Spiders 



emerge they do not at first spin webs, but fill empty snail 

 shells with water and float in them to the surface of the 

 pond. 



Another common British water-spider belongs to a 

 different family ; he is one of the wolf-spiders, a family 

 with many interesting habits. Of webs they spin little 

 or not at all. Unlike the web-spinners, they are keen- 

 sighted, a necessity, for they hunt their prey. The 

 females carry their eggs about with them in a little 

 sac till the young are ready to hatch, and the young, 

 in turn, spend the first few days of their lives in clamber- 

 ing over their mother's back, dropping off by degrees 

 and starting life for themselves. The raft-spider, though 

 capable of walking on the surface of water, needs some 

 resting-place on this element, so he collects together a 

 few dead leaves, spins them with silk into a miniature 

 raft and crouches atop of his structure to await passing 

 prey in the shape of water insects. From time to time 

 he will leave his raft to make a capture and will return 

 thereto for his meal. Occasionally he goes beneath the 

 surface after some tasty morsel ; in doing so he does not 

 swim, but creeps down some water weed. 



No account of the ways of spiders would be complete 

 without a word concerning the species which construct 

 trapdoors. Though common throughout the Medi- 

 terranean region, their nests are never easy to find, so|f 

 skilfully are they hidden. In its usual form the nest of 

 the trapdoor-spider consists of a simple, straight, vertical 

 burrow in the ground, a little wider than a lead pencil 

 when first made, but enlarged with the growth of the 

 inmate. A layer of coarse silk lines the burrow and 

 prevents the earth from falling into the nest. The actual 

 lining of the nest is composed of fine, smooth, lustrous 

 silk. At its upper, open end the burrow is fitted with a 

 lid, which fits its mouth as accurately as a well-made 

 glass stopper fits the neck of a bottle. The edges of the 

 lid are bevelled, so that it falls into close contact with the 



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