30 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 



own habits in their own way ; or if he wdsh, he may deposit all those of 

 one species upon certain parts of the ground, in which case they will be 

 very sure to permanently colonize. In this manner the most 

 Natural ii^teresting species of an entire neighborhood or district may, in 

 pi ery. ^^^^ course of a couple of years, be so thoroughly domesticated 

 upon a small space that observation of habits wdll be greatly facilitated. 



There are many other points of practical value which might be men- 

 tioned, but, as a matter of fact, the collector's experience wdll soon show 

 him what is the best thing to do. A few failures in capturing prizes 

 will teach caution, and successes will in like manner show the best way 

 of procedure. Caution is always necessary. While looking for spiders one 

 needs to move with his eyes thrown well in advance, and to be careful 

 to disturb as little as possible the bushes and surrounding shrubbery, 

 upon which the greatest prizes may be domiciled and may be lost by 

 careless or too rapid approach. 



In searching for spiders, one should take such a position toward the 



sun as to enable the light to fall upon the webs in the direction towards 



which he is moving. Frequently the head should be turned to 



ow o ^^^^ g.^^ ^^^^ lowered towards the ground in order to catch the 

 See Webs. , . ^ . . . , . *= . -, ^ ^ ^ 



sheen of the spmnmgwork hanging m secluded places, or even 



in quite open places. A soft black hat or something that will be a good 

 substitute therefor, is a necessary part of the spider collector's outfit. 

 Placed behind a web, it brings out all its white lines clearly, and one can 

 thus study the structure with greater ease. 



As a rule the evening is the best time to observe the netmaking 

 habits, and, indeed, many other habits of the spider fauna. Some species 

 begin to spin early in the evening, as early as four or five o'clock. 

 „. , Others are rarely found abroad until a later hour. These actions, 

 however, are always more or less conditioned by the weather. 

 During the night spiders are nearly always out upon their webs, and by 

 means of a lantern one can make good collections and observations after 

 nightfall. A dewy morning is perhaps the best time of all for finding 

 webs. Provided with a stout pair of shoes or rubber boots, one may 

 tramp through the dew laden fields of a summer morning, and find 

 myriads of webs, great and small, of all species, hanging from every })art 

 of buslies, trees, grasses, weeds, and even spread in great multitudes upon 

 the fresh soil of an upturned field. At such times the Orbweavers will 

 not always be found upon their webs, at least certain species of them can- 

 not conveniently be out, but the character of the webs can thus 

 Local^^ 1><^' readily perceived, and the habitat of the spider known. Little 

 ties. ^''^'^ ^^ paper should be carried in the satchel, and they may be 



fastened ui)on twigs in the neighborhood of the webs which thus 

 are well located. A little slit in Ihe centre of the patch of i)aper, thrust 

 over a forked Iwig, will stay for many days, and will at once mark the 



