ROADSIDE LIFE. 



223 



densed upon them. At such times we may see the 

 grass covered by an almost continuous carpet of silk. 

 The greater number of the webs seen at such 

 times are of the form which we term funnel-webs. 

 They consist of a concave sheet of silk, with a fun- 

 nel-shaped tube at one side, and numerous lines ex- 

 tending in all directions to the supporting spears of 

 grass (Fig. 192). The tube serves as a hiding place 



Fig. 192. Web of the grass-spider. 



for the owner of the web ; from this retreat the 

 spider runs out on the upper surface of the web to 

 seize any insect that alights upon it. The tube 

 opens below, near the roots of the grass, so that the 



