120 A NATURALIST IN HIMALAYA 



hundreds of tiny insects too minute to attract the 

 attention of the spider at the time of their entangle- 

 ment. As I contemplated the ruin of the snare, the 

 spider slowly emerged from its position at the centre. 

 It advanced along one of the radii, and it was imme- 

 diately evident that it was breaking up the snare in its 

 progress. Closer observation revealed the extraordi- 

 nary fact that it was actually eating up its own snare. 

 As it proceeded outwards the spider swallowed the 

 radius, the lines of the viscid spiral, all the little tags 

 of broken filaments and the innumerable tiny insects 

 that lay entangled in its course. On reaching the 

 outer extremity of the radius, the spider returned to 

 the centre and rested there for about five minutes. It 

 then commenced to destroy and devour a second radius 

 with its viscid attachments and again rested at the 

 centre. This continued until all the radii, the whole 

 of the spiral and the hundreds of little insects had all 

 been devoured. After the destruction of each radius 

 the spider always rested at the centre for some five 

 minutes, presumably for the purpose of emptying its 

 stomach so as to fit it for receiving the next radius. 

 The spider did not devour the foundation-lines of the 

 snare, as it intended to use them for the main frame- 

 work of the new snare. However, it carefully examined 

 these lines and removed from them any loose filaments 

 or minute insects that happened to remain attached. 



What wonderful economy is this to allow nothing to 

 disappear! If in a snare I divide a number of fila- 

 ments, the spider will often come out and swallow 

 eagerly the little tags of silk wherever it finds them. 

 But in this final act how much more strict is the 

 economy displayed ! The construction of the snare 



