The Life of the Spider 



few sips at it, and resumes her spiral at the 

 point where she interrupted it to attack the 

 Moth. The torn part remains as it is. The 

 machine-shuttle in our looms does not revert 

 to the spoiled fabric; even so with the Spider 

 working at her web. 



And this is no case of distraction, of 

 individual carelessness; all the large spin- 

 stresses suffer from a similar incapacity for 

 patching. The Banded Epeira and the Silky 

 Epeira are noteworthy in this respect. The 

 Angular Epeira remakes her web nearly every 

 evening; the other two reconstruct theirs only 

 very seldom and use them even when 

 extremely dilapidated. They go on hunting 

 with shapeless rags. Before they bring them- 

 selves to weave a new web, the old one has to 

 be ruined beyond recognition. Well, I have 

 often noted the state of one of these ruins 

 and, the next morning, I have found it as it 

 was, or even more dilapidated. Never any 

 repairs; never; never. I am sorry, because 

 of the reputation which our hard-pressed 

 theorists have given her, but the Spider is 

 absolutely unable to mend her work. In 

 spite of her thoughtful appearance, the Epeira 

 is incapable of the modicum of reflexion 



266 



