66 The Structure and Habits of Spiders. 



The web of Nephila plumipes, described by 

 Wilder, consists also of loops running round 

 about quarter of a circle, Fig. 30 ; and in this 

 web the smooth cross-lines which are first 

 spun are not removed, but remain after it is 

 finished. Fig. 31 shows part of one side of a 

 web ; the arrows marking the smooth thread, 

 and the direction in which it was spun. 



«ss«ss$^^ss^^s^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 



Fig. 30. 



Argiope, the large black and yellow autumn 

 spiders, cross the middle of the web with a zig- 

 zag band of white silk, which, as the web is 

 obliquely hung, partly conceals the spider under 



