Garden Spider 



One of the most amazing of the web-builders in the apple 

 tree community is the golden garden spider. Watch her at 

 work; her circular web, about two feet in diameter, is being 

 hung vertically in an open space between two goldenrod 

 stalks. 



She starts by spinning strong strands of silk for the frame- 

 work. These are guyed and braced, and then radiating lines 

 from the center are arranged like the spokes of a wheel. 

 Next the spider places the spirals of the web, working from 

 the outside toward the center. These filaments stretch with- 

 out breaking when a captured insect tugs at them; and they 

 are covered with a mucilage-like substance that holds any 

 tiny creature except the builder of the web herself. 



At the center of the web the golden spider places a mat 

 of silk to serve as a comfortable seat; there, after her work 

 is done, she waits for her prey. 



She does not wait long. A small grasshopper in flight 

 strikes the web and is caught. The spider immediately runs 

 to the grasshopper and begins winding about it a shroud 

 of silk. And as she wraps, she bites the grasshopper with 

 her poisonous fangs. Then she leaves it; it will be eaten 

 later. Often several insects are caught and enshrouded be- 

 fore the spider devours them. 



When her meal is finished she always cuts away any 

 threads that may hold remains of the victim, and these fall 

 to the ground. Then she repairs her web and sits again on 

 her silken throne to await fresh prey. 



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