Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CXI · Topic 18: Daddy-longlegs and spiders
111. The funnel web
Goal: Your child can find a grass spider's funnel web on a dewy morning and explain how the funnel works as a hiding place and a back door.
You'll need
- A lawn, hedge or low shrubs on a dewy late-summer morning
- A spray bottle of water (for dry mornings)
- A long grass stem
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
What's in the book
Comstock's story of the funnel web, with a line about "dew-bright webs" in roadside fields: a broad sheet with a narrow tube at one side, where the spider hides and from which it escapes by a rear exit. Then Lesson CXI's leading thought, method and six questions.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Late summer and early fall, early in the morning when dew makes the webs shine. Look on lawns, along hedges and in low shrubs. If it is dry, mist a web gently with the spray bottle.
Safety first
Spider safety: never pick up a spider you don't know. Look with a hand lens from a few inches away, touch webs only with a grass stem or a pencil, and never reach into a dark corner, woodpile or shed where you can't see.
Grass spiders are harmless to people, but never poke a finger into the funnel.
Keep the big idea in mind
Comstock's "leading thought" is the one idea the lesson is meant to lead to. Read it to yourself now, and save it to share at the end, after your child has looked and answered:
The grass spider spins funnel-shaped webs in the grass to entrap the insects of the field. This web has a back door.
The shape
What is the general shape of the web? Is there a tunnel leading down from it? Why is it called a funnel web?
Of what use is the funnel tube, and what is its shape? Where does it lead, and of what use is it to the spider?
How it's built
How is the web made? Is there any regularity in the position of the threads that make it? How is it stayed in place?
What insects become entangled in this web?
A gentle test
Touch the web lightly, and note how the spider acts? Jar the web roughly, and what does the spider do?
Use the tip of the grass stem, and touch only the edge of the sheet.
Nature notebook
Draw the web from the side, like a trumpet lying down, with the spider in the narrow end and the back door marked. Read the leading thought aloud.
Afterwards
Comstock's last question: "Compare this web with similar funnel webs found in corners of cellars, sheds or piazzas, and see if you think the same kind of spider made both." Look, but don't reach in.