Maternal Devotion of Spiders

Abstract

ON removing some virgin cork from the wall of a conservatory a short time ago, I was much struck with the way in which a small black female spider clung to her two egg-bags, despite the fact that the piece of cork to which she was clinging had been thrown roughly to the ground. When the cork was about to be replaced on the wall, it became necessary to turn the spider adrift, in order to prevent her being crushed. But although the cork was shaken, she declined to budge, and retained a tight hold upon her precious bags. Knowing how fully alive to danger the spider race is in general, I thought that this remarkable instance of devotion to maternal promptings on the part of a naturally sensitive creature ought not to be disregarded. I accordingly removed the mother very carefully, and placed her on some rockwork, where I noticed she seemed to be very uneasy, moving restlessly about as if searching for something. I then took the egg-bags and placed them beside her. As I expected, she seemingly failed to recognize them, or at least manifested a repugnance to them, and ran away for a little distance. Subsequently, however, she returned, and proceeded to examine the bags with scrupulous care by means of her palpi; and evidently satisfied with this scrutiny that they were really her own cherished property, she commenced o spin a web about them to secure them in their place.