The Life of the Spider 



Will the Spider dare? Not immedi- 

 ately. Motionless in the centre of her net, 

 she consults her strength before attacking the 

 formidable quarry; she waits until the strug- 

 gling prey has its claws more thickly en- 

 tangled. At last, she approaches. The 

 Mantis curls her belly; lifts her wings like 

 vertical sails; opens her saw-toothed arm- 

 pieces; in short, adopts the spectral attitude 

 which she employs when delivering battle. 



The Spider disregards these menaces. 

 Spreading wide her spinnerets, she pumps out 

 sheets of silk which the hind-legs draw out, 

 expand and fling without stint in alternate 

 armfuls. Under this shower of threads, the 

 Mantis' terrible saws, the lethal legs, quickly 

 disappear from sight, as do the wings, still 

 erected in the spectral posture. 



Meanwhile, the swathed one gives sudden 

 jerks, which make the Spider fall out of her 

 web. The accident is provided for. A 

 safety-cord, emitted at the same instant by 

 the spinnerets, keeps the Epeira hanging, 

 swinging in space. When calm is restored, 

 she packs her cord and climbs up again. 

 The heavy paunch and the hind-legs are now 

 bound. The flow slackens, the silk comes 



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