WEB OF THE THOMISUS. 



501 



compared with those of the female, all courtship is conducted under the most unexpected 

 difficulties. A male in love is equally a male in a fright, for if his addresses are not received 

 favorably, he runs a great chance of being eaten on the spot. And even when he has not been 

 repulsed, he still stands in great danger ; for many of the Arachnidan beauties are as cruelly 

 deceitful as the enchantress of the "Arabian Nights," and kill their lovers ruthlessly as soon 

 as they have granted their prayers. So, as Alphonse Karr well remarks, the stereotyped 

 exclamation of "Love me, or I die ! " is by no means a metaphor, but a simple enunciation 

 of a fact. 



When Spiders of nearly equal powers fight with each other, the battle rages vehemently, 

 and if the weaker can escape with life, it is sure to have lost several of its limbs. As with the 

 crustaceans, however, the deprivation is only temporary, for the severed members are repro- 

 duced ; and though they hardly seem to attain the same dimensions as the original limbs, are 

 yet to a degree serviceable. 



The Spiders belonging to the genus Thomisus are, like the hunting-spiders, dependent 

 for their subsistence on 

 their bodily powers and 

 activity. Some, which 

 are rather slow of limb, 

 are in the habit of con- 

 cealing themselves un- 

 der leaves or in crevices, 

 and thence pouncing 

 suddenly on the insects 

 that venture too near 

 the treacherous pre- 

 cincts, but the gener- 

 ality are active creat- 

 ures, running about 

 swiftly, and much re- 

 sembling the saltici in 

 their movements. Some- 

 times these creatures 



are popularly called Crab-spiders, because they can move in any direction without needing to 

 turn their bodies. 



Fig. A of the accompanying illustration shows one of the common species of Thomisus. 

 It is mostly found on the ground, or lurking among the foliage of old pasture-land. In its 

 color, and indeed in its whole appearance, it is singularly variable, and exhibits so many 

 differences that the simple varieties have been treated by several zoologists as distinct 

 species. 



This is one of the many species which, when young, is accustomed to take aerial excur- 

 sions, and to form that delicate substance popularly known as "gossamer." There is no 

 gossamer spider, as is generally supposed, but many species are in the habit of spinning long 

 loose threads and allowing themselves to be wafted into the air. Lycosse are very fond of the 

 same curious habit. Sometimes these gossamer webs, each with its minute aeronaut, may be 

 seen floating by thousands in the air, glittering with iridescent light as the morning sun- 

 beams fall on them, and covering the fields with their pearl-strung threads as far as the 

 eye can reach. 



The whole question of the spider's web is very curious and interesting ; and although our 

 fast waning space will not permit of a full description, a few lines must still be granted 

 to these beautiful structures. 



The web is produced primarily from a fluid contained within the body of the spider, and 

 secreted within certain glands, varying in number and dimensions according to the species. 

 Like the thread of the silkworm, this substance becomes hard on exposure to the atmos- 

 phere, and is drawn out through tubes of exceeding minuteness. In the silkworm, these 



A. Tk&ml*us t-ristAtw. 

 E. Arkys lander. 



C. TMmievt cambridgii. 



B. TMmisw dtreus, (Female. 

 D. Thiminu cUreue. (Male.) 



