46 The Life of a Spider 



network in any direction, she waits for what 

 luck will bring her : now some giddy weakling 

 unable to control its flight, anon some powerful 

 prey rushing headlong with a reckless bound. 



The Locust in particular, the fiery Locust, who 

 releases the spring of his long shanks at random, 

 often falls into the trap. One imagines that 

 his strength ought to frighten the Spider; the 

 kick of his spurred levers should enable him to 

 make a hole, then and there, in the web and to 

 get away. But not at all. If he does not free 

 himself at the first effort, the Locust is lost. 



Turning her back on the game, the Epeira 

 works all her spinnerets, pierced like the rose 

 of a watering-pot, at one and the same time. 

 The silky spray is gathered by the hind-legs, 

 which are longer than the others and open 

 into a wide arc to allow the stream to spread. 

 Thanks to this artifice, the Epeira this time 

 obtains not a thread, but an iridescent sheet, 

 a sort of clouded fan wherein the component 

 threads are kept almost separate. The two hind- 

 legs fling this shroud gradually, by rapid alternate 

 armfuls, while, at the same time, they turn the 

 prey over and over, swathing it completely. 



