166 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 



[1881. 



We may now suppose the spider placed as in figs. 1 and 3, at 

 the point where the rays converge, grasping the axes with the four 

 hind feet. The two front feet seize the trap-line and draw it taut. 

 Then, precisely as a sailor pulls upon a rope, " hand over hand," 

 the little arachnid's feet move along the trap-line, one over another. 

 The axes of the ra^- s, held firmly in the hind feet, follow her ; the 

 centre of the snare bears inward, the other parts are stretched taut, 

 and the web at last has taken the form of a cone or funnel (figs. 4, 5). 

 In this position the snares continually suggested to me the figure 

 of an umbrella with ribs reversed by the wind and the covering 



Fig. 4.— Side view of Kay Spider's snare, when drawn taut or bowed. Seen within 



a cavity. 



stripped loose from the top of the handle. Fig. 4 gives a side 

 view of the web when thus bowed or drawn taut ; another snare 

 is shown at fig. 5, as seen from behind. 



In this example (fig. 5), the spider has moved quite down the 

 trap-line to the surface of the little twig (projecting into the 

 cavity) to which it is attached. It will thus be seen that the 

 snare is more or less a plane surface, or more or less conical, 

 according to the position of the animal upon the trap-line and the 

 degree of tension thereof. 



