The Structure and Habits of Spiders. 67 



it. These spiders also spin each side of the 

 web, and two or three inches from it, a screen 

 of irregular threads of unknown use. 



The round-web spiders are said to repair 



Fig. 31- 



their webs by tearing out a dirty, tangled piece, 

 and putting a new one in its place. Wilder 

 says that Nephila plumipes tears off and re- 

 places half the web at one time. Epeira vul- 

 garis often takes away an old web, and puts a 

 new one in the same place, tearing down the 

 old in pieces, and putting in the rays of the 

 new as it goes along. The spider walks on 



