242 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 



species. Thereupon she swung it within a tented maze as described and 

 figured, and probably set herself to watch in some convenient position. 

 She, however, had disappeared when the naturalist came upon the scene, 

 and maj' have perished or returned to her life occupation of capturing 

 insects uj^on the blue waters of Lake Saratoga. Fig. 262 shows the posi- 

 tion of the snare and cocoon in site, and Fig. 263 shows the snare enlarged, 

 with the cocoon about natural size, and the young clustered beneath. 



When one approaches the cocooning nest of Pucetia aurora he usually 



sees the mother hovering over her offspring, or starting a new sac of eggs. 



She makes two and sometimes three cocoons on one twig. Some- 



times the young ones will still be within an old cocoon while 

 aurora. 



the mother is enclosing a new bundle of eggs immediately ad- 

 joining tlie old one. The young were not seen upon the mother's body 

 by Mr. Wright, who forwarded the specimens to me from California. The 

 mother stays close by her cocoon nest. If the spiderlings be hatched out, 

 she will perhaps drop down a foot or more. If the first effort to capture 

 her be not successful, she will not drop to the ground unless forced to do 

 so. If engaged in carrj'ing her cocoons, it requires force to separate her 

 from them. (See Chapter V., page 147, and Fig. 180.) 



The young ones take alarm sooner than their mother. They drop down 

 a few inches from their perch on the maze of intersecting lines surround- 

 ing the cocoon, or, at times, as far as two feet, each one suspended to a 

 tiny thread, forming thus a pretty swinging fringe to the overhanging nest. 

 In a few moments, if no further alarm be created, the younglings reas- 

 cend by their traplines to their perch, but, if they be frightened again, 

 will drop entirely to the ground and run into concealment. In such cases 

 the little ones were not observed to jump, as is the habit with the mother. 

 The young of Lycosids generally escape from their cocoons through 

 the seam which extends around the central part. It is thinner at this 



point and splits nearly around tlie whole circumference, so that 

 j;^ . , the young come out in a body. But with the Turret spider, 



Lycosa arenicola, the young cut a smooth, round hole in the 

 cocoon just large enough for them to come out one by one. The first 

 three weeks the little objects are piled all over the head and thorax of the 

 mother, often completely blinding her. They seem ambitious to reach 

 the highest point, and jostle and crowd one another in various efforts to 

 be at the head of the heap. The mother patiently endures this for a 

 time, but when lier younglings become too thick over her eyes, she takes 

 her long fore legs, which she uses as feelers or hands, reaches up and 

 scrapes off an armful and liokls them straight in front of her. Soon she 

 gently releases them, slowly ojtcniiig lier amis, and tliey ([uietly take their 

 places around the edge of the tower, where they usually remain until the 

 mother goes lielow, when thej^ all follow. Upon her ro>appearance they are 

 again stationed upon lier back. 



