lU 



AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 



whose basal extremities touch the united radii, the apical ends being con- 

 verged within the claw. (Figs. 102, 103.) Thus the agitation made at any 

 point of the snare is communicated through the radii to the feet, made 

 extremely sensitive by the numerous delicate hairs and spines which 

 clothe them. Tlie eight claws of the spider, each one of which is in 

 communication with three, four or more converged radii, together com- 

 mand the whole number of radii, and through them also the 

 Under interwoven spinds. By this arrangement Madam Arachne, like 

 Th"^ , a good housewife, may be said to have the whole of her house- 

 hold estaldishnient literally "under her thumb." 

 The Orljweaver while thus in waiting is chiefly sui)ported by the 

 claws, and apparently by those of the hind feet. But the s])innerets-also 

 aid in maintaining the weight, by means of a thread or tlireads which 

 may be seen issuing from them and attached to tlie hub beneath by a 



minute white dot of silk. 

 The frequent formation of 

 tliese attachments, as Menge 

 has observed of Epeira di- 

 ademata, on the return from 

 her various excursions after 

 insects or on housekeeping 

 duties,, sometimes causes the 

 hub to be dotted over by 

 white specks, especially in 

 tlie region underneath the 

 spinnerets. This is espe- 



Fir,. 103. Feet of Orbweaver while in position at the hub, to show ciallv apjiarcilt Oil a tllillly 

 the radiating footlines. shectcd liub of ArgiopC. 



The Furrow spiders, like others of their genus, are found near running 

 streams and still water, where the congregations of insects are usually 

 largest. I have seen multitudes of them upon the railings of 

 Naturaj ^^ic old Gray's Ferry Bridge over the Schuylkill before tlie rest- 

 less innovations of human creatures had set up the new struct- 

 ure ; and on the famous Long Bridge over the Potomac at Wash- 

 ington they were domiciled in legions. This species will often be found 

 upon the slirubbery and trees of yards, lawns, and orchards, and in such 

 locations frequently selects a site for her snare which forms for it a beau- 

 tiful background of leaves, tendrils, and flowers. Such an example is Fig. 

 104, snares spun among lilies and sprigs of coxcomb in a flower garden in 

 Eastern Ohio. But more than some others of the especial group to which 

 she belongs Strix is a wood spider. I have often found her in forests, 

 groves, and flelds, buikling upon the branciies and nesting among the foli- 

 age. In color Strix varies much ; the young specimens are often found 

 quite black; in maturity- the prevailing color is yellowish, with reddish 



Sites of 

 Snares. 



