1G2 



AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 



Packing. 



At occasional intervals the spinnerets were laid against the cocoon 

 and held there a brief space, while the spider pushed them into the 

 mass, attaching her thread precisely after the manner described as cus- 

 tomary when she is making a dragline anchorage. (See Vol. I, page 61.) 



This, of course, held to its position and 

 _-5=f prevented the raveling of the thread al- 

 ready accumulated. I was somewhat .sur- 

 prised that more use was not made of the 

 spinnerets, as I had conceived the idea that 

 Fig. 196. The hind leg of Argiope stretched ^jj^y ^r^j-Q continually employed to beat 



out and drawing the ray of threads. ' i i i ■ . i 



down and pack the cocoonnig material, 

 after the fashion of the long s})innerets of Agalena ntevia and most of 

 the Tunnelweavers. On the contraiy, the spinnerets rarely touclied the 

 cocoon, at this stage of the work at least, and the entire process of packing 

 was aceompli.shed by the pressure of the leg alone. 



It seemed to me also tliat the i>alpi had .something to do in packing 

 the flossy loops as they gatliered upon tlie mass. At all events, they were 

 always held doubled under, as represented in some of the fig- 

 ures, and were moved continually in a way that gave me the 

 idea that the spider appeared to be kneading the silk with them. Per- 

 haps the reason of this was to prevent the palpal claw from fastening in 

 the threads, for care was also taken to bend the claws of the feet well 

 under, as though to guard them from that annoyance. 



In this manner the spider proceeded, working her silken mass down- 

 ward, and gradually bringing it to a tolerably regular, oval shaj^e. This 

 was done entirely by so regulating the discharge of the silk and 

 Equaliz- ^]^^, application of it to the cocoon that the surface was kept 

 even and regular. I cannot positively say upon what principle 

 this was accomplished, but I was made 

 aware of the fact that the aranead continually 

 changed her course as she moved around the co- 

 coon, describing a complicated series of convolu- 

 tions. This was shown strikingly in the following 

 way : In order to make exact drawings of the va- 

 rious attitudes of the spider while spinning, I drew 

 a number of outlines of the cocoon at various stages 

 upon blank paper, and waited to insert the various 

 parts, as the legs, palps, spinnerets, etc., in proper 

 sequence as the spider would from time to time re- 

 appear at the same point. My idea was that on 

 one round I would sketch one leg, on another the next leg, and so on, 

 supposing that Prima would appear substantially at or near the same 

 place a number of times during her numerous rounds, and thus I would 

 have many opportunities to catch her in the same attitude. 



ing the 

 Output. 



FiG. 197. Manner of forming and 

 laying on the loops. 



