104 .\\ii;i;i('AX sriDious a.\i> tiikiu si'iNNiMiwoiUv. 



the morning glory leaves which cover the board pile, apparently for the 

 purpose of making fast to something in order to place her main beam. 

 But she soon gave over and went back to her bed, seeming discouraged. 

 Towards noon I found her with a miller or niotli in lier clutches, wrapped 

 in what seemed to me a scrap of her bedding. As I looked, a fly became 

 entangled aliout three inches from her. She directly went towards it, but 

 in no great haste, no doulit l)ecause sure of her prey, and when 

 , . near enough she reached out, hauled it into close (juarters, and 

 before I coidd see how, the fly also was wra})i)ed in a bit of 

 white gauze.^ She took it to her Itcd, ;ni(l 1 suppose fed on it and the miller. 



"In the afternoon I found her on her l)ed on the -inside of the web, 

 exactly opposite to her old place on the outside, and there slie remains 

 this evening. Perhaps she thinks the inside the safer place of the two 

 in the dilai)idated state of ln'i' dwrlling. This spider is certainly suljjected 

 to great trials. 



" Friday morning, SejHember 15th. — There was a iieavy rain last niglit, 

 with wind, and the spider has disappeared. I have siuiken tiie convolv- 

 ulus leaves roundabout, but find no sign of her, and the wreck of tlie 

 web has tlie ajipearance of being utterly deserted." 



Tlie journal here ended, and 1 lieard notiiing more of tlu^ creature 

 whose life and trials bad been followed with so nuich interest and intel- 

 ligence by my Frankford cori'espondent. The above quotations throw some 

 interesting side lights upon the humble daily life of this representative 

 of the spider world. 



It may interest the reader to know what causi'd tbi^ sudden disappear- 

 ance of the Argiope at this point. The date (Sei)tember loth) is the co- 

 cooning season; and no doubt Cophinaria had retired to some shaded 

 nook among the leaves or ailjacent lumber, to spend the last forces of life 

 in weaving the beautiful basket shaped cocoon of the s]»ecies, within which 

 the young are reared. 



The Central Space of the Basket Argiope's snare consists of the hub 

 and its adjuncts, as described, and .several (there are four in Fig. 89) un- 

 beaded spirals. The.se are more widely sejiaratt'd as they ap- 

 Zone proacli the beaded spirals, and they occupy nearly the entire space, 



so that there is little or no Free Zone. Some of the notched 

 spirals arc nearly always covered by the shield, and when the spinning- 

 work thereon is light they may be seen beneath it. Tlie fact that they are 

 witliout viscid beads exjslains Mr. Hunt's wonder that no insects were en- 

 tangled in this part of the M'eb. 



The architecture of the entire snare is shown at Figs. 47, 89, 90. 



An interesting feature in the construction of Cophinaria's snare is that 

 which I have called " protective wings " or fenders. These are outlying 



' The .swathiii}^ of the iiLsect is often done rapidly, by one outgiish of silken filaments 

 friim the si)innei-s, and a quick motion of tlu' feet revolvinj; the (■ai>tive. 



