BY ^y. J. RAINBOW. 529 



different positions along the sides of the box, but all converging 

 to one point, which afterwards proved to be over the site selected 

 fur its subterranean gallery. Ha^'ing progressed so far, it now 

 turned its attention to the formation of the tunnel that was to 

 connect the gallery with that part of the web intended to be used 

 for ensnaring its prey. Upon the construction of this important 

 adjunct, she bestowed a great deal of time and labour, but 

 although commencing it before excavating the burrow, the little 

 worker did not attemj^t to complete it until she had finished her 

 digging operations. As she proceeded with the excavation she 

 spun line after line of silk, both around, and up and down to 

 prevent the sides falling in, which would inevitably have resulted 

 on account of the loose and free nature of the material upon 

 which she was working. The exca^■ation having at length been 

 completed, she set to work to finish the tunnel and the snare, 

 stretching lines the length of the box, interlacing them with other 

 threads from every conceivable point and angle, until at length 

 she had produced a network of beautiful fine silk, but of an 

 exceedingly irregular design. The fabric of the tunnel was of a 

 much closer texture than that of the body of the web. The snare 

 itself took the form of a somewhat flattened sheet, but had a 

 marked depression towards the mouth of the tunnel; nevertheless 

 the structure was entirely devoid of the labyrinthine lines peculiar 

 to the snare as seen in the bush. Wagner, in commenting upon 

 similar observations and experiments recorded by Rossi and Lister, 

 remarks : — " This is comprehensible : the architect in captivity 

 lacks the material that it employs in a state of liberty; besides 

 this the spot for building is not that chosen by herself, but one 

 given by the observer; yet most frequently the descriptions of 

 nests relate to those formed in captivity, and the constructions 

 built under these conditions are accepted as normal."* 



From the foregoing notes it will be seen how exceedingly unwise 

 it is to draw conclusions solely from observations made on animals 



* L'Industrie des Araneina. Mem. del'Acad Imp. des Sci. de St. Pciters- 

 bourg. vii Serie. Tome xlii. No. 11, p. 4. 



