Garden Spiders: The Telegraph- Wire 



others, these hasten to the red-woollen lure, 

 which my straw insidiously keeps moving; they 

 come from their tent among the leaves as 

 readily as from the centre of the web; they 

 explore it with their palpi and their legs; but, 

 soon perceiving that the thing is valueless, they 

 are careful not to spend their silk on useless 

 bonds. My quivering bait does not deceive 

 them. It is flung out after a brief inspection. 



Still, the clever ones, like the silly ones, run 

 even from a distance, from their leafy am- 

 bush. How do they know ? Certainly not by 

 sight. Before recognizing their mistake, they 

 have to hold the object between their legs and 

 even to nibble at it a little. They are ex- 

 tremely shortsighted. At a hand's-breadth's 

 distance, the lifeless prey, unable to shake the 

 web, remains unperceived. Besides, in many 

 cases, the hunting takes place in the dense 

 darkness of the night, when sight, even if it 

 were good, would not avail. 



If the eyes are insufficient guides, even close 

 at hand, how will it be when the prey has to 

 be spied from afar! In that case, an 

 intelligence-apparatus for long-distance work 

 becomes indispensable. We have no difficulty 

 in detecting the apparatus. 

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