THE CRIBELLATE SPIDERS 155 



more, the trick of snapping the trap in order to further enmesh 

 the prey may well be an unnecessary precaution; and the careful 

 enshrouding of the bound victim is likewise an act of doubtful 

 necessity. It is true, however, that the same kind of objection to 

 needless efficiency can be leveled against the snare of the typical 

 orb weavers. 



The Single-Line Snare. The stick spiders of the genus Miagram- 

 mopes are creatures of the tropics, and although they occur in the 

 West Indies and in Mexico, do not quite reach the subtropical 

 zones in the United States. They must be mentioned here because 

 of the marvelous trapping device they have developed a device that 

 represents an even greater simplification of the orb web than does 

 the snare of Hyptiotes. The four-rayed triangle is reduced to a 

 single line. 



The stick spiders resemble Hyptiotes in general structure, but 

 they are more elongate, and are thinly covered with dull grayish 

 hairs over a dusky brown body, so that they almost perfectly re- 

 semble small, thin sticks. On the carapace are four pairs of eyes, 

 the two front pairs being so small and so well hidden that only the 

 hind ones are easy to discern. The front legs are long and thick, 

 stretched forward in close contact with each other; against them 

 presses the short second pair; while the hind legs extend backward 

 along the sides of the abdomen, and fit closely against the body to 

 enhance the remarkable sticklike appearance. 



The snare of Miagrammopes (Text Fig. 4, A) is a single horizon- 

 tal line, attached at both ends to branches, that stretches about four 

 feet across open spaces in the forest. Conrad Ackerman has de- 

 scribed the activity of spiders on the Natal coast, which, after laying 

 this basic line, then card out a heavy band of viscid silk across its 

 center for a distance of approximately eighteen inches. The next 

 step resembles the triangle spider's method. Miagrammopes moves 

 to the end of her foundation line, and, assuming a position in which 

 she almost touches the mooring twig with her hind legs, appears to 

 be a continuation of it. She draws the line very taut, until she has a 

 loop of slack to hold over her body. The thick center of the snare 

 offers an attractive and familiar-looking resting place for gnats, 

 flies, and a whole host of flying insects. Whenever one alights, the 

 stick spider lets go the loose thread and shoots forward with the 

 elastic line for about half an inch. The release of tension jerks and 

 sways the thread, causing the victim to become more completely 



