May, 1920] Studies in Food of Spiders 231 



paralyzed or killed outright, she makes another rush at it. 

 This is repeated until the insect is so disabled that it is not 

 capable of making any resistance. Sometimes at the first 

 thrust of the chelicerae, the insect is not disabled and if the 

 insect is a very large one or able to give her a good fight, the 

 spider gives up the battle and withdraws to her retreat to 

 await a less formidable foe. If the insect is a small one, she 

 comes out of the retreat, seizes the victim with her chelicerae 

 and returns to the retreat with it. A large insect is usually 

 dragged to the entrance of the funnel where the spider ties 

 it to the web. This is done by circling around and around the 

 insect so as to tie it to the web. The insect is left at the entrance 

 of the funnel, sometimes it is carried in immediately, until it 

 is needed as food, then it is carried into the web, where the 

 soft parts are eaten. After the insect is crushed and mashed 

 by the cheliceras, the remaining hard parts are dragged out of 

 the tubular retreat and carried to the edge of the web where 

 they are cast over. 



Small insects are so crushed and ground up by the cheliceras 

 that scarcely anything is left of them. One which I fed 122 

 jassids in a week ground them up so completely that nothing 

 was left but fine powder when I removed the web from the cage 

 in which the spider was kept. 



Miris dolobratus was fed to another which I had in captivity. 

 In four days this one ate 39 of these insects and there was not 

 enough fine powder and wing covers remaining to fill a half-inch 

 vial. Grasshoppers and similar insects which are more chiti- 

 nized, are not entirely ground up, the wing covers, legs and body 

 wall being usually discarded. 



The position of the web of this spider, to a certain degree 

 restricts the kinds of insects captured. Being near the ground 

 as it usually is, the greater number of insects which chance to 

 fall upon the web will belong to the grasshoppers, Jassidse and 

 Capsids. The barrier strands which arrest the flight of insects 

 will cause some flying insects to be thrown upon the web. 

 The flat surface of the top of the web enables some insects to 

 make their escape unless they are immediately attacked by the 

 occupant of the web. The insect will not be captured or 

 entangled in the web unless the spider wants it for food. It 

 is also seen that the insects found in the webs will be those 

 the spider has tied there. 



