My contact with spiders continued as I studied Biology in my high school. A zoology project required us to build a portfolio of dead insects, with documentation showing their scientific name, habitat, and behaviors. I had already collected a butterfly, cockroach, a few varieties of ants, and caterpillar. Now I wanted a prized centerpiece, the dazzling spider. As I had seen several of my spider friends in our backyard, I decided to kill one of them in the name of science. I could not squash him with a stone, as that would only leave a mush. I have to kill him in such a way that his whole body, with the shining skin and thin long legs, is intact. A brilliant idea came to my mind. I would grab him with my aquarium fishnet and drown him in a bucket of well water. Then I would take him out of the net and dry him in the sun ready for my insect display box. I picked up my green fishing net and an aluminum bucket. I went back to the backyard well. Using the rope and pulley system we had to draw water from our well, I filled up the aluminum bucket with water. Then my hunt began.
I quickly swung the net over him, caught him in the net, and immediately dunked him into the bucket of water. I kept the net face down so that he cannot escape out of the immersed net. As I waited for him to die, nature taught me yet another lesson in life. These garden spiders live through rain and occasional flood. Spiders can stay alive underwater for hours. If they can grab a stick or a branch, they can crawl back up to surface and resume their lives. I tried to drown him for ten minutes, twenty minutes, and then a few hours, but he would not die. As I failed miserably in this effort and wasted my time, I thought why not suffocate him with toxic fumes. I had some chemicals that I brought home from my chemistry lab that reacts with water and release fumes. I took an empty bottle and dumped the chemicals and a few drops of water. Soon the fumes occupied the entire bottle. I dropped him into the bottle of fumes and saw him vanish in a cloud of white smoke. I closed the lid and waited for him to die of suffocation.
After a few hours, the fumes subsided. I could see him clearly through the glass. To my utter astonishment, he was alive and kicking inside. I realized that there is no way for me to kill him without destroying his body. He survived two attempts at his life and I said to myself that this is not his day and I am not going to have a spider in my insect collection. I released him back into his half-broken web as I had destroyed a part of his web when I caught him with the net. Now I need to find another insect for replacement.
The next day as I was roaming the backyard hunting for another insect that I can capture, I saw his web empty and the broken sections remained. He has not fixed his home back to perfection. I wondered what happened as I watched the hanging strings swaying back and forth in the gentle wind. My mind e leaves of the mango tree and hit this shining object on the ground. I gently bent down and there I saw my friend, the beautiful spider, dead and lying motionless among the dry leaves of the bush plant that hosted his home. He looked like a tiny furry ball with his long legs pulled inward towards his body. My heart felt heavy as if I lost a dear friend. I felt guilty that I may have been the reason for his death. Without my friend to weave back his web, even a gentle breeze would break his home apart. A quick monsoon shower would then wipe out the fragments and he would be lost forever.
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