THE MAGXIPICEXT >;PIDER : DICROSTICIIUS MAGNIFICUS. 97 



Spiderlings from the cocoon made on the 21st April did 

 rot emerge until the 25th July. 



Reynarlcahle Method of Catching Prey. — Rainbow referred 

 to the retitelarian nature of the web of this spider (3), but my 

 observations definitely show that Dkrostichus magnificus does 

 not catch its prey in a web, at any rate in the cocoon-making 

 season. Except for the many supporting strands for the 

 cocoons, and the simple lines by which it suspends itself, which 

 are also connected with the closely woven retreat, no other web 

 is spun. None of these lines are sticky and no insect can be 

 caught on them. There is no web entanglement to trap the 

 moths on which it feeds. Shortly after sunset, the spider hangs 

 suspended on a more or less horizontal line near to its cocoons, 

 ^ly wife and I repeatedly found it sucking a common species 

 of Noctuid moth {Remigra frugalis Fabr.) which it had secured 

 in some mysterious way. Close and persistent watching 

 through many nights revealed the remarkable method by 

 which it caught them.( From its slender bridge it would sjjin 

 a filament, usually about one and a-half inches in length, which 

 was suspended downwards ; on the end of this was a globule 

 of very viscid matter, a little larger than the head of an 

 ordinary pin, occasionally with several smaller globules above. 

 This filament was held out by one of the front legs, the miniature 

 apparatus bearing a c£uaint resemblance to a fisherman's rod 

 and line. On the approach of a moth, the spider whirls the 

 filament and globule with surprising speed, and this is 

 undoubtedly the way in which it secures its prey) The moths 

 are unquestionably attracted to an effective extent by the 

 spider, whether by scent or by its colour we cannot say. We 

 certainly could not distinguish the slightest odour. But the 

 fact remains that night after night one or two moths would 

 flutter up and be caught. Other moths near by seemed to be 

 indifferent, but two were often secured in the space of an 

 hour, one of which would be packed away on the fine to be 

 sucked later, r The spectacle of the moth fluttering up to the 

 spider, sometimes two or even t|iree times before it was caught, 

 is one of the most interesting little processes which the writer 

 has ever witnessed in natural history. The supposed desire 

 of the moth for the star is a poet's fancy, but the attraction 

 of the moth to the Dicrostichus, although mysterious, can be 

 seen by any patient watcher.y 



The globule is composed 'of most tenacious material, and 

 {{uite large leaves can be suspended on it by a mere touch. 



