DEATH AND ITS DISGUISES. 431 



their lairs, and tempt them to spin their first webs. These webs betray 



their winter quarters. Here, for example, along these hedge rows of arbor 



vita? are a number of round webs whose proportions indicate ma- 



Epeiras ^ure weavers, and whose construction gives the experienced eye a 



token that Epeira strix has probably spun the snare. She is not 



upon her orb at this hour of the day, and is doubtless resting in 



some secluded spot near by, which spot, considering the season of the year, 



is almost certain to be the den within which she hibernated. 



The tyro spider hunter would vainly search along the hedge row for 

 this refuge, but certain signs which experience has taught lead one to a 

 particular point, where a larger concentration of threads, diverging from 

 the foundation lines of the orb, form a sort of guide board to the desired 

 haven. Follow this clue, gently separate the sprigs of foliage, and push 

 aside the twigs, and one will see a few inches below the surface, at a point 

 where the branches diverge, a mass of rubbish. It is accumulated between 

 the forks of the twigs, and has been retained in its position by the same. 

 These leaves have dropped from the bush above, and have drifted in from 

 surrounding plants. It is possible, also, though I cannot affirm it, some 

 of the material may have been collected by the spider and added to the 

 nucleus which accident furnished. At all events, here is a lump of rub- 

 bish as large as a hen's egg. The whole is lashed together by scant threads 

 of spinningwork, which assist the office of the encompassing twigs, and 

 brace it in its place at the point of juncture. 



If one thrusts a finger beneath the mass, a slight opening will be 

 found, which is manifestly the door of the den. Now, with fingers or scis- 

 sors, separate the ball of rubbish, and lo ! inside, snugly ensconced in the 

 very heart of the heap, is the weaver of the web and proprietor of the 

 den, our interesting friend Epeira strix. Here she has lived throughout 

 the winter, and, as she is entirely mature, she must have been well grown 

 when she first went into winter quarters. One day (April 14th), while 

 \viilking with my secretary, we found a number of these nests within a 

 short space in the precincts of Woodland Cemetery, on the banks of the 

 Schuylkill River. Several mature females and one mature male were dis- 

 covered, all of them occupying some sort of a den of miscellaneous rub- 

 bish, gathered together with varying degrees of efficiency. With the com- 

 pact roof of evergreen leaves, which forms the outer surface of the plant, 

 stretched above the den and serving as a screen from snow and frosts, it 

 is evident that this winter nest is a safe or at least sufficient refuge for 

 the Orbweaver. 



Another favorite winter resort for spiders is the stump of an old tree ; 

 another, the hump of earth and roots which marks the spot where a tree 

 lias fallen. Every hollow and cranny forms a refuge for some species. 

 Favorite spots are the tubes or "casts" beneath the soil formed by decayed 

 roots. Tearing away the earth at this point, for example, one finds the 



