!(4 I'HOCEKDINCJS OF TIIK i;()VA[; SCCIKTV OF (^I'EENSLAND. 



subsequently sliown. of .sur])ri,sing toughness. At the end of tlus 

 line she was sus))encle(l, and at S.30 we noticed that the great 

 work of spinning the cocoon \\as actually commenced. A 

 tiny sheet of web was spun out from the end of the central 

 strand. At 9 o'clock this was a])parent as a little oval tent 

 over the spider's back, to which she, ever spinning, added to 

 the circumference. In weaving this ever-growing sheet, she 

 twisted from side to side, the central strand rotating at her 

 A\ill through two-thirds of a circle, and then returning. At 

 9.3(1 the spider was half enveloped in a filmy cloud, as it 

 appeared in the moonlight, and the sheet was being gathered 

 into a bag. Into this bag the eggs were then laid with marvel- 

 lous quickness, the whole operation taking but a few minutes. 

 The eggs formed a glistening, globular mass about three- 

 eighths of an inch in diameter, and this could be easily seen 

 through the substance of the inner cocoon. During the process 

 the spiders abdomen was inside the opening in the bag. 

 Immediately afterwards, the mother w as seen to have lost her 

 great bulk, and the abdomen ap])eared to be wrinkled. At 

 9.45 the spider was hard at work filling the slit in the bag 

 through which the eggs had been laid. Did she leave a weak 

 place for the exit of the young, one wonders ? At 10.30 the 

 inner capsule was finely woven over and complete. 



For the ne.xt hour the spider was unceasingly engaged in 

 building up a fluffy packing around and below the inner 

 cocoon. In this particular instance, quite a long tail, or 

 apical portion, was spun, but the Mork on this part varies 

 considerably in different egg-bags, and is probably dependent 

 on the immediate surroundings of the cocoons. This fluffy 

 packing is built u]) until its ct)ntours take the final shape of 

 the cocoon. 



The colossal task of weaving the large outer capsule was 

 then commenced. Tliis is by far the most arduous portion of 

 all the mother's labour. The outer envelope has to be made 

 strong enough to protect the precious inner cocoon from the 

 \\ eather, from friction when blown against leav«s and branches, 

 from the attacks of predaceous insects, and from the ovipositors 

 of parasitical insects. Under magnification, its finished texture 

 is seen to be very closely woven, and the final result is a tough 

 material, not easily torn or penetrated. 



During the long process of spinning this outer envelope, 

 the spider worked from top to bottom, head downwards, 



