258 The Life of the Spider 



the road which I see her follow, in going and 

 coming. But is that all ? No ; for, if the 

 Epeira had no aim in view but a means of rapid 

 transit between her tent and the net, the 

 foot-bridge would be fastened to the upper edge 

 of the web. The journey would be shorter and 

 the slope less steep. 



Why, moreover, does this line always start in 

 the centre of the sticky network and nowhere 

 else ? Because that is the point where the 

 spokes meet and, therefore, the common centre 

 of vibration. Anything that moves upon the 

 web sets it shaking. All then that is needed 

 is a thread issuing from this central point to 

 convey to a distance the news of a prey strug- 

 gling in some part or other of the net. The 

 slanting cord, extending outside the plane of the 

 web, is more than a foot-bridge : it is, above 

 all, a signalling-apparatus, a telegraph-wire. 



Let us try experiment. I place a Locust 

 on the network. Caught in the sticky toils, he 

 plunges about. Forthwith, the Spider issues 

 impetuously from her hut, comes down the 

 foot-bridge, makes a rush for the Locust, wraps 

 him up and operates on him according to rule. 



