CHAPTER XVII. 



NESTING HABITS AND PROTECTIVE ARCHITECTURE OF 



ORBWEAVERS. 



The spinningwork of spiders may be classified generally as, first, the 



Snare, spun for the capture of prey ; second, the Ensvvathment, by which 



insects are disarmed and prepared for food ; third, the Gossamer, 



Perms of ^jggj Jqp purposes of aqueous or aerial locomotion ; fourth, the 



pnmmg- Qq^qqj^^ spun for the propagation and protection of the species ; 



and, fifth, the Nest, which is a domicile more or less elaborate 



and permanent within and under which the aranead dwells for protection 



against the exigencies of weather and the assaults of enemies. It is not 



implied by this classification 

 that a difference in quality 

 marks the material used in 

 spinning the above forms, 

 although to some extent 

 this is true. In point of 

 fact the silk used in all 

 modes of work is substan- 

 tially the same, and the dif- 

 erence in results is cliiefiy 

 one of quantity, condition, 

 color, and manner of appli- 

 cation. The present cliap- 

 ter will describe that form 

 of industry which secures 

 for the orbweaving species 

 a domicile or temporary re- 

 treat, which is popularly known as a den, tent, or nest. This domicile is 

 usually wrought of clear spinningwork, or some adaptation of foliage. 



One who studies these nests of rolled leaves and silken tubes must 

 often have suggested to him the habits and spinningwork of many larvae 

 of true insects, particularly the Lepidoptcra. It would almost 

 seem that one were marking a survival of manners which might 

 justly characterize the immature period of a race, while the race itself has 

 swept on to maturity. Thus, it is not in the function of spinning alone 

 that spiders raise a suggestion of the larvae of in.sects. 



(284) 



Fig. 254. Nest of Insular spider in clustered leaves of blackberry. 



Analogy. 



