Habits of the Epeira Aurelia. 461 



of the web : the legs are all gathered together^ and likewise 

 appear to be fixed to a si)ot close by : the body hangs down- 

 wards, the skin begins to split at the sides, and the spider, by a 

 succession of powerful efforts, lasting about half an hour, gra- 

 dually draws its legs out of the old skin. 



When fairly freed, its former attitude is reversed ; for it hangs 

 with the end of its abdomen uppermost, and its legs dangling 

 loosely down (a position it never assumes at any other time) ; 

 and so little does it look like its ordinary self, or anything else 

 that I know of, under these circumstances, that one is puzzled on 

 first seeing it in this posture to imagine what it can be. 



The legs are now quite soft, flexible, and semitransparent, 

 the abdomen slender, and the spider very feeble and exhausted. 



It can scarcely crawl, or exert itself in any way. It remains 

 stationary for about an hour, then turns its legs up, and climbs 

 by its attaching-line to the web, where it remains motionless for 

 for some forty- eight hours^ after which it resumes its usual 

 habits. 



Should it at any time whilst young lose a limb or part of one, 

 nothing appears to occur towards its reproduction, until at least 

 one subsequent change of skin has taken place; some time after 

 which, the leg or part of it grows again, but is not much more 

 than half the length of the corresponding perfect part, and is of 

 a somewhat lighter colour. 



These stunted limbs are of little use to the spider; and, as far 

 as I could make out, there is no reproduction at all of limbs lost 

 after the seventh change of skin. 



I have said that the changes take place regularly from the first 

 (after leaving the cocoon) till the eighth. Then the spider is 

 adult, and begins making cocoons — the first in a month's time, 

 and others at periods within from about fifteen to twenty-five 

 days apart. 



About a week after the fifth cocoon has been made, the spider 

 changes its skin for the last time, rests from its egg-laying for 

 about thirty days, makes five more cocoons at intervals of from 

 fifteen to twenty-five days, and dies a week or so after making its 

 last one. 



The spots which the young spiders have on the sides of the 

 abdomen gradually disappear, and give place to very handsome 

 markings of regular and even transverse bands of silver and 

 orange across the abdomen, alternating with black, a silvery 

 thorax, and transverse stripes of brown and black on the legs ; 

 but as this spider's appearance has been described by Walckenaer, 

 it is unnecessary for me to say more about it, except that the 

 largest females have a body ^|ths of an inch long, and a fore 

 leg f|ths, which is very much larger than our largest British 

 garden-spider. 



