Alan Lewis, age 10, of Portland, Iiaine, for his question:

How many babies does a spider have?

There are at least 30,000 different spiders, and most likely more. Some are as small as a pinhead, others are bigger than your fist. All of them lay eggs, and usually the number of eggs depends on the size of the mother spider. A midget cave dwelling spider lays only one egg at a time. Some of the giant species lay 2,000 eggs at a time. The ordinary house spider is an average sized species, and she lays about 100 eggs at a time.

Most of the six legged insects lay numerous eggs and then desert them. But the eight legged spiders arrange their little round eggs in clusters and weave blankets of silken thread around them. Some species hang their egg sacs in webs. In other species, the mother carries her egg sac around until the spiderlings hatch and come forth. When the eggs are laid,in the fall, the eggs hatch during the cold weather. But the spiderlings stay inside their cozy nest until spring.