264 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 



after the morning is well advanced, or after the snare has been broken by 

 the struggles of a large insect. The spider runs out upon her radial lines, 

 and with great rapidity cuts here and there the supporting threads, gath- 

 ering with a quick motion of her feet the various parts underneath her 

 body and balling them around the mouth. Thence she runs back to the 

 hub, whence she approaches another part of the w^eb, as she moves clip- 

 ping the segments and rolling the parts together with her feet. Her ac- 

 tion is facilitated by the fact that when the supporting radii are cut the 

 interradials collapse, and, by reason of the viscidity of the beads, mass 

 together in a lump. This the spider seizes, condenses by a deft and rapid 

 action of her feet, adds it to the little ball already gathered, then runs 

 along a line which she is always careful to preserve, to a main foundation 

 line leading to her shelter or nest, and settling herself imbibes the juices 

 of her morsel at her leisure. 



An English observer records a note which indicates that certain tube- 

 weaving spiders consume their snares in winter time. A species of Aga- 



lena or Tegenaria was kept during the summer abundantly fed, 

 Ag-al^a -^g energy and excessive nutrition being largely consumed in in- 

 Sheet creasing its web, adding layer to layer, one upon another, in 



texture almost as close as tissue paper. When the winter came 

 and flies disappeared, the observer expected his pet to hibernate or become 

 torpid. On the contrary, however, it seemed to be as active as ever in mid- 

 winter. It was then noticed that certain curious holes appeared in the 

 web, which looked as if it had been cut away with some sharp instrument, 

 and it kept on going and going, until altogether six or seven superficial 

 inches of this paper like web had been devoured. The spider did not 

 thrive on this food, and became very thin. It lived, however, until the 

 following summer, and once more grew fat on abundance of flies. ^ 



V. 



The capture of food is always more or less disastrous to the snare of 

 the Orbweaver, as may be easily seen by a study of the various figures rep- 

 resenting that action. The insects themselves in their struggles thoroughly 

 twist up the whole viscid section upon which they are caught, and thus 



throw it into a confused tangle of merged, crossed, and diverg- 

 Wearandjj-^g lines, which extend in every direction. If the insect is a 

 Snares ^®^^ large one, the amount of breakage is much greater. So 



also when the spider runs from her den or hub to seize the insect, 

 her own action in swathing her prey increases the confusion of the lines. 

 Frequently she is compelled to cut out the radii and portions of the spiral 

 space in order to accomplish her capture ; and after the insect is swathed 

 a further damage frequently occurs by the act of the spider in cutting out 



^ Gilbert R. Redgrave, "Science Gossip," 1872, page 140. 



