spiders - Emporia State University

SPIDERS THE
Vol. 3
No. 4
KANSAS
SCHOOL
. NATURALIST
·
Kansas State Teachers College
~mporia, Kansas
April 1957 The Kansas
School Naturalist Published by
The Kansas State Teachers College of Emporia
Prepared and Issued by
The Department of Biology, with the cooperation of the Divisions of Education and S'Ocial Science Editor: John Breukelman, Head, Department of Biology Editorial Committee: Ipa M. Borman, Robert F. Clarke, Helen M. Douglass, Gilbert A. Leisman, Dixon Smith The Kansas School Naturalist is sent upon request, free of charge
to any citizen of Kansas.
The Kans(lS School Naturalist is published in October, December,
February and April of each year by The Kansas State Teachers Col­
lege, Emporia, Kansas. Second-class mail privileges authorized at
Emporia, Kansas.
3
Spiders "Along came a spider, and sat
down beside her" and Miss Muffet
probably thought it some kind of
insect-at least a great many people
think of spiders as insects. They are
quite different, as the next pages
will show. They have eight legs and
no wings; most of them have eight
eyes; in many other ways they dif­
fer from insects.
Even with their eight eyes, they
are quite nearSighted. Alert as they
are to prey caught in their webs or
walking about near their lairs, this
may seem surprising until one
realizes that a remarkable sense of
touch , rather than Sight, gives them
most of their information.
Though they have no wings,
spiders have a system of dispersal
that has scattered them over a
greater part of the earth's surface
than most winged creatures. They
are found almost everywhere, above
timber line on Mount Everest and
at sea level in the tropics; in tree­
tops and in short grass; in holes in
the ground , under stones, and in
woodpiles ; about our homes, on
water, and even under water.
Spiders range in size from a
barely discernible speck to a spread
the size of a man's hand. Though
some live for a number of years,
many have a life span of only a
year, and for the latter, half of that
time may be spent in the egg sac.
In many species the male is much
smaller than the female, one third
to one half of her size; in other
species the sexes are about the same
size. The function of the male is to
propagate the species, and after
mating, he needs to be wary, lest
he be eaten by his mate.
The female spider lays hundreds
of eggs, which she wraps in silk
from her spinnerets. She then hangs
the cocoon, or egg sac, on the web
or in a protected place; or she may
attach it to herself with a silken
thread, by which it bobs along after
her as she goes in pursuit of prey.
In many species, her energies are
spent with the laying of eggs and
spinning the cocoon. She stands
guard over the cocoon, but usually
dies before the eggs hatch or the
young emerge.
If the eggs are laid in the fall ,
they hatch in a short time, but
spe~ld the winter in the cocoon; and
when the young get hungry, they
eat one another. In the spring, the
spiderlings emerge as tiny minia­
tures of their parents.
They do not pass through any
kind of caterpillar or larval stage,
so common among the insects. For
a short time the young spiders go
out a few feet into their new sur­
roundings, finding their way back
by only the silken guide line they
have spun.
In many species, there is a dis­
pel'sal process known as ballooning.
The spiders form a procession and
climb to some point of elevation­
the tip of a blade of grass or perhaps
a fencepost-where each in turn
faces into a light breeze, elevates
its abdomen like a cannon and spins
out fine lines of slik. When the pull
of the breeze on the silk is sufficient
to lift the spider, away it sails,
downwind. Ships at sea have re­
4
ported these small travellers hun­
dreds of miles from land.
Instinct is strong in spiders. The
young of an Orb-Weaver may be
separated tram its family, but when
grown, it will spin exactly the same
kind of web as all others of its kind.
A female spider will guard her
CJcoon and fiercely defend it, but
she is a rather stupid creature; for
"hould another cocoon, or even a
cork ball, be substituted, she will as
fiercely defend it.
Spiders secrete a type of poison
with which they paralyze or kill
their prey, but it does not follow
that what would kill a fly would
harm a man . The Black Widow is
the only spider in Kansas whose
bite is suffiCiently poisonous to
cause concern. This bite mav cause
a few days of painful illnes;, but is
seldom, if ever, fatal to a healthy
person.
Probably no other creature of
field or home has been so univer­
sally feared and shunned, and prob­
ablv none has deserved it less .
Legend and history have given us
SJme 111 terestin g glimpses of spid­
ers.
Greek legend tells us that a
maiden named Arachne was so
skillful at weaving that she chal­
lenged Athena, goddess of weaving,
to a competition. So exquisite was
the work of Arachne, that Athena,
in a rage, destroyed the tapestry of
her mortal enemv and condemned
her to a life of spinning. Arachne
became the Greek name for spider,
and scientists use the name
Arachnida for the class to which
spiders belong.
A slight imperfection, claimed to
be the sign of authentic Navajo
weaving of blanket or basket, is
s2id to be the result of a pact with
the ancient Spider 'i\Toman in ex­
change for teaching the people of
the Southwest the arts of spinning.
Legend says that Robert Bruce,
the Scottish hero, lay hiding in a
barn when his enemies came that
way. Seeing a large, undisturbed
web stretched across the doorway,
they passed by. His ultimate victoi· y
was attributed to the fact that he
was inspired to go out again for a
final thrust by seeing a spider reach
its goal after as many unsuccessful
attempts ~,s Bruce himself had ex­
perienced.
People of Italy believed the bite
of the tarantula caused a mania,
for which the only cure was to
dance to utter exhaustion. The
musical composition Tarantella was
written primarily to simulate the
dance.
DID You KNOW THIS?
A study of spiders is essentiallv
a field study. A few live in our
dwellings, and some others may be
kept in confinement, but the ma­
jority can best be observed in the
open air. Spiders exhibit such strik­
ing and interesting characteristics
and habits that one is well rewarded
for his study of them.
Some catch their food in webs;
the strategem employed by some
species is to affix a dragline to the
web, and then to sit back out of
sight with the line held taut. As
soon as an insect ali~hts all the web,
the dragline is released, and the
pre v is hopelessly enveloped in the
sticky web.
The Trap-door Spider lies in wait
for prey, hidden in her silk-lined
burrow with its hinged lid. Using
5
her body as a wedge, she keeps the
door open a crack, ready to spring
out upon her unsuspecting prey. Bv
using her mouth parts and her legs
as braces, she is able to hold the lid
down so that as much as ten pounds
of force is required to raise it.
The Jumping Spider is frequently
found on wmdow sills. When a fly
or other small insect comes by, she
launches herself out upon it, bring­
ing it back over the silken line sh0
has spun Out. These discarded lines
are some of the cobwebs which
catch dust and irritate the house­
wife.
Crab Spiders commonly live on
flowers . They spin no webs, nor do
they rull after their prey. They
merely rest in a likely spot, and
while holding onto the flower, their
forelegs catch a trespassing insect
much as the jaws of a steel trap
close on a victim. A remarkable
thing about some of them is their
ability to change colors to match
the flowers on which they rest.
The Wolf Spider pursues her
prey, often with her egg sac
bouncing along behind her. When
her eggs hatch, the tiny spiderlings
crawl over her body, taking a ride
wherever she goes.
Until maturity, if a spider
chances to lose a leg, the leg will
grow back. Because spiders are
among the fiercest cannibals of the
animal kingdom, this ability to
regenerate lost parts is a useful
trait. If they are to be kept in cap­
tivity, each must have its own com­
partment.
Since a spider's skin is not soft
and elastic, it does not stretch as
the spider grows. Therefore it must
be shed at intervals. It splits along
the sides and at the base of the legs
and moutll parts. The top peels
back like a lid, the body is worked
out, and then .one leg after another
is withdrawn, leaving a shell which
at first glance looks like another
spider. As the spider rests from the
exertion ot shedding, the new soft
surface hardens just enough so that
the spider IS ready to resume its
growth while it develops a new and
b.rger skin. This skin serves also as
a support tor the body, and is
known as the exoskeleton, or ex­
ternal skele tolL.
Among the spiders' worst ene­
mies are certain wasps. The wasp
stings and paralyzes the spider, de­
posits an egg in the spider's body,
then drags it off and seals it into a
cell. After the wasp egg hatches, the
wasp larvcl uses the body of the
spider for its food supply. Other
animals commonly preying on spid­
ers are lizards and birds.
SPIDERS' \VEBS
Spiders' webs vary quite as m_uch
as their other characteristics. Each
spider family produces its own type
of web.
The Orb-Weavers, to which the
Garden Spider belongs, all make
wheel-shaped webs, large or small
according to their own size and the
location ot the web.
Some Orb-Weavers, instead of
completing their webs in the usual
way, leave out sticky threads from
one of the upper sections of the
wheel. Through the center of this
open space runs the communicating
cord, on which the spider keeps an
attentive toot. While resting in
some sheltered nook a few inches
away from her snare, she is readv
to pounce when the shaking of th~
6
cord tells her she has caught a vic­
time in her web.
A clever trap is made by the tiny
Triangle Spider. She begins her
work by laying down a strong foun­
dation, and from this stretches four
long lines which meet in a point to
form a triangle. These four threads
are connected by a number of short
cross lines. To the point of the tri­
angle is fastened a thread with the
other end fixed securely to some­
thing a little distance away. When
the trembling of the thread tells the
little spider that some insect has
struck her web, she quickly re­
leases the thread, and the web
springs back and entangles the prey
in th e Huffy meshes. If an unusually
large insect has been caught, the
spider springs her trap two or three
times, hauling in the cord and let­
ting it go again as quickly as she
can so as to entangle the prey more
completely.
The Sheet-Weavers weave their
webs so closely that they are almost
like the finest muslin. To this fam­
ily of spinners belongs the hairy,
long-legged spider which forms
those untidy cobwebs in the corners
and on the ceilings of rooms that
are not often swept and dusted.
A sheet web is quite a different
thing when it is made by an out-of­
doors member of this family. Then
it is snowy white, like a curtain fit
for fairies: But we seldom see it like
this, for a sheet is so delicate that
it soon becomes soiled and torn.
Late in the fall, edges and banks of
ditches are often covered with the
webs of Sheet-\Veavers. They are
rather a sorry sight as a rule-torn
and covered with dust. But when
frost comes, they are once more
beautiful, sparkling in the sunshine
as if they were covered with dia­
monds.
How THE GAHDEN SPIDER MAKES HER WEB The Garden Spider spins out
from a bush or weed a silk thread
which Hoats into the air and catches
upon a nearby twig, making a
bridge. The spider runs across the
thread, adding other threads to
strengthen it. Then she spins out
more threads that reach to other
twigs, forming a rough rectangular
frame for her web. Next, she spins
a line across the open space of the
frame and walks along the line to its
center and attaches a new line. Now
she returns to the outer edge of her
web, spinning the line longer as she
goes. She is making her spokes-silk
lines running from the center to the
outer frame. Every time she makes
one of the spokes,' she walks on one
that she has already made. Every
time she goes through the center of
the spokes, she adds threads which
tie the spokes together; she has a
cushion in the center big enough
for her to sit on. Next, beginning at
the center, she spins a spiral thread,
round and round from spoke to
spoke.
This web will not catch and hold
insects, and so the spider spins a
whole new set of sticky spiral lines .
Beginning at the outside of her
web, she spins a sticky spiral thread
round and round from spoke to
spoke. As she spins, she walks on
the old spiral thread so not to get
herself caught on the sticky lines.
As she makes the sticky spiral lines,
she cuts the old ones awav. The
plain ones were only to w~lk OD ,
and so they are of no further use.
7
Then she decorates her web bv
spinning a zigzag ribbon of silk
across tile center.
The spider cannot run over these
sticky lines without first "oiling"
herself, which she does by drawing
her eight legs, one at a time,
through her mouth.
The Garden Spider stays on the
"cushion" in the center of her web
and waits tor the lines of her web to
shake, which indicates that some­
thing has been captured. Then she
runs quickly across her web,
pounces upon the insect, and bites
it. From her fangs come tiny drops
of liquid which are poisonous to in­
sects. She sucks the fluid from the
victim's body; for, like all true
spiders, her mouth is too small for
any foods except liquids. Then she
drops the insect and proceeds to
repair her web for the next catch.
WEBS AND SILK
Three kinds of spiders have
proven best for producing com­
mercial silk. They are the Black
Widow, Aranea, and Banded Gar­
den Spider, which produces a web
that has a metallic sheen and re­
flects light. These spiders are kept
in glass jars and fed on flies, gnats,
crickets, and other insects.
Spider silk is used in making gun
Sights, range finders, bomb sights,
surveying transits and levels, astro­
nomical telescopes, optical reti­
cules, and the like. For a combina­
tion of elasticity and strength,
nothing is superior to the spider
web. The drag line of the spider is
the strongest web. When a strand
of drag line is drawn across a metal
ring and inserted in a telescope, it
will remain straight and true under
almost any condition of tempera­
ture and humidity.
The plmnp abdomen of the
spider is her silk factory. Inside the
spider, the silk is in liquid form, but
it hardens almost instantly when
drawn from her spinnerets, which
are tiny finger-like spigots near the
rear end of her body. From these
she gives off several kinds of silk.
The spider does not spin out the
silk; it is drawn from her body.
Usually she fastens one end of the
web and then moves away, so that
the long filament is extracted from
her bodv. Sometimes she draws out
a few in'ches with her rear legs and
lets the breeze do the rest. When
she has released as much as she
wants, she reaches back and cuts
the strand with a claw on the tip of
her foot.
To obtain the silk for man's use,
the spider (usually the female be­
cause of her greater produc­
tiveness) is imobilized by position­
ing a staple over her narrow waist
and into a small block of soft wood.
The spider IS induced to expel a bit
of her drag line (the strongest
web). This is now attached to a
small brush and the web is drawn
from her body, wrapped on a U­
shaped frame and wound in spiral
fashion at quarter-inch intervals.
When the frame is filled it is placed
in a specially deSigned box for
shipment.
Sometimes an order is received
for a much finer or split web. To
obtain this, the spider is placed on
her back and stapled down at waist
and feet (two feet per staple) to
keep her from reaching back and
cutting the web. A length of web is
pulled out and cemented down,
8
and a needle is used to pick back
and forth across the web until a
snag appears; then a needle is in­
serted 111 the snag and worked back
and forth until tile web is split into
two fibers. The two fibers of the
split web are wound on separate
Hames.
The biggest problem is trying to
keep the spIders from pulling off
theIr own legs-this is their means
of escaping enemies. Most spiders
can lose at least two legs without
being crippled. They are able to
regenerate smaller but perfectly
usable legs.
A female spider may be silked
more than twenty times, barring in­
juries, and can produce a hundred
teet or more al a Single setting. The
spiders used for silking ha ve a short
lite span, usually only a few months.
Can you tind the Reader's Digest
for July, 1945? The article "Spider
Silk" says, among other thing~~ ,
"Spiders have a silk to meet ever),
need. Silk serves as a trap-line and
a banquet: hall, as a marriage bed
and a winding sheet, as an alarm
system and a fire escape, as hand­
cuffs and a way of going places-it
is the most versatile substance pro­
duced by any creature." Black
Widow silk is one fifth the size of
human hair, but is tougher than a
strand of steel or platinum the same
size. It is ideal for cross hairs used
in the objectives of telescopes,
microscopes, surveyor's transits,
bomb sights, and other precision in­
struments.
Dr. Petrunkevitch of Yale Uni­
versity, known as the "Spider Ma,n,"
probably knows more about spiders
than any other living person . He
s:tys that, by and large, spiders are
man's friends and shouid be treated
as such. They carr)' no diseases, and
if insects are the greatest menace to
lI1ankind, then spiders are our best
friends among lower animals.
C LASSIF LCA TION
Spiders are arthropods-a group of
animals that includes crayfishes, sow
bugs, crabs, scorpions, mites, chiggers,
centipedes, millipedes, and insects. About
eighty per cent of all known species of
animals on earth are arthropods.
Scientists have divided the animal
kingdom into about a dozen groups called
phyla (singular-phylum). One of these
phyla, the Arthropoda, of arthropods,
consists of animals with segmented
bodies, jOinted legs, and external
skeletons. The arthropods are further
divided into classes: one class consists of
insects; another includes crayfishes, crabs,
lobsters, and the like; still another in­
cludes the spiders and their allies.
According to Comstock, The Spider
Hook, the class to which the spiders be­
long is known to scientists as the
Arachnida. This class includes not only
spiders, but also scorpions, daddy-Iong­
legs, ticks, mites, and chiggers. This class
is divided into orders, one of which, the
Araneida. consists of spiders. There are
several families, some of which are repre­
sented ill this issue of The Kansas School
iVatwl/list. Each family is divided into
genera (singulnr-genus) , an d each genus
into species (this word is both singular
and plural). Thus the broadest category
of animal classification is the phylum ,
and the narrowest is the species. Anyone
species of animal belongs to a certain
genus, any genus to a certain family, and
so on .
Classification of an animal consists of
placing it in each of the categories to
which it belongs. Thus the scientific
classification of the wolf spider, Lycosa
Ilvida , is as follows:
9
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Archnida
Order Aranida
Family Lycosidae
Genus Lycosa
Species avida
The genus and species names make up
the scientific name of an animal. The
genus name is capitalized; the species
name is not. For each of the species of
spiders described on the following pages,
both common and scientific names are
given.
T o identify spiders, it is necessary to
have a magnifying glass, a pair of forceps
or tweezers, and a handbook or "key."'
The book How to Know the Spiders, by
B. J. Kaslon , is a useful one for learning
to know most of the Kansas spiders.
Th e parts shown in the accompanying
figur e are among those most useful in
identincation. Spiders have two main
body regions-n combined head and
thorax known technically as the cepha­
lothorax, and an abdomen. In some
species the head part of the cephalothorax
is separated by a groove or constriction
from the thorax part, but in most species
there is no houndary of any kind between
them.
On the head area are th e mouthparts
and the eyes . The eight legs are attach ed
to the thoracic area, and the silk­
prodUCing structures known as spinnerets
are located on the abdomen.
The mouthparts consist of chelicerae,
with mova ble fangs at th eir tips, and
pedipalps. Each fang is provided with a
duct which leads from a poison gland .
Th e basal parts of the pedipalps are used
to hold and chew food , and the long for­
ward extensions, or palps, which are
Ilsually longer on males than on females,
serve as feelers. The eyes are often char­
~tcteristic of certain families of spiders.
They vary as to number (eight being
lIslIal) , size, arrangement, and color.
'.
/
"
( ( ) ) - - MALE
- t\::t"i
PEOIPALP
FEMALE PEOIPALP
CHELICERA
'~T'
11// ~g~
)
CEPHALD­
____ THORAX THORAX
na-"=',,;;t:!,A- COX A
~-',-~'-,- TROCHANTER
FEMUR
--~-- ABDOMEN
{~'-,---,!-!,~- PAT ELL A
SPINNERET
TIBIA
METATARSUS
TARSUS
The legs are seven-jointed, the seg­
ments in order from the body to the tip
of th e leg being the coxa, trochanter,
femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, and
tarsus. (Ncte that several of these have
the same names as parts of the human
skeleton, though there is not much re­
semblance between ,\ human femur and
Cl spider femur , or between the other
correspondingly named parts.) The tarslIS
bears claws, the number and size of
which vary in different species. The vari­
ations in the length and form of the leg
segments can often be used in spider
identification .
The spinnerets, usually six in number,
are finger-like organs located near the tip
of the abdomen, on the lower side. The
end of each spinneret has several micro­
scopic openings, through which the
silken thread is drawn out when needed
for web building or other purposes.
On pages 10 to 14 are described
brieRy some of the more common Kans,\s
spiders . A Harvestman, or Daddy-Long­
Legs, although not a spider, is also in­
cluded, because it is commonly associated
with spiders and resemhles them mther
closely.
10
~
-
//40DV-l
fLC/08UNUt
I'
NOT
ONG-lE:GS
VITTATUM)
SPI DER
i~~
!~
CELLAR SPIDER
(PS/LOCI/ORUS CORNUTUS)
DADDY-LONG-LEGS
The Daddy-Long-Legs, or Harvestmen,
are not spiders, but are included in order
that some of the differences between
them and spiders might be noticed. Most
Daddy-Long-Legs have long, slender
legs, ,md do not have a constriction be­
tween the cephalothorax and the
abdomen. They have only two eyes, and
they also have nine segments in the
ahdomen. There are many other external
and internal differences, but those listed
ahove are quite apparent and are suf­
ficient to distinguish between the two
orders, Phalangida and Amneida, to
which Daddy-Long-Legs and Spiders be­
long.
SHORT-BODIED CELLAR SPIDER
The Short-Bodied Cellar Spider is often
mistakenly called a Daddy-Long-Legs,
because of its long legs. But this is a true
spider, helonging to the order Amneida.
The legs are slender and transparent, with
slight brown coloring, and darker rings at
ends of femm and tibia; a dark mark
around the eyes forms a middle line. The
Hbdomen is gray, with three or four pairs
of dark spots and lighter spots. The length
is from one-h~lf to three-fourths inch .
The web , which is found in dark places.
is cl small, tangled mass of threads.
TARANTULA
L'NOtU'~'
(EURYPCLMA HENTZ/j)
TARANTULA
The Tarantula is the largest spider in
Kansas, often measuring two inches in
body length. The body and legs are hairy
and stout, with the color ranging from
light brown to black. It is valuable as an
insect destroyer and is not known to ha ve
any harmful habits. It is a species worthy
of protection; it is also a good terrarium
anim::!J. Its bite is not much more 'serious
than a bee sting, ruld the tarantuala
seldom bites. Tarantulas live on the
ground under objects or in holes, and are
not uncommon in the South and the
southern part of Kansas.
PREVIOUS ISSUES
Oct. 1954, Window Nature Study; Dec.
1954, Wildlife in Winter; Feb. 1955 ,
Childrens' Books for Nature Study (First
in a series); April 1955, Let's Go Outdoors;
Oct. 1955, Fall Wildflowers; Dec. 1955,
Snow; Feb . 1956, Spring Wildflowers; April
1956 , Turtles in Kansas; Oct. 1956, Hawks
in Kansas; Dec. 1956, Childrens' Books for
Nat.ure Study (Second in the series); Feb.
1957, Life in a Pond.
Those printed in boldface type are still
a vailable upon request.
A NEW EDITION of L . B . "Buck" Carson's
t ·ird booklet is out; for your copy send 25 c
to Capper Publications, Inc., 8th and Jack­
son, Topeka, Kansas .
l
.,
\
WOLF SPIDER
(L YCOJA A VIDA)
The W olt Spider i~ "
with several hundred.
ing her abdomen. Th..
one-half inch in length; one-fourth to slightl:- ;..
inch long. Both are br
markings are v:1riable. 0
to see, but there is a
on the middle of the
length.
The
her an egg sac, or G(K
body. It is so larglC' .
forced to nm on the keep the silken bal! ~.
color of the spider i., ~
gray-green with a
sid~ of the body, two on the abdomen, , Ix
ventral, or lower, ~i .
region. The fem (
and the male one- h;~
Gwss Spiders
webs on grass and ......-­
of buildings . The f
long; the m ale sli!;!i. ­
11
.\
,~
. ~,\
tl "
v~
lWOLf SPIDER
'\
(L YCOSA
. lies, and are
and the
A VIDA)
FISHING SPIDER
(IJOLOMEIJES SUPUNCTATUs)
GRASS SPIDER
(tiGELENA NAEVIA)
'WOLF SPIDER
The IVoit Spidel' is the one often seen
with several hundred small spiders cover­
ing her abdomen. Th0 femal e is about
one-half inch in length ; the male is about
one-fourth to slightly less than one-half
inch long. Both are brown and gray. The
markings are variable, sometimes difficult
to see, but there is a reddish-brown band
on the middle of the cephalothorax, and
n wider pale 11bdomin al band which is
forked for about the front half of its
length.
the markings are often obscure, the
nbdomen is dark chestnut brown with a
broad middle band on the lower surface
of the abdomen, and a "V" underneath
the head :md body region . Annuli, or
rings, around the legs me usually distinct.
These spiders can be recognized by th e
long spinnerets and by the eye arrange­
ment. The web is like a sheet, with a re­
treat at one side in which the sp ider hides
while waiting for insects to strike the
web. A few strands above the web cause
insects to fall when they strike them.
FISHING SPIDER
Th e Fishing Spider, or N urseryweb
vVeaver, is often seen carrying beneath
her an egg sac, or cocoon, as large as her
body. It is so large that the spider is
forced to run on the tips of her "toes" to
keep the silken ball from dra gging. The
color of the spider is greenish brown or
gray-green with a white band on each
side of the body, two rows of white spots
on the abdomen, six dark spots on the
ventral, or lower, side of head and body
region . The fem ale is four-fifths inch,
and the male one-half inch in length.
FUTURE ISSUES OF KSN
Four issues of The Kansas School
Natu ralist were prepared by the 19SEl
'W orkshop in Conserv ation; one of these
-"Trees"-remains to b e published. It
w ill appear as soon as suitable pictures
have been completed. Other issues for
which some work has been done are :
"Along th e Roadside," "A Guide to Con­
servation Teaching in the Elementary
Grades," "Summer Wildflowers, " "Fos­
sils" (or perhaps "Rocks and Foss ils") ,
"H ow to do it" for Elementary Science,
"Snakes in Kansas," and an issue dealin g
with some aspect of b irds. Others for
which several sugges tions have been sent
in but on which no work has been done
are "Galls" or "Insect Homes" and an
issue dealing with the nature study of
The Sunflower State. If you have other
sugges tions, send them to the editor.
, ·.ll h
Dec.
1955 ,
type are still
_ - . - of L. B. "Buck" Carson's
-5 Cout ; for your copy send 25 ¢
-=- -~~ ::'a [ ions, Inc., 8t h and J ack­
sas.
GRASS SPIDER
Grass Spiders commonly spin ' their
webs on grass and sometimes in angles
of buildings. The female is about an inch
long; th e male slightly sm aller. Although
12
f
"
/
~
BANDE.D GARDEN SPIDER
SHAMROCK SPIDER
(MElAl<GlOPE TRIFASCIATA)
(/JPANEA TRIFOLIUM)
BLACK AND YELLo\V GARDEN
SPIDER
The Black and Yellme Garden Spioo·,
because of its bright yellow and black
markings ;md its huge web, is one of the
most conspicuous and most commonly
known spiders. The female is often more
than an inch long, and the male is about
one-fourth inch in length. The ;tbdomen
is slightly pointed behind, and the front
base has two small humps on each side
so that the abdomen almost resembles a
heart in shape. The front pair of legs is
entirely black; the three remaining pairs
are black except for the femur, which
is yellow to red orange. The web is
strong, is built in open sun, and is re­
paired each night.
BANDED GARDEN SPIDER
The Banded Garden Spider is much
like the Black and Yellow Garden Spider.
The female is from three-fifths to four­
fifths inch long; the male only one-fifth
inch. There are many yellow, silver, and
black cross lines on the abdomen, which
is usually more pOinted than that of the
Black and Yellow Garden Spider, and
does not have the humps . The webs of the
two species are much alike, but the egg
S:lC of the Banded Garden Spider is en­
tirely different. It is shaped like a small
kettledrum or teacup with a lid.
SHAMROCK SPIDER
The Shamrock Spider is another that
builds a large, round web . The members
of this species do not always resemble
one another, but the 'majority of the fe­
males have a three-lobed spot resembling
a shamrock leaf. Sometimes this design
is not well outlined except in the young
individuals. The female is about one­
half inch, and the male ;tbout one-fifth
inch, in length. The color varies from
pale green, brown, or gray to purplish
red in the female, and is white or yellow
on the abdomen of the male. The egg sac,
although seldom found, is so translucent
that the mass of eggs can be seen through
it.
THE WOLF SPIDER shown on the
cover was photographed by E. L. Ander­
son, of the faculty of the Department of
Alt; the picture of the Jumping Spider
on page 14 was taken by Gary Mason,
student in the same department.
Do NOT FORGET TO RETURN the center
insert properly filled out, as soon as you
know what your 1957-58 address will be.
The 1957-58 mailing list will be made up
from these inserts .
Correction : in "Life in a Pond ," page 11 ,
spelling should be Potamogeton. as it is
on page 12.
0.
.
SLACK
WIDO
(LATRODECTUS
""~-
FEMALE ABDOr-.' E'
BLACK WI OC
Th e Black Widoll.; is ,- ­
ous spider; its bite is :;_1
may be intensely pain:
reason to fear the Black
of its secretive habits. It
human being except ill ­
female is about a h'li:
coal black, abdomen
red-orange or red m r.·'
or lower, side. In 1\: ...,
usually in the shapf> r. ~
in other parts of tht" ~
often of several eli
young female resem-·
having the same m•.
loses all but the h
older. The male ~ fourth inch in lell': much larger than ::­
addition , the abcl in the male than ~ four pairs of str:_ and white at the and white spot5 upper side of i1 <;- ~
an irregular ' glance by eOill'. found under s~ stumps, hole.s. T
The HO il'
1 .·~)
MALE
PALPI
MARKING~
~
~
SHAMROCK SPIOER
(IlI<ANEA TRIFOLIUM)
Q
OF THE MALE
BLACK
WIDOW
BLACK WIDOW
(LATROJ)[CTUJ MACTANJ)
FEMALE ABDOMEN (VENTRAL)
BLACK WIDOW
-pider is another that
- lUJld web. The members
do not always resemble
- . t the 'majority of the fe­
- t >e-lobed spot resembling
c .:. Sometimes this desian
.
0
.: ined except in the youn 0o·
_.
_. le female is about one­
. the male about one-fifth
;;h. The color varies from
I \\n, Or gray to purplish
Jomale, and is white or vellow
_en of the male. The egg sac,
. _- 'um found, is so translucent
of eggs can be seen throuah
b
LF SPIDER shown on the
_ hotographed by E. L. Ander­
~ f. culty of the Department of
_ ic-ture of the Jumping Spider
_-1 was taken by Gary Mason ,
the same department.
FORGET TO RETURN the center
"Perly filled out, as soon as you
_ t your 1957-58 address will be.
; - -58 mailing list will be made up
.,...~ mserts.
~
n: in "Life in a Pond," page II.
should be Potamogeton. as it i
1.2.
HOUSE SPIDER
(TH£RIOION TEPIOJRIORU"f}
ABDOMEN
FROM BEHIND
as it is sometimes called, is the most fa­
miliar of all spiders in Kansas. The fe­
male measures about one-fourth inch
long. The male is one-sixth inch long and
has a more slender abdomen and longer
legs. Some are lighter in color than others,
ranging from dirty white to almost black.
Jn the darker ones the abdomen has six
transverse dark marks curved upward and
connected by black spots at the ends.
Some have a conspicuous black and white
spot in the center of the abdomen. The
web is irregular and usually beneath some
protective object.
The Black Widow is our most poison­
ous spider; its bite is seldom fatal, but
may be intensely painful. There is no
reason to fear the Black Widow, because
of its secretive habits. It will not attack a
human being except in self-defense. The
fem,lle is about a half inch long bodv
coal black, abdomen black exc~pt f;r
red-orange or red mark on the ventral,
or lower, side. In Kansas, this mark is
usually in the shape of an hour glass, but
in other parts of the country the mark is
often of several different shapes . The
young female resembles a mature male,
having the same marking, but gradually
loses all but the hour glass as she gets
older. The male is usually about one­
fourth inch in length, but the legs are
much larger than those of the female. In
addition, the abdomen is more elongate
in the male than in the female, and has
four pairs of stripes, red in the middle
and white at the edges, and a row of red
and white spots along the mid line of the
upper side of the abdomen. The web is
an irregular mesh, recognizable at a
glance by coarseness of the thread, and
found under stones and pieces of wood ,
stumps, holes, and outbuildings.
FLOWER SPIDER
The Flower, Goldenrod, or Crab
Spider is often found on flowers. It is
one-third to one-half inch long, milk­
white or yellow, sometimes with a pink
band on each side of abdomen, and with
sides of thorax slightly darkened. The
male is one-eighth to one-sixth inch 10n1!,
with cephalothorax darker at sides and
abdomen marked with two dark marks
or lines of S))ots with a dark stripe on each
side. A change of color from white to
yellow may take place in late summer.
The egg sac, or cocoon, is protected by
a leaf folded over it and fastened with
silk.
HOUSE SPIDER
The H Oilse Spidel', or Domestic Spidel',
FILMY-DOME SPIDER
The Filmy-Dome Spider is one-sixth
14
tached? Is tile
If so, on w h:c
Hovv large b
sketches D
r take
different kind
(,~
~
FLOWE.R} OR
CRAB SPIDER
(MISUMEIVA VATIA)
FILMV-DOME SPIDER
(L I NVPHIA
inch long, yellowish brown with light
stripe on each side of cephalothorax. The
abdomen is yellowish white, marked with
d ark bands and stripes. The web is so
delicate that it is often unnoticed. In the
center of a maze of threads is a dome
from three to five inches in diameter,
under \vhich the spider hangs at rest. An
insect flying into the maze falls on the
dome. The spider pulls the in sect through
the dome and destroys it. These webs
are commonly seen in wooded areas and
around shaded streams.
MARGINATA)
JUMPING SPIDER
(PHIDIPPUS AUDA)()
.IurvlPING SPIDER
The Jumping Spider has a short body
,md stout legs. It is easily recognized by
its quick jumping habits and the eye ar­
r:mgement. The spider is black with many
long, white hairs, a white band on front
( or base) of abdomen, a triangular white
spot in the center of the abdomen with
two pairs of white lx~rs below the spot.
It is from one-third to one-half inch long.
It lives under rocks and other objects on
the ground.
THINGS To Do AND SEE
1. Look for spiders in as many
diHerent kinds of places as you can
think of-under stones, boards, and
trash, in grass and weeds, in flowers ,
on walls and windowsills , under
porches, in cellars and caves, in or
near webs, on dead plants, in the
grooves in the bark of trees, in
hurrows in the ground-and see
how many diHerent kinds of spider
homes you can find. Keep a record
of them.
2. Look for spiders' webs. \i\Tbat
shapes of wehs can you find? Is the
web smooth sheet or a network of
threads? To what is the web at­
her egg cu~­
spidel:-'''';md alone, in a ja­
and (l\\­ait surprised i
that hatch
one allot
this ; it is
of spider 6. F in
shaped \\­
out fro m -
~
15
JUMPING SPIDER
(PHIDIPPUS AUDAX)
'- \IPING SPIDEl{
ing Spider has a short body
= '. It is easily recognized by
ping habits and the eye al"­
The spider is black with many
, ollis, a white band on front
:. • bdomen, a triangular white
(",nter of the abdomen with
, white bars below the spot.
.~- third to one-half inch long.
r rocks and other objects on
-GS To Do AND SEE
. for spiders in as many
·'i:nds of places as you can
- " 1 del' stones, boards, and
:--ass and weeds, in flowers,
. d windowsills, under
cellars and caves, in or
. on dead plants, in the
n the bark of trees, in
:'n the ground-and see
djfferent kinds of spider
can find. Keep a record
for spiders' webs. What
" -ebs can you find? Is the
:h sheet Or a network of
. To what is the web at­
~
tached? Is the spider on the web?
If so, on what part of the web?
How large is the web? Make
sketches or take pictures of several
different kinds of webs.
3. Imprison a spider in a tumbler
or jar, and observe it carefully. Sup­
ply it with flies or other small in­
sects for food. Put the jar lid on
loosely, or cover the jar with a fine
screen or piece or cheesecloth, so as
to admit air. Put a few drops of
water in the jar. Some spiders re­
main alive indefinitely in such a
"cage." The species that get along
best are usually those that do not
build webs, such as the wolf spid­
ers.
4. Preserve, in a mixture of about
nine parts of 70 ~~ alcohol and one
part of formalin, with a small
amount of glycerin added, a collec­
tion of the common spiders of your
neighborhood. Each type of spider
can be put into an individual vial
or small bottle and labelled. Keep a
record, indicating where the spider
was found, the date, the time of
day, whether on a web or not, and
other information that might be in­
teresting later on.
5. If you can find a spider with
her egg case, or cocoon, put the
spider and the case, or the case
alone, in a jar such as noted above
and await results. You might be
surprised at the number of young
that hatch from a Single egg sac.
You might also be surprised to find
that the young spiders feed upon
one another. Don't worry about
this; it is normal for many species
of spiders to feed upon one another.
6. Find one of the large wheel­
shaped webs with spokes radiating
out from the center of the web.
Carefully touch one of the spokes
with the point of a pencil or a light
stick. Does the spoke stick to the
pencil and stretch as you pull the
pencil away? Touch one of the
circling lines. Does it stick? Are
some of the lines more elastic or
more sticky than others?
7. Look for a large web in the
garden or yard in a place where you
can sit down and watch comfort­
ably for some time. When an insect
becomes entangled in the web,
what does the spider do? Some
spiders remain at or near the cen­
ter of the web when at rest; others
hide in a "den" or "burrow" near
one edge of the web. How does
each type of spider discover the fact
that an insect has hit the net? If you
get tired of waiting for an insect to
hit the web, you might catch a suit­
able sized insect and toss it lightlv
against the web.
S. Find a spider in the act of
building a web. Where does it start?
How does it makes it first frame­
work? Does it start the spokes of
the wheel before the circling lines,
or after? Does it make all the radi­
ating $Ookes in order, or at random?
How does the spider keep the line
it is spinning free from the line it is
walking on? How does the spider
keep from getting entangled in its
own web?
9. After dark. usin(! a miner's
light Or a Rashlir-ht. look for spiders
in the !!arden, back yard, on the
lawn. or among weeds and brusll.
With some practice you can soon
netect the eves as tiny spots of re­
HAded li(J'ht. Does nip'ht collectiIw
yield 811V kinds of sniclers vou did
nnt flnd bv davtime collecting?
10. Try to find a spider burrow in
16
the lawn or garden. Carefully pour
water into the burrow without mud­
dying up the surrounding area.
Sometimes this brings out the
spider and, in the latter part of the
summer, the egg sac, or cocoon,
also. In fact , this is about the easiest
way to collect certain types of
spiders. The spiders that normallv
live in burrows are often the easiest
ones to keep alive in a schoolroom.
11. Trv to find information about
the economic uses of spiders. In
what ways are the\' beneficial? How
is spide; silk used? How is it ob­
tained? What is it worth per unit,
and in what units is the cost given?
REFERENCES
COMSTOCK,
JOHN
HENRY,
The Spider
Book, illus. , 729 p. , 1948, Comstock
Publishing Company, New York.
Webs in the Wind,
illus., 378 p., 1949, Ronald Press Co.,
New York.
EMElITON, JAMES H. , Common Spiders of
the United States, iIlus., 225 p., 1902,
Ginn & Company, Boston.
EMERTON, JAMES II., StructUFe and Hah­
its of Spiders, illus., 118 p., 1896, Ginn
& Company, Boston.
FABRE, J. HENRI, The Life of the Spider,
illus ., 378 p., 1912, Hodder & Strough­
ton, New York.
KASTON, BENJAMI:-I JULIA N, Hotl) to Know
the Spiders, illus., 220 p., 1953, W. C.
Brown Co., Dubuque, 10w,1.
DUNCAN, VVINIFRED,
THIS IS THE THIRD ISSUE OF The Kan­
sas School Nattlmlist produced by mem­
bers of the 1956 Workshop in Conser­
vation. The committee in charge consisted
of ~vfrs . Ida Mae Cook, Yoder, Kansas;
Evan Lindquist (who drew the pictures),
Emporia, Kansas ; and Mrs. Katie ~v1.
Hobinson, Cheney, Kansas. Previous is­
sues produced by the 1956 Workshop
were Hawks, Oct. 1956, and Life in a
Pond, Feb. 1957. The committee wishes
to thank Dr. Henry S. Fitch, of the Uni­
versity of Kansas Natural History Reser­
vation, for reading the manuscript of this
issue and for several corrections and con­
structive suggestions.
1957 WORKSHOP
IN CONSERV ATION
First Se::tion-Three Weeks
June 3 to June 21, 1957
Credit-three semester hours
Graduate or Undergradu::te
Geography and climate of Kan­
sas, soil erosion and conservation
practi:es, water resources, grass
as a resource, wildlife conserva­
tion, bird banding in Kansas, the
schoolyard as a conservation lab­
oratory, l;onservation of wild­
flowers, tield trips, discussion
groups, projects.
Se:ond Session-Three Weeks
June 24 to July 12, 1957
Credit-I, 2, or 3 hours for 1, 2,
or 3 weeks
This section will be devoted to
production of a suggested guide
for teaching conservation in the
elementary grades. Through the
cooperation of the Kansas Associ­
ation for Wildlife and the Na­
tional Wildlife Federation, sev­
eral $100 scholarships are avail­
:,ble. For admission to the work­
shop or for information concern­
ing scholarships, write the direc­
tor, John Breukelman, State
Tea~hers College, Emporia, Kan­
sas.
FOR COMPARISON WITH our recent
"Hawks in Kansas" issue, you might look
up "The Farmer's Best Friend" in the
April, 1957, issue of Nature Magazine. This
is an a:·ticle about the barn owl, " Nature's
efficient rat-trap."