Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 November 1874 — Big Spiders and Their Enemy. [ARTICLE]

Big Spiders and Their Enemy.

Raising spiders in order.fio sell their nests. What does anybody want of a spider’s-nest; and who would liave thought a traffic could be created in such curious goods?.. Biit there is a Yankee—of course he is a Yankee —over in San Francisco who does raise spiders ami does sell their nests—at a handsome profit, it is to be hoped—and we have one before us which we shall describe. Outwardly it presents the appearance of a rough ball of red earth, about an inch and a half in diameter and an inch in height. On the flattened top a line describes a semi-circle in the center. Lifting up the ball, it is discovered to be a tube or a tunnel, open at the bottom. Gently thrusting the finger up through the hollow and pressing on the roof, a lid is raised, which is fastened by a straight hinge a half-inch long and describes a semi-circle with its free edge. The inner surface of the tube is smooth as satin; in fact, it is lined with satin, which extends over the straight line of the lid, forming a hinge, and Then expands into a lining for the lid itself. Thus the interior of this rough, irregular sphere of wood is as neat and clean and cosy a nest as the daintiest little housekeeper could wish to abide in. Now, fancy this red hall sunk in the ground with its lid on a level with the surface, and its tunnel prolonged to a depth of several inches, or even a foot or two, and you have a picture of the home of the “ Trapdoor Spider," a species of Mygale. The genus Mygale includes the large, hairy, formidable spiders called Tarantulas, several species of which burrow in the ground. The Mygale Hentzii exieuds from Missouri southward, and is"abundant in Texas. It is gratifying to know that this venomous spider, which goes about like a ravening wolf, frightening by its ugly look and poisoning with its bite both men and beast, has a deadly enemy in a creature of its own insect race, which repletes its numbers and keeps them within bounds. A large species of the Mud-Dauber group of wasps (Pompilus fonnosa), popularly called the Taran-tula-Killer, is the special foe appointed bj Nature to harass and destroy the Mygale Hentzii. Tiie Mud-Daubers build their cells of moist earth, and into each one introduce, along with a single egg, the insect which they have paralyzed with their sting. 'jYben the larva of the wasp has left the egg it feeds upon this insect which has been inclosed with fit in its cell, and which has undergone no decomposition, having been rendered helpless merely, and not lifeless, by the sting of the mother-wasp. Dr. G. Lincediim says of the wasp mentioned: . “ This large and conspicuous insect is everywhere. in Texas galled the Tarantu-la-Killer and is over two inches in length; the head, thorax and abdomen and long, spiry legs are all black, while the wings are sometimes of a bright brown, with black spots at the tips. It is armed with a formidable sting, which it invariably uses when taking its prey. The sting does not kill the Mygale, but paralyzes it—suspends afil animation—aud iu this state, in a dry place and at the proper temperature, it is in a condition to resist decomposition a long time. * * I have sometimes found under shelving rocks and other sheltered places Daubers’ nests that were doubtless several years old. i n some of- the cells where the eggs had proved abortive the spiders were there, still limber, with no signs of decomposition about them. They did not seem to be dead, but looked as if they could almost move their legs and were perhaps not unconscious of their deplorable condition.” What a horrible fate! Immured in a living tomb! We can almost forgive the Tarantula for being so ugly when we reflect upon this possible destiny that threatens every one of the species, In a further account of the TrarantulaKiller, Dr. Lincecum says: , “It occasionally happens, when one of them succeeds in capturing a Tarantula, that another one, or more, flying around in that vicinit** *nd smelling the odor that arises from “the Tarantula-Killer

when she uses her sting, which resembles the odor of the paper-making wasp ( Vespa), only much stronger, takes the scent like a dog, tracks ttye Tarantula, following it up closely, and making a violent effort to get possession of the paralyzed spider. A tight ensues which occasionally terminates in the death of both parties; at other times the contest lasts but a little while, as the stronger party drives oil’ the weaker, and takes possession of the prey. It is surprising to one who has been educated to believe that the faculty of reason belongs alone to man, to contemplate the consumate ingenuity which is displayed by these insects in their efforts to secure their eggs from the observation of their own thieving sisters, and to hide the food they have provided for their young during the period of its existence under ground.” The Mygale Aticularia, which inhabits the country bordering the Amazons, has a body nearly as large as that of a sparrow, and, with its legs extended, covers a space measuring, either way, from six to eight inches. It is called the BirdSpider, from its habit of entrapping birds and feeding upon the pieces. Mr. 11. W. Bates, a naturalists w ho spent eleven years in studying the fauna of the Amazons, once witnessed the capture of a couple of birds by this spider. In descrioing the scene lie writes: —“ Pn the course of our walk I tdianccd to verify a fact relating to the habits of a large spider, belonging to the genus Mygale, in a manner worth recording. The species was M. Avicularia , or one very closely allied to it. The individual was nearly'two inches in length of body, but the legs expanded eight inches, and the entire body and head w ere covered with coarse gray and reddish hairs. I was attracted by the movements of the monster on a tree-trunk; it was close beneath a deep crevice in the tree, across which was stretched a dense white web. The.lower part of the web was broken, and two small birds, finches, were entangled in the pieces. They were about the size of the English siskin, and I judged the two to be male and female. One of them was quite dead, a» 1 the other lay under the body of the spider, not quite dead, and was smeared with the filthy liquor, or saliva, exuded by the monster. I drove away the spider and took the birds, but the second one soon died.” The Mygale Blondii is distinguished by the yellow stripes running dow r n its legs. This is one of the deepest burrowers, its tunnel extending two feet into the ground. They are lined, like the one we have described, w r itk a silken coating. This is the nocturnal spider, and, when night comes on, takes its station at the mouth of its hole, where it watches, with the eyes of a ferret, the coming of its prdy. Let a footstep approach, it pops back into its den and remains hid until confident the danger is past. Some of the mygales live under stones and others dw r ell in the thatched roots of houses. Mr. Bates once saw a group of children playing with a colossal mygale, which they had harnessed with a string, and were leading about like a dog. A gruesome plaything for babies. The mygale sheds its hairs easily, and these, penetrating the skin, painfully irritate it as if with a poison. The Trapdoor Spider (Mygale nidulam) lias short, stout legs and tremendous fangs. It has something of the aspect of a crustacean and is called by the French the crab-spider. Should any unwelcome intruder attempt to lift the lid of its tunnel it will hook its hind-legs in the lining of the lid and its fore-legs in the lining of the tube and resist with all its might. It defends its home wfith the utmost bravery, but when removed from its burrow' it seems utterly bewildered and stupefied. A writer in a late number of Hardwicke's Science-Gossip gives an interesting account of a struggle he once witnessed between a Mygale and a lizard. The observer had thrown himself carelessly down to rest on the grass one fine day, wfith no thought of spiders in his mind, when, to borrow his words: “My eyes were suddenly arrested by the appearance of a large spider, which issued like a specter from the bosom of the earth. At first I saw a kind of lid, about the size of a small halfpenny, slowly raise itself above the surface of the soil; then some long, hairy legs stretched themselves out from a tube which the lid had previously covered w ith the utmost exactness. * * * The apparition was that of a Trapdoor Spider (Mygale cannentana), a species widely spread over the south of France, which exhibits in its name the wonderful instinct by wfiiich it is marked. * * * Squatting under the lid, wfiiich rested on her back as she lay half out of the tube, the spider eagerly watched every movement of a delicate lacewing fly which stalked lazily over the gilded petals of a trefoil. * * * The hairy spinner fairly trembled with excitement and impatience as the graceful fly moved slowly toward the den* dark and cold *as the grave, where the spider «Ijiy in ambush. In another momenj it walked into the very jaws of death, when I heard a slight crackling in the dry herbage, and then, wfith a suddenness wfiiich made me start, a bright green lizard dashed from a tuft of grass aud bounded toward the spider. Though quite taken by surprise the latter had just time to avoid the fatal stroke by drawing back with a rapidity at .least equal to that of her enemy, and violently closing the lid of her gallery. Bo near, however, Was the lizard to seizing his prey that tke.toes of the right fore foot were actually caught between the door- and the side of the tube, and vain were the reptile’s efforts to disengage itself, though it twisted its lithe body from side to side like one possessed. “ Had the spider been able to close tjie gate of the castle with stout bolt aud bar, never would our lizard have boasted of another victory over spider or insect ; it must have perished miserably of hunger and exhaustion! Meanwhile, it strove laird to raise the lid wiili its muzzle, and, failing in this after several attempts,fit managed in the course of its struggle to insert the end of its tail into the slight opening made by its foot. Then for the first time I could see the wretched spider doubled up against the w all of its den. and holding on with all its might, by means of its claws, to the inner face of the silken door, vyliich, however, was gradually yielding to the efforts of the enemy, i thought it right, therefore, to put h stop without delay to the unequal combat. No sooner thought than done. From the summit of the hillock on which my chin was resting I emitted a loud brrrr! In a second, as once with the great god, Jove, ■ Olympus trembled at my nod!’ x the frightened lizard, in the energy 6f despair, tore its foot ffem the trap, with the loss of two or three toes, and, bounding into the grass, disappeared from view. Mygale instantly closed her gate, without offering me a single expression of gratitude for the good ttirn I had done her.” —Chicago Tribune.