The Banded Epeira 53 



Epeira's nest has also to protect its contents 

 from the winter cold. Let us cut the wrapper 

 with our scissors. Underneath, we find a thick 

 layer of reddish-brown silk, not worked into a 

 fabric this time, but puffed into an extra-fine 

 wadding. It is a fleecy cloud, an incomparable 

 quilt, softer than any swan's-down. This is 

 the screen set up against loss of heat. 



And what does this cosy mass protect ? See : 

 in the middle of the eiderdown hangs a cylin- 

 drical pocket, round at the bottom, cut square 

 at the top and closed with a padded lid. It is 

 made of extremely fine satin ; it contains the 

 Epeira's eggs, pretty little orange-coloured 

 beads, which, glued together, form a globule 

 the size of a pea. This is the treasure to be 

 defended against the asperities of the winter. 



Now that we know the structure of the work, 

 let us try to see in what manner the spinstress 

 sets about it. The observation is not an easy 

 one, for the Banded Epeira is a night-worker. 

 She needs nocturnal quiet in order not to go 

 astray amid the complicated rules that guide 

 her industry. Now and again, at very early 

 hours in the morning, I have happened to catch 



