In the children's rhyme a spider frightened Miss Muffet away.  She would have every reason to be scared if the spider happened to be a brown recluse spider.  Its bite seriously threatened the life of Dr. Billy Graham just before he was to visit McMaster University in the nineteen eighties. 
But in most cases Miss Muffet should welcome the spider, because it controls many other insects.  If you were to compare the total weight of the billions of people on earth with the total weight of insects spiders eat every year, scientist claim the spiders would win!

Several species of spiders have been bred in China as replacement for insecticides to control crop-eating insects.  Scientists are now attempting to extract substances from the venom of the Australian Funnel Web spider to produce an insecticide harmless to mammals but deadly to many insects.

Some spiders have innovative ways of catching their prey.  Tropical banana spiders use a scent to lure cockroaches into their clutches.  Bolas spiders emit an odour that resembles a female moth's sex attractant as bait.

One species of Central American spider puts two of its front legs over its head to look like ant antennae.  In this disguise, it sneaks into an ant nest and gorges on an unlimited supply of food.

So next time you see a spider, relax, and leave it to catch some less friendly insects.

MOVING BEYOND MATTER
by Christopher Shennan 

The folklore surrounding spiders can blind us to some of the positive benefits they can bring us.  Sure, some species are deadly to humans, but only when they are threatened.  The potential of some species to replace harmful insecticides should alert us to the potential positive benefits of spiders.  In the future we may well be looking to the spider to save us from our own poisoning of the planet.

In this respect we could learn a valuable lesson.  Consider how gossip, or bad press, has poisoned our minds against some people, as it has against the spider.  Celebrities, or even a neighbour may have acquired a bad reputation.  Even if deserved, it would be wise to look behind the media hype, or the gossip-monger's malicious attitude, to discover the real person behind all the talk.  

If you have ever been misjudged, you know how painful snap judgments and snide remarks can be.  They are usually made without full knowledge of your motives or circumstances.

So, when the destructive forces of gossip and innuendo are in full swing, take a moment to consider the feelings of those being targeted.  You may find yourself providing healing to the victims, rather than adding fuel to the flames of gossip.

It is a fact of life that we can either be a part of the problem, or a part of the solution.  It is a choice we all have to make.

Gossip, even when based on truth, almost never represents the whole truth.  An extenuating circumstance has been left out; the source of the gossip may be questionable; a mitigating fact may not be known.  If we merely repeat gossip, or add to it, we become part of a growing problem.  If we quench the fire of gossip, try to verify the facts, and get close to the victim, we become part of the solution. Most people who do wrong things know they are wrong.  What they often don't know, is how to change their behaviour.

When you hear someone's character being assassinated, their reputation destroyed, what kind of reaction will you display?  Will you become part of the problem, or part of the solution?