60 The Structure and Habits of Spiders. 



and in cellar-stairways. The same spider spins 

 occasionally out of doors on fences, but never 

 on plants. When it has caught an insect, and 

 tied it up, it hoists it up into the web, some- 

 times a considerable distance. 



They do this by fastening to it threads from 

 above, which, as they dry, contract, and pull it 

 up a little. They keep on bringing down more 

 and more threads, until the insect is at last 

 hoisted to the top of the web, where they can 

 suck it without exposing themselves. 



Pholcus, the long-legged cellar-spider, makes 

 an irregular web of this kind, and has a curi- 

 ous habit when alarmed. It hangs down by its 

 long legs, Fig. 27, and swings its body around 

 in a circle, so fast that it can hardly be seen. 

 Fig. 27, a, represents the spider as seen from 

 below ; and the dotted circle shows the path in 

 which it revolves. 



ROUND WEBS. 



These well-known cobwebs are made by the 

 family Epeirida, Figs, i, 4 ; and the process of 

 making them by the common spider, from 

 which these figures are drawn, can be easily 



