OF WASHINGTON. 191 



ON GOSSAMER SPIDERS' WEB. 

 By L. O. HOWARD. 



It will be remembered that at the meeting of this Society held 

 November 3, 1892, Dr. George Marx presented a paper with the 

 title " On Spiders' Web," the text of which was the receipt of a 

 curious substance, from one locality in California and one in 

 Florida, which had rained down over a considerable section of 

 the country during rain-storms. Dr. Marx concluded, after a 

 careful chemical and microscopical examination, that this sub 

 stance was composed of the massed-together strands of gossamer 

 spiders' web. 



Since that date I have received further samples of this same 

 substance, which was collected during the same 1892 storm at 

 Gainesville, Fla., and within the past few weeks have been in 

 correspondence with Mr. J. B. Lembert, of Yosemite, Calif., 

 about a phenomenon which he has described to me at great 

 length, and which throws some light on the subject of Dr. Marx's 

 communication. 



It seems that in the Yosemite Valley, over the crest of the 

 southern wall, there is a series of arches of silken substance 

 which Mr. Lembert shows is spiders' web.* These arches are 

 of yearly occurrence. The most noticeable are two, one over 

 the Bridal Veil Fall, is fully one-third of a mile in width and 

 about twelve hundred feet in height and reaches from the Leaning 

 Tower on the west side across in a graceful arch to the east side, 

 and is fastened there to the brush, shrubs, and trees that surmount 

 the top of the Three Graces. The second extends over the gorge 

 between Sentinel Rock on the west side and the ridge on the east 

 side over which the Glacier Point trail is built. At this point all 

 the shrubs, bushes, and trees are webbed about in such a manner 

 that the trunks of the largest trees are but faint shadows, while 

 limbs and foliage resemble a glistening mass of crystal. In the 

 midst of this mass are bunches of rolled-up web that are as white 

 as cotton and quite thick. When the mass is disturbed by a 

 gentle breeze it moves throughout its entire length with a graceful, 

 undulating motion. It is four thousand feet above the floor of 

 the valley and fully a mile wide at its base. Mr. Lembert shows 

 that the wind which sweeps up the gorge is an important factor 

 in this arch- work. When the spider launches out on his gossa 

 mer thread he is carried upwards until the current has lost its 



* The only specimen which Mr. Lembert has sent on as probably being 

 concerned in the construction of this web is a species of Pardosa, but pos 

 sibly many species are concerned in the work. 



