Lesson CXV

The White Crab-spider

Leading thought—1. The white crab spider has markings upon its body of the same color as the flower in which it rests and is thus enabled to hide in ambush out of the sight of its victims—the insects which come to the flower for nectar.

Method—Ask the children to bring one of these spiders to school in the flower in which it was found; note how inconspicuous it is, and arouse an interest in the different colors which these spiders assume in different flowers.

Observations—1. What is the shape of the body of the crab-spider? Which of the legs are the longest? Are these legs directed forward or backward?

2. How is the body marked? What colors do you find upon it? Are the colors the same in the spiders found in the trilliums, as those in other flowers? Why is this? Do you think that the color of the spider keeps it from being seen?

3. Place the white spider which you may find in a trillium in a daffodil, and note if the color changes.

4. Do the crab-spiders make webs? How do they trap their prey?