240 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 



grains for one ten and a half inches long, and fifty-one grains for one 

 eleven and a half inches long.^ The two together weigh less than a 



quarter of an ounce ! Thus, a web of the Medicinal spider will 

 „ sustain with perfect ease the weight of four such snakes, will 



* even support six or seven readily, and will not break until 

 the weight of eight snakes, each larger than the Batavia specimen, has 

 been placed upon it. So far, therefore, the account is wliolly probable. ^ 

 The mechanical torsion caused by the struggles of the serpent would 

 of course add to the natural effect of gravity, but would probably not 

 counterbalance the excess of resistance in the web as here shown. The 

 simple statement that a snake was suspended in a spider's web appeals 

 to ideas and associations that produce at once wonder and unbelief. A 

 snake? — that is a huge object! A spider's web? — that is a very frail 

 thing I In point of fact, however, when the test of weights and meas- 

 ures is applied, our notions on both these points may easily be reversed ; 

 for some snakes are certainly very slight creatures, and certainly some 

 spider snares have much strength. 



The above incident does not stand alone. The late Dr. Asa Fitch, 

 well known as an American entomologist, published an account of the 



entanglement and elevation of a snake, resulting in its death. 

 Therid- r^i^^ heroine of this adventure was also a New York spider, 

 j^ resident in the village of Havana, Chemung County, N. Y. 



Snake ^^^® ^^ described as "the common house spider;" "an ordinary 



looking spider of a dark color, its body not larger than a 

 common house fly." Tliese are such indefinite terms that they give 

 little clue to the scientific name of the animal, and can hardly be ex- 

 cused as coining from a trained entomologist. However, several details 

 are noted in the narrative which give good circumstantial evidence that 

 some species of Theridium is meant, very probably our common Therid- 

 ium tepidariorum . ^ 



This spider had woven its snare beneath the counter of a village store. 

 A " common silk snake " about a foot long, which had been probably 



brouglit into the store in a cj^uantity of sawdust, took up its 

 The Ser- residence on the floor underneath, two or three spans distant 

 Lass d ^^"^^^^ ^^^® spider's snare. When first seen the spider liad placed 



a loop around the serpent's neck, from the top of which a 

 single thread was carried and attached to the under side of the shelf, 

 whereby the head of the serpent was drawn u[) about two inches from 



^ Determined fruiii alcoholic specimens in the collection of the rhiladelpliia Academy of 

 Natural >St;iences. 



^ The ditferenee of weight between an alcoiiolic and living' specimen is considered )iy 

 Dr. Leidy so small that it need scai-cely be estimated. 



''The account is taken from the Annual of Scicntillc i)iscovery. ISdL', page 834. Tlie 

 oriji'inal record is not (|uoted. 



