NATURE STUDY LESSONS. 99 



to be found and examined. The house spider offers a pret- 

 ty study for a rainj- day. Its web may be found in the cel- 

 lar, stairways, under furniture, in rooms not used, or per- 

 haps in the living room itself, if the maid has been a little 

 careless. It is an irregular web, with threads crossing in 

 all directions, and held in place by other threads above and 

 below. There is usually a thicker portion, like a tent, at 

 the top, under which the spider stays, always up side down 

 when at rest. These webs collect large quantities of dust 

 if left alone, and are known to everj^ housekeeper as cob- 

 webs. The little spider that makes them is called Theri- 

 dion vulgare^ the common theridion. 



On damp mornings in summer the fields and lawns are 

 seen half covered with flat webs. These remain on the 

 grass all the time, but are visible at a distance only when 

 the dew is on them. The flat part, which may be from an 

 inch or two to a foot across, consists of strong threads, 

 stretched from one stalk or blade of grass to another, and 

 crossed and filled in with finer threads. The web is woven 

 so close and stretched so tight that one can hear the foot- 

 steps of the spider as she runs upon it. 



Watch and listen patiently a long time, and while doing 

 so, notice the silken tube at one side of the web, leading 

 down among the grass-stems. The spider, when her web 

 is complete, usually stands at the top of this tube, just out 

 of sight, and waits for something to light on the web, 

 when, if it is small, she runs out, snatches it, and carries 

 it into the tube to eat. If something too large comes to 

 the web, the spider retreats down the tube and goes away. 

 Mr. 'Kmerton says that when this happens the spider can 

 seldom be found afterwards. 



At the edge of woods and beside small brooks, sometimes 

 stretched across them, one may find the large round web 

 of Epeira, the orb-weaver. This is the most beautiful of 

 all the webs which spiders weave. The Greeks explained 



