Andrea Bardugone, aged 10, of Monroe, Conn. for her question:

What is the biggest kind of spider?

There are spiders big enough to devour small birds. These big fellows are the tarantulas, Their homes are in the tropical forests of South America. They live in the hot damp jungle trees. One of these tarantulas has a leg‑spread of over eight inches. One of his cousins has a body about eight inches long ‑ though his legs are not so large.

Some of the really big spiders are burrowers. They may be almost as big as the tarantulas. These fellows live in tunnels lined with the softest silk ‑ which is spider thread.

We tend to think of the terrifying tarantula as a mortal f oe, True, he can bite and inflict a poisonous wound. All spiders can and will bite if they consider it necessary. Though only the larger ones can pierce the human skin. All have poison glands which they use to control their prey. The real danger, however, from a tarantula bite is from out‑side infection. Poisonous bacteria may invade the broken skin and cause a fatal wound, But this has also been known to happen from a pin prick. Actually, spiders, including the tarantulas, are our friends. Every year they devour thousands of tons of our enemies the flies.