PATER’S CHATS WITH THE BOYS

Otago Witness, Issue 3768, 1 June 1926, Page 76

PATER’S CHATS WITH THE BOYS

SPIDERS. Most people, especially women folk, have a dislike to spiders. To “Pater,” that peculiar state of mind seems unaccountable and unjust, for spiders are very wise and useful little creatures. The word “creatures” has to be used to describe them, for spiders are not insects. Some people call them insects, but that is because they are small and live in the insect world—reptiles would be a better name for them, because they are creatures that crawl, and are hatched from eggs; but even that name, from the zoologists point of view, would be wrong, because reptiles, though they crawl and are hatched from eggs, have only four legs, while spiders have eight. In the world of insects and land-breath-ing creatures they occupy much the same position among insects that octopuses occupy among the creatures of the sea. They are beasts of prey, just as the octopuses in the sea are beasts of prey with their eight arms, or feelers, as they are sometimes called. Spiders are the terrors of the insects on the earth, just as the octopuses are the terrors of crabs, crayfish, shell fish, and other small denizens of the shallow waters of the sea coasts.

Insects differ from spiders in having six legs and three very distinct parts in their bodies. The division marks between the three parts in the body of an insect are very plainly marked. The head is movable, as can be seen in the actions or movements of a fly. The chest or thorax is protected by a hard shell-like substance, which zoologists (students of animal life) and entomologists (students of insect life) call chitin, a Greek word denoting a covering of the chest and back, or, in other words, a shirt. The abdomen or softer hind part is ringed, every ring making a special part or segment of the abdomen.

Insects again differ from spiders in their life history. Insects, it is true, like spiders, are hatched from eggs; blit they go through three stages of existence after being hatched—first, the larva or grub stage, then the pupa or chrysalis stage, and lastly, the stage where it enjoys the life and activity of a fully developed insect. In the grub stage the insect is more or less active in seeking its food, but in the pupa stage it sleeps while the different parts of the full-grown insect are developing. The spider lias neither a larva nor a pupa stage of existence. From the egg, just like the chick, the spider issues a perfectly-formed creature, capable of movement and feeding itself. Of course, like the chick, it has to have protection and time in order that it may grow to full size.

Spiders, then, being so distinct in body and in life history from insects, form a class of their own, to winch scientists have given the name “araclinidae,” a Greek word donoting a spider or a creature with four-join ted legs. The bodily difference or appearance of creatures belonging to the class araclmidte is that each specimen of the class has four pairs of legs, no antennae or feelers, and no wings, but a pair of mandibles—cutters or holders, just -like a pair of cutting pincers—and a pair of maxillae or. palpi, which do the work like the peacock or , “ bubbly-jock ” food in the mouth. It breathes by means of lungs of a sort, by air sacs, or by both at the same time. The head, as a rule, forms part of the thorax/just as it does in a crayfish, and the abdomen, particularly of spiders, is not segmented. Insects have two compound eyes with hundreds of facets, which enable them to see in all directions. A spider has six eyes, some of which * enable it to see at night, and to do night work in seeking its prey.

VVe are accustomed to look upon the male creature in the bird and animal world as the “ boss ” fellow of his kind. In the animal world he is usually gifted with more strength than the female, and has to do the fighting to protect his wife, or wives, and his young. In bird life the male is often a magnificent creature, like the apec corok mfwyp RATH TESE amongst the turkeys. In mankind man is the stronger creature, some say both physically and mentally, though there are manlike creatures of both sexes who deny the male human’s superiority, even though the shoulders and back seem to prove the physical powers. There are some women in the feminist movement of to-day, no doubt, who would like some plan or arrangement like that which exists in the spider world, where the female is out and out the superior creature in size, strength, ingenuity, and temper. The male spider of most varieties is, a 3 a rule, a tiny creature alongside the female, and his joy of the married state is usually very brief owing to the fact that his spouse generally makes a meal of him as soon as she tires of him. He is no use as a father or bread-winner, so she in her wisdom gets rid of him either by eating him or frightening him away. Nevertheless Mrs Spider is a wise, loving, and industrious mother, and though she is a cannibal she never eats her young. She provides them with the cosiest of homes lined with the finest silk, and sees that their larder is well stocked with food while they are too young and tender to hunt for themselves. Their home is also cunningly made, so that the youngsters

will not fall victims to birds and such prey-devouriny insects as the beetle and the mason fly, which make a specialty of spider food for their young. There are many other interesting facts about spiders, but what is written will have to suffice for the present. However, it will be a fairly wise act on “ Pater’s ” part to remind his readers that spiders are very useful, and in nearly all cases, as far as the temperate zone is concerned, very harmless creatures. They prey chiefly upon flies, and we all know what a dangerous disease-spreading pest is even the common house fly. Other small vermin which infest houses and fields are also destroyed by spiders, some of which, not of web-building variety, go far afield seeking the old, the young, and the eggs of vermin. Beyond making an unsightly web in the house the spider is really the friend of man. In Tasmania the tarantula, the bite of which is said to lie poisonous, is either a resident in or a visitor to the households of the inhabitants, there are many people there who will not disturb the tarantulas in their houses because they know they are great vermin-destroyers; and where the white ant and other pests exist, without the natural enemies of such small fry, it would be impossible to keep food, and so even to live.

Remember these facts, and do not destroy the harmless and very useful spider. In New Zealand, living on the coasts where the climate is warm, we have a small spider, the katipo,. whose bite is poisonous, but it is not common, and is not the variety which makes a home in our barns, stables, and households. Even the katipo does a great deal o good by feeding upon insects which, if allowed to increase unduly, would do an immense amount of destruction. The katipo can be distinguished by the bright red spot upon its back. It exists chiefly in Nelson and Taranaki, where it lives, as a rule, in warm, sandy tracts.

ACCLIMATISATION ITEM. The reindeer of northern Europe is a much smaller animal than is generally supposed by those who know it only from pictures. It is really not much bigger than a large dog. It is a member of the same family as the caribou of North America, which is somewhat larger; but attempts to introduce the reindeer into North America have not been very successful. In Lapland a man’s wealth is measured according to the size of his reindeer herd, and the animal provides the Lapps with meat, milk, and clothing, besides being often used for draught purposes. The difficulty in connection witli the introduction of reindeer into North America is due to the nature of the soil and the vegetation, which lies during the winter under the snow. If the Americans cannot make a success of the breeding of reindeers, they should introduce Laplanders as well. The Laplander knows how to breed and herd reindeer successfully. The Americans think that all they have to do is to bring over the animals from Europe to Alaska, and allow nature and the reindeers themselves to do the rest. Still, it is a fact that there are some fairly large herds in Canada., but they have to he very carefullv tended.