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I'm An Underwater Wonder!
Argyoneta Aquatica (Diving Spider)
You aren't likely to see much of me, because I spend most of my life
under water.
Besides, I'm very small, only about 10 mm (less than half an inch).
But I think I'm pretty special, thanks to my very wonderful Designer. Let me tell you a little
about myself, and see if you don't think so, too!
What makes me so special? Aren't there a lot of creatures that
live under water? You are right, but most have a mechanism such as gills to take air
from the water. I breathe air, just like you do, and I doubt that you have built many
underwater houses. You think I'm not supposed to live underwater? Well, I'll have to
tell you that it's just right for me. Yes, I actually live, eat, and raise my family
under water.
Why? All I can say is, my Creator designed me this way.
Let me explain. I'll begin with my house. I live in a very
comfortable, well-ventilated underwater house. Do I shop for my house? No, I build my own,
every inch of it. I even make my own materials. And I provide my own special ventilating
system. You don't understand?
I begin by spinning a web and attaching it firmly to the stems
of some plants that grow in the shallow waters near the edge of a pond. That's standard
stuff for a spider, only mine is under the surface of the water. Then I keep spinning,
until I have a little sheet of thick silk. I attach the corners of the sheet to my web
and to the stems and leaves of the water plants in such a way that it forms a canopy,
or bubble, just below the surface of the water.
There I have it—my very own under water “diving bell,” just
right for me and my family to live in.
My next task is to get ventilation into my home because,
after all, I do breathe air.
How do I ventilate my house? Here I have to say my Creator was
thinking before I came along. He designed me with very special long, fine hairs on my
back legs that are able to attach air to my body. Sound impossible? Not for me! I
simply go to the surface of the water, lie on my back, with my legs just above the
surface of the water and "catch" the air on the hairs on my legs and body. Then I
return to my house and use my legs to release the air into my diving bell. I do
this again and again, until my diving bell is filled with air.
Yes, it works! You don't understand the process?
I won't try to explain—you'll never be able to duplicate it anyway!
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