Page 50 - Magnificence Everywhere

THE DIVING TECHNIQUE OF
BELL SPIDERS

The water spiders living in the warm regions of Asia and Europe spend most of
their lives underwater because they make their nests under the water.
For the construction of its nest, the spider first establishes a platform with webs
among water plants or leaves. It attaches this platform to nearby plant stems with
silk threads. These threads serve as a signal showing him his nest, as a tie stabilizing
the platform and as a "radar" system informing him of any approaching prey.
After building the platform, the spider carries air bubbles under it using its legs
and body. Thus the web blows upward and, as more air is added, takes on a bell-
like shape. This bell is the nest in which the spider takes shelter as long as it is under
the water. (picture at bottom left)
By day, the spider waits in the nest. When a small animal passes nearby, espe-
cially an insect or larva, he rushes out to catch it and take it to its nest to eat it. An in-
sect falling onto the water causes vibrations. Feeling these vibrations, the spider
goes out, takes the insect and carries it under the water. The spider uses the surface
of the water as if it were a web. The situation of an insect falling onto the water is no
different from that of any other prey caught in a web.
As winter approaches, the spider needs to take precautions to protect itself from
freezing. For this reason, the water spider goes deeper into the pond. This time, it
builds a bell for winter and fills it with air. Some spiders settle in the shell of a sea
snail that they find in the depths. It remains motionless in the bell and consumes al-
most no energy during the passage of winter. It does these things so as not to lose
energy and to minimize the need for oxygen. By means of these precautionary mea-
sures, the oxygen in the air bubble it carried to the nest suffices throughout the 4-5
months that the spider stays there in the winter. 7
It is evident that the spider's hunting technique and the bubble it fashions have
been designed in the most ideal way for it to live under the water. It is doubtless im-
possible for a creature that lives on the land to find a way to live under the water by
chance. If this creature did not possess the necessary attributes for living under the
Magnificence Everywhere so, along with all its characteristics, all at once.
water, it would die as soon as it entered the water. Therefore, Allah created a land
creature, which can live under the water by virtue of having the proper skills to do

By creating such matchless examples as the water spiders, Allah introduces us to
His endless knowledge and wisdom.

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