162 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Fig. 143.— Fool of garden-spi- 

 der i Epeira), showing the 

 hooks by which it clings to 

 the web. 



of which are apparently put together without any order. In others the 

 weDS are very regular, sometimes taking the form of domes m the grass, or 



of circular discs supported from the pickets of a 

 fence. These last, which Dr. McCook calls the 

 < orb-webs,' are mostly the products of the common 

 garden-spiders, which belong to the genus Epeira, of 

 which we figure the male of one of the most abun- 

 dant New England species, enlarged to twice the 

 natural size. A description of one of these circular 

 webs will have to answer for all. 



The < orb-weavers ' usually select some place for 

 their web where they can obtain a firm support 

 and at the same time have a crack or hole into 

 which they can run for concealment. First they 

 spin a long thread across the place where the web 

 is to be, and then proceeding to the middle of this foundation line, the 

 abdomen is depressed so that it touches the thread, and now a second 

 thread is drawn out. the other end of which is fastened near one end of the 



first, So the process continues until a number 

 of threads radiating from a common centre are 

 formed. Then the spider begins at the centre 

 of the web and spins a loose spiral, fastening it 

 t<» each of the radii, and continuing it until a 

 disc of the required size is formed. This spiral 

 is but a scaffolding for the formation of the 

 web used for catching insects. When the spider 

 reaches the outside of the web. she retraces her 

 steps and spins a new kind of thread. All the 

 threads so far formed are smooth, but the new 

 one is covered with a viscid, sticky substance, 

 which soon runs together into drops, giving 

 the thread a moniliform appearance under the 

 microscope. The new thread, like the old, is arranged in a spiral, but its 

 coils are closer, making the web much tighter than before. After this 

 spiral is finished, the spider proceeds to construct her nest in a corner, and 

 then stretches a suing from the centre of the web to this nest. 



Tin- web is now ready for business, and the spider takes her place in the 

 nest, with one foot upon the thread leading to the centre. When a fly 

 ( ouches the web, his wings and body adhere to the sticky threads, while his 

 struggles and buzzing shake the whole web. The spider pulls in her line 

 and lets it go again; the jar thus produced serving to bring more sticky 



Fig. 144. — Garden-spider (Kjielra). 



