SENSE OF SPIDERS.

Waikato Times, Volume 102, Issue 17078, 16 April 1927, Page 2

SENSE OF SPIDERS.

LEARNING BY EXPERIENCE. Spiders, according to Professor J. Arthur Thompson in John o’ London s Weekly, arc very short-sighted, hut they have an exquisite sense of touch, and also a keen chemical sense, sometimes olfactory. Like most animals, they establish associations between certaitL-Mp.cen.sory stimuli and certain aliens. Thus it has often been noticed that when a spider waits in a nest close by the web, and connected with the web by a special thread of silk, it reacts in different and appropriate \xsys according to the nature of the visitor who makes the web vibrate. It may be a struggling fly, or a destructive wasp, or another spider —to each of these there is an appropriate answer-back, depending in parts at least on associations that have been established on a basis of discriminating individual experience. This brings us near what may be called hints of mind.

But the kind of behaviour which seems to us most convincing is such as this, which we owe to Profesor Fr. Dahl, one of the most careful students of spiders A jumping spider, Evarche by name, was accusLomed to being fed with small house-flies. She was offered one that had,been dipped in turpentine, and although she sprang upon it as usual, she retreated hastily before the strong odour. She did this on three successive occasions, but after three disappointments she could not be induced to move. Even an ordinary fly, that had not been dipped fn turpentine, evoked no response. But a few hours afterwards she took it! Next morning she sprang upon a turpentined fly, but retreated as before. For the rest of that day she would not look at any house-fly whatsoever, hut she responded normally to a normal midge. This is a simple instance of the kind of behaviour that seems to imply a spice of judgment, just a little of the power of putting two and two together, at least a flash of intelligence. So we conclude that a spider has a bit of a mind.