142 A NATURALIST IN HIMALAYA 



snare. It is not necessarily the snare that looks the 

 most unsuitable and different from its own that the 

 spider will destroy, for an Araneus may accept the 

 snare of a Tetragnatha. I have a note that points to 

 some other cause. I once removed a spider from its 

 half-constructed snare and, after a lapse of five minutes, 

 replaced it again on its own snare. I saw no reason 

 why this spider should not continue the work of 

 construction, commencing again where it had left off. 

 But it did not act as I had thought. It did not seem 

 to recognize its own property. It first tested and 

 examined the fabric on every side. Then, after a 

 thorough exploration, it gobbled up the whole structure 

 and commenced to weave a new snare. What can we 

 say of a creature that cannot recognize the features of 

 its own work ! 



The problem as to why a spider does not become 

 entangled in its own snare was solved by the inimitable 

 skill of M. Fabre. The only adhesive portion of the 

 structure is the viscid spiral ; none of the other lines 

 have any tenacious power. This is well displayed in 

 spring. At that season clouds of pollen float down- 

 ward from the pines, filling the air with a fine yellow dust. 

 Innumerable grains fall upon the snare and adhere to 

 its sticky lines. The viscid and non-viscid filaments 

 appear in distinct contrast. The radii, the hub, the 

 temporary spiral, the foundation-lines are all un- 

 changed, but the viscid spiral is transformed into a 

 continuous golden line. 



I repeated some of the simple but ingenious ex- 

 periments of M. Fabre, conceived for the purpose of 

 discovering why the spider did not adhere to its own 

 viscid spiral. I touched the various parts of the snare 



