THE GARDEN-SPIDER. 



509 



objects around. Sometimes the guy ropes are so strong, and their elasticity so great, thai 

 they actually draw the net out of its flat horizontal direction, and make it swell into a very 

 shallow dome. 



The structure of the web is rather loose, and the fibres are necessarily very slender, but is 

 yet strong enough to arrest and detain tolerably large insects. The spider generally remains 

 near the middle of and below the web, and, as soon as a 

 passing insect becomes entangled in the treacherous meshes, 

 the spider runs nimbly to the spot, wounds the insect 

 through the web, and so kills it. The next move is to bite a 

 hole in 'the web, pull the dead insect through, and then to 

 suck the juices from its body. 



The curious spider seen in the illustration is called the 

 TetragnatJia. In this spider the jaws are very large, long, 

 widened towards their tips, and diverging from each other. 

 The eyes are nearly of the same size, and are arranged in 

 two regular lines, nearly parallel to each other. The web 

 which this creature spins is vertical, like that of the garden- 

 spider. 



WE now arrive at the Epeiridse, a family containing 

 some of the strangest members of the spider race. The best 

 known of this family is the common GARDEN-SPIDER, some- 

 times called the CROSS-SPIDER, from the marks upon its 

 abdomen. It is illustrated in the accompanying illustration. 

 This is thought to be the best typical example of all the MALK OF THE TBTRAGNATHON.-TWIW 



.. , . ., titit/iiui extents. Above the position of the 



Arachnidse. It is found in great numbers in gardens, eyes are seen from behind, (.Magnified.) 



stretching its beautiful webs perpendicularly from branch 



to branch, and remaining in the centre with its head downwards, waiting for its prey. This 



attitude is tolerably universal among spiders ; and it is rather curious that the Arachnidse 



should reverse the usual order of things, and assume an inverted position when they desire to 



repose. 



The web of this spider is composed of two different kinds of threads, the radiating and 



supporting threads being strong and of simple texture. But the fine spiral thread which 

 b divides the web into a series of steps, decreasing in breadth toward* 



the centre, is studded with a vast amount of little globules, which 

 give to the web its peculiar adhesiveness. These globules are too 

 small to be perceptible to the unassisted eye, but by the aid of a 

 microscope they may be examined without difficulty. In an ordinary 

 web, such as is usually seen in gardens, there will be about eighty- 

 seven thousand of these globules, and yet the web can be completed 

 in less than three-quarters of an hour. The globules are loosely 

 strung upon the lines, and when they are rubbed off, the thread is no 

 longer adhesive. 



Many interesting circumstances can be narrated of this spider, 

 but our space will not permit of more than a brief description. 

 Several species of Epeira are inhabitants of England, and have differ- 

 ent habits. The following account of an Epeira and its web is given 

 by the Rev. D. Landsborough, in his "Excursions to Arran" : 



. - , . 



As he was rather a gigantic spider, his tent, instead of being 

 on the ground, was elevated, like the house of a giant of whom in 



early life we have all read. It was built on the tops of the common grass, Holcu-s lanatus, 

 more than a foot above the ground. Had he built his house on the top of one stalk of grass, 

 the house and its inhabitant might have borne down a single slender stalk. But he had con- 

 trived to bring together several heads whose roots stood apart, and, with cordage which he 



a, FEMALE OF THE CBOSS- 



The eyes as seen from the 

 front. (Magnified.) 



