3o8 The Life of the Spider 



the thorax with two black ribbons and on the 

 abdomen with two stripes in which white specks 

 alternate with brown. At the tip of the belly, 

 two small, mobile appendages form a sort of 

 tail, a rather curious feature in a Spider. 



The crater-shaped web is not of the same 

 structure throughout. At the borders, it is a 

 gossamer weft of sparse threads ; nearer the 

 centre, the texture becomes first fine muslin 

 and then satin ; lower still, on the narrower 

 part of the opening, it is a network of roughly 

 lozenged meshes. Lastly, the neck of the funnel, 

 the usual resting-place, is formed of solid silk. 



The Spider never ceases working at her 

 carpet, which represents her investigation- 

 platform. Every night she goes to it, walks 

 over it, inspecting her snares, extending her 

 domain and increasing it with new threads. 

 The work is done with the silk constantly 

 hanging from the spinnerets and constantly 

 extracted as the animal moves about. The 

 neck of the funnel, being more often walked 

 upon than the rest of the dwelling, is therefore 

 provided with a thicker upholstery. Beyond 

 it are the slopes of the crater, which are also 



