SPIDERS AND THEIR SNARES 



827 



light these monster Spiilers hide in the 

 hollows of trees, or amongst banana, pine- 

 apple, or palm leaves loosely spun together, 

 emerging from their lairs at night ; while 

 others of the family construct silk-hncd 

 tubes in the sand, closed by a circular 

 trap-door, composed of alternate layers 

 of silk and soil. The door fits so closely, 

 and the simulation of the surrounding 



owing, probably, to the fact that tlie 

 Spider comes upon them while hunting 

 its quarry, and their tender, featherless 

 bodies tempt its voracious appetite. From 

 these free-hunting Spiders we may trace 

 a gradual evolution to those species that 

 weave complex snares in which to entrap 

 their prey. The first use of silk-spinning 

 was for the building and protection of 



A MALE JUMPING SPIDER {SALTICiS}, DISPLAYED TO SHOW ITS 



ANATOMY. 



(Magnified ten diameters.) 



soil is SO accurate, that it becomes almost 

 impossible to detect the entrance to the 

 Spider's home during daylight ; but at 

 night it is more conspicuous, as the Spider 

 leaves open the door in readiness for a 

 hasty retreat. If attacked it bolts into 

 its tube and chngs to the silken fining on 

 the inside of the door, holding by its legs 

 to the sides of the tube ; in this manner 

 it usually succeeds in defending its strong- 

 hold from dangerous intruders. 



Accounts of these Spiders attacking full 

 grown birds are largely fictitious ; young 

 humming birds and similar small animals 

 are sometimes attacked in their nests, 



the home, and to ensure safety for the 

 mother and young. This closing of the 

 entrance to the tube or retreat with silk 

 has probably led to the construction of 

 those beautiful and geometrical snares so 

 familiar in gardens and fields all over the 

 world to-day. The enemies of the Spider 

 and inquisitive insects would doubtless 

 get entangled in the entrance web, greatly 

 to tlie satisfaction of the Spider, which 

 would thus discover a new method of cap- 

 turing its prey. In due course, guided by 

 the success achieved by this discovery, it 

 would construct more and more coni])lex 

 snares outside its retreat, extending them 



