COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 



215 



A toy column from a box of a child's building blocks was placed 

 eight inches from the point reached by the spiderling, in order to arrest 

 the thread which I believed she would emit. Directing a magnifying 

 glass upon her, I presently saw her assume the attitude common to her 



FIG. 246. Assembly of spiderlings when first escaped from cocoon. O, the maze of 

 crossed lines found outside of box ; V, the furthest limit of same. 



order when about to take aeronautic flight. The eight legs were spread 

 in a circle, the abdomen elevated, and from the spinnerets issued a deli- 

 cate gossamer line, which was carried to and fro in the slight currents 

 prevailing even in a closed room. Quite soon the line entangled upon 

 the top of the column. Just as the spider was about to adventure upon 

 her tiny bridge, a sister broodling reached her, at the touch of whose 

 foot she instantly dropped downward along the side of the table and 

 hung, back underneath, by the emitted line. (Fig. 247, 1.) Meanwhile 

 the new comer unhesitatingly mounted the bridge line and crossed over the 

 column. (Fig. 247, 2.) The journey was made " hand over hand," to 

 use a not inappropriate figure, and with the back downward, the invari- 

 able posture of all spiders on like occasions. The original pioneer now 

 reascended, and straightway followed her predecessor. 

 At this stage I was summoned from the room by a vis- 

 itor, and when I returned, in half an hour, a colony of 

 fifty-three spiders had been drained from the mass meet- 

 ing at 0, Fig. 246, four feet distant, and were spread 

 over a series of open lines woven into a triangular net- 

 work fence (Fig. 248, F), into which the original line 

 had now expanded. 



This illustrates another marked tendency of the earliest 

 movements, viz., the bulk of the colony follow the pio- 

 neers, and group themselves near together ; in other words, 

 they are at this stage gregarious. This action was re- 

 peated a number of times during the next three days. 

 I found that I could always transfer the group to any 

 chosen spot by placing thereon some elevated object. 

 For example, I put a second column at y (Fig. 248), 

 eight inches from the first column (x), and then pushed a toy dancing 

 puppet (z) across the table eighteen inches distant from x. In order to 



Fio. 247. Young Epeira 

 practicing the drop 

 dodge of making a 

 foot basket. 



