INSECT LORE | [ 



herself of the wind to some extent. When crossing 

 from one point to another it is by no means nec- 

 essary she should drop from a height equal to the 

 distance to be crossed; for if the wind is strong 

 enough she has but to descend a little way, and 

 then, as it holds her out at right angles, she pays 

 out the line and so continues moving in mid-air. 

 As soon as she comes in contadt with some objed: 

 she at once attaches her thread. I have more than 

 once observed a spider drop a short distance when 

 there was no breeze to carry her, but by the move- 

 ment of her body she imparted a slight motion to 

 the line and thus set herself to gyrating until she 

 finally swung across the intervening space. 



The spinners of flat webs in the grass are asso- 

 ciated with dog-days and with foggy weather, as 

 if they spread their tents only at such times to 

 fold them again and steal away with the appear- 

 ance of the sun. As a matter of fadt these spiders 

 work in clear weather and at different hours of 

 the day, but the web is so fine as to be next to 

 invisible unless covered with moisture, when it at 

 once attracts the eye, like a writing in invisible 

 ink which becomes manifest only under the right 

 conditions. 



