bitt.-n by a katipa. lie had been collecting driid wood on the b?ach .it Poione. \\ bile he was showing his liand to the doctor he fainted. lie soon recovered, however, ami was .snil away cuttd. Dr Fyit'c says that t-he local effect of the bite was not unlike that of the bite of a scorpion, nUtiouu'li by no menus so severe. 'j he poison was powerful locally, hut it also had a marked general effect, and the doctor believes that, be,-ides the irritant, there is a second ingixdicnt, which acts upon the body as a' whole, lie gave (lie man remedies, but he «iys that, surgical measure; nve of greater value, ,'ind that if the mini, when bitten, li-'id used a knife freely and caused copious hloediins;. and hud I.lk?ii sucked tin: wom:<l. lie would probably have escaped with verv little further trouble.

The remedy of the ancient Maoris was to nib and scarify the part bitten and apply hot, scalding leave;- ov red ochrc, and to bathe the patient in hot water. Iho virulent of the poison was piovcd by Dr Jialpli, of Auckland, in a cruel experiment he watched. Ho placed a lively and energetic mouse in a bottle with a line specimen of a katipo. By shaking the bottle he induced the spider to bite the mom.'e in two places, on it,; tail and its paw. I'lie mouse (piiikly resented the injury by biting the snider and killing if. The mouse was kept in the battle! supplied with air. and 18 hours aftc.r the contest- with the spider it- was found dead.

Over 50 years ago Sir Walter P.nller visited the same tIL-4rit-L in which I saw kalipos, near Waikahse, in the Wellington province, and colled ?il n large number, which he kept- alive. He, found them to be very tenacious of life. He plural a fully-grown one in a small box 011 Mav 11, forgot about it until November 8, then opened it, and. lo his surprise, found the spider alive and active, and, apparently, none the worse for it.s five months' fast! Iu other cases katipos have p.risked for want, of fond at Ihe ml of a week. The Maoris slate that the kalipo retires to an underground cell in the winter months, and passes UICIII in a torpid condition, when it- may he handled villi impunity. All the katipos I saw on flic Waikanae beach were under logs or pieces of board, but Sir Walter Uulle-i' says that their favourite vesort is tiir.ler tufts of pingo grass, which grows abundantly 011 the wind dunes near the coast. When the long, overlappimr leaves of the plant were moved to one side by him, the web was seen attached to the roots. The cocoon nest- is de-crib;d as being perfectly spherical in shape, yellowish while in colour, and composed of a silky white web of very fine texture. The eggs are round, about the same size as a- mustard seed, and of a pale, transparent red colour. The kalipo is only one of several hundred species of spiders found in New Zealand. It is lb? mast famous or notorious of t-lieni all, but- there are very few which have not- some habits and characteristics that- are woitli studying, l'robably the most intelligent- and ingenious New Zealand member of (lie class Araehnida is the trapdoor spider. Three species of it- have been identified. The first trapdoor spiders wore found near Oamarii by Mr R. Ilillies in 187<1. He w;is ridiu» through a grar-sy paddwk one day when he .saw a largo spider 011 a bale piece of ground. Attracted- bv its si/.e, he looked Readily at- it for some lime, and then if suddenly disappeared, as if by magic. 110 dismounted from his horse and took out his knife lo dislodge, the spider from the dirt-heap in which ho supposed il had hidden. He had 110 sooner applied the point of the blade than, to his surprise and dtligh! ; up .--prang up a beautiful trai«loor. It- revealed a large hole, going right- down into Ihe earth, lined with beautiful wlt-ik* silk, which shone iu Ihe sun. The silk also lined the inside of the little door and formed a clever and remarkably good hinge. Mr Gillies examined the striking novelty for some lime, lifting no the wonderful diior and adin'rin-g tlio exactness with which it fitted, the perfect- mobility of the hinge, itihe .spring with which it. immediately shut- down 011 slipping from the knife, and the marvellous adaptation of the outside of the lid to the surrounding conditions. It had been |,vppored on the outside with loose soil, similar to that a round, so as to defy detection by anyone unacquainted with the way of finding spiders' nests. As a- matter of fad, it was so admirably hidden that lie lost it. He carefully marked several object-s close to it . in order that he mi 'lit timl it- again, and went- olf for a spade. When he returned willi the spade no searching would disclose tlie nest, which lie never saw again.