

Superfamily Argiopoidea 



face of the supporting object, which in this case was the roof 

 of the cage. It then spins the foundation of the sides of a down- 

 ward extending cylinder, which is at first a very open net-work; 

 this is shown in the upper part of Fig. 234. In the completed 

 web the net-work is finely meshed, as is shown in the lower part 

 of Fig. 234. When at rest the spider remains upon the sheet 

 forming the roof of the web, hanging back downward, with its legs 

 extended radiately, the tips of them reaching the edge of the 



(Photographed by W . H. Fox) 

 Fig. 233. TYPICAL LOCALITY FOR HYPOCHILUS 



horizontal sheet, so that the claws can touch the descending 

 portion of the web. From this edge the sides of the web extend 

 downward like the sides of a lamp shade. 



The framework of the web consists of smooth threads; but 

 a very large part of the meshes is made of a hackled band. The 

 hackled band is of the same type as that of Amaurobins, figured 

 later (Fig. 250). The warp consists of four threads. Two of 

 these lie in the central portion of the band; they are straight 

 and parallel. On either side of these two straight threads, 



260 



