| The Australian Wonder Book of Knowledge - [Home] |
Riddle of the St. Andrew's Cross Queen of Spinners |
Trap-Door SpidersMany of the Mygalomorph spiders are popularly referred to as trap-door spiders because of their habit of constructing circular, hinged lids of silk and soil-grains with which to close the en-trance to their burrows. These doors are of various types—a thin, rather flimsy disc which lies flat upon the surface of the soil; a thicker and more stoutly formed structure which fits closely into the rim of the entrance hole; and —masterpiece of doors—a heavy silken disc weighted with sand included in its fabric, with a beautifully bevelled edge, which slams into place when closed ; Should an enemy attempt to enter the burrow while the householder is at home, she effectively bars the door by hooking her fore-claws into the rim of the trap-door and her hind-claws into the wall of the tunnel. Typical of these spiders is Blakistonia aurea, abundant in South Australia and western New South Wales. Despite all their precautions, these spiders frequently fall victims to the hunting activities of the large sand wasps (Pornpilidae), which boldly enter the burrows to overpower and sting them, and bear their paralysed bodies away to their own subterranean nests to serve as food for their larvae. And here it should be remembered that some species of wolf spiders' (Lycosa) also make unhinged disc-like lids to their tunnels.
|
| Wonder Book of Knowledge |