542 DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME NEW ARANEID^, 



the leaf with the first series of threads stretched from edge to 

 edge, so as to describe the arc of a circle; the second (fig. 162) 

 represents the leaf still further warped over by the second series 

 of threads, so that it now forms a semicircle; the third figure (fig. 

 163) illustrates the result of the third series, the circling of the 

 leaf being nearly complete; and the fourth (fig. 164) the leaf com- 

 pletely circled. The first series of threads are irregular, and 

 apparently carelessly drawn, but as the work proceeds towards 

 completion greater attention and care are displayed. It is not 

 until after the completion of the third stage in the circling of the 

 leaf that any attention is bestowed upon the interior of the tube. 

 Up to this time the spider has confined her attention and energies 

 solely to attaching silk to the edges of the leaf, but now she 

 commences the work of fabricating the internal tapestry and 

 lining the walls of her retreat, putting in the final touches after 

 the edges have been brought together. It sometimes happens 

 that in the neighbourhood of the leaf selected there is a second, 

 and occasionally a third leaf. In such circumstances the spider, 

 working purely upon instinct, incorporates them in the tube. 

 This is illustrated by the retreat of Drassus perehgans, described 

 and figured by me in a former paper.* Again, to quote Wagner,! 

 if during the task of warping a leaf the spider is prevented from 

 bringing the edges closely together by the observer placing a 

 small stick between them, she is not at all disconcerted, but 

 proceeds immediately to enclose the aperture with a wall of silk, 

 by passing her abdomen from side to side over the spot. Again, 

 if the stick be removed, the edges of the leaf will soon unite 

 without any efibrt on the part of the worker, owing to the con- 

 traction of the silk [rien qu' a cause de cette elasticite de la soie 

 elle-meme]. 



The difference between the retreat and the nest is that the latter 

 is closed at both ends, and that it is larger, more solid, and, if 



P.L.S.N.S.^Y. Vol. ix. (Series 2nd), 1894, p. 154, fig. la. 

 t Loc. cit., p. 120. 



