SPIDERS. 583 



rooms. Of the architects, the manner in which the nests were 

 made, and the reasons why they were so singularly constructed, 

 I can say nothing, because no record is attached to the specimens. 

 Still, they are so curious that they have found a place in the 

 work, and it is to be hoped that the very fact of their publicity 

 will induce travelers to search for more specimens and to describe 

 their history. 



Differing as they do in shape, color, and material, they have 

 one object in common, namely, the rearing of the young. They 

 are clearly nests in the true sense of the word, being devoted not 

 to the parents, but to the offspring. At the upper part of the il- 

 lustration may be seen a number of long, spindle-shaped bodies, 

 suspended from a branch. These are drawn about half the full 

 size, in order to allow other specimens to be introduced into the 

 same illustration for the purpose of comparison. In color they 

 are nearly white, with a slight yellowish tinge, and are very soft 

 and delicate of texture, so that when viewed in a good light they 

 form a very striking group of objects. 



In the opposite upper corner of the illustration may be seen a 

 remarkable nest, which few would recognize as the work of a 

 spider. Such, however, is the case, the creature being urged by 

 instinct to take several concave seed-pods, and to fix them to- 

 gether as seen in the drawing. The seed-pods are fastened firm- 

 ly together with the silken thread of which webs are made, and 

 in the interior the eggs are placed. The drawing is reduced 

 about one third in proportion to the actual object. Several of 

 these singular nests are in the collection at the British Museum. 



Occupying the lower part of the illustration is seen a leaf upon 

 which are piled a number of fragments of leaves, so as to form a 

 rudely conical heap. This is also the work of a spider, and is 

 made with even more ingenuity than the two preceding speci- 

 mens. In the first instance the spider has spun a hollow case of 

 silk, similar in principle of construction, though not in form, to 

 the spherical egg cases made by several British spiders. In the 

 second instance the creature has chosen a number of concave 

 seed -pods, and, by adjusting their edges together and fastening 

 them with silk, made a hollow nest, which only requires to be 

 lined in order to make it a fit nursery for the young. But, in the 

 present example, the work of nest-making has been much more 

 elaborate, for the structure has been regularly built up of a great 

 number of pieces, each being arranged methodically upon the 



