Narbonne Lycosa: Climbing-Instinct 



of a handsome orange-yellow, form a ball- 

 shaped heap. The work of the spinnerets is 

 resumed. The ball of germs is covered with 

 a silk cap, fashioned in the same way as the 

 saucer. The two halves of the work are so 

 well joined that the whole constitutes an un- 

 broken sphere. 



The Banded Epeira and the Silky Epeira, 

 those experts in the manufacture of rainproof 

 textures, lay their eggs high up, on brush- 

 wood and bramble, without shelter of any 

 kind. The thick material of the wallets is 

 enough to protect the eggs from the inclemen- 

 cies of the winter, especially from damp. The 

 Diadem Epeira, or Cross Spider, needs a 

 cranny for hers, which is contained in a non- 

 waterproof felt. In a heap of stones, well ex- 

 posed to the sun, she will choose a large slab, 

 to serve as a roof. She lodges her pill un- 

 derneath it, in the company of the hibernating 

 Snail. 



More often still, she prefers the thick tangle 

 of some dwarf shrub, standing eight or nine 

 inches high, and retaining its leaves in winter. 

 In the absence of anything better, a tuft of 

 grass answers the purpose. Whatever the 

 hiding-place, the bag of eggs is always near 



170 



