WEB OF THE SPIDER. 66 1 



entire centre of the body is buff, and the latter half of the abdomen is black-brown, 

 divided from the buff by a white band. 



The last species shown on the preceding illustration, at fig. D, is an example of a very 

 remarkable spider, even more ant-like than the preceding species. Its mandibles are of 

 very great size, and the strange shape of its attenuated abdomen can be seen by reference 

 to the illustration. It is a native of Bengal, and is wonderfully like the mutilla, that 

 terrible ant which has already been described on page 499. It is notable for several 

 reasons, among which may be the fact that its head seems to be nearly distinct from the 

 thorax, a structure quite unlike that of the arachnida, from the mygale to the cheesemite. 

 It is thought to eat ants as well as to resemble them. The head, if it may be so called, 

 of this curious spider is black, and the remainder is red. It is about half an inch in 

 length. 



I may mention here, that spiders, like the Crustacea, are apt to be terribly quarrelsome ; 

 and the strangest part of their nature is, that they are most combative during the season 

 of love. In many species, especially those where the male is of insignificant dimensions 

 compared with those of the female, all courtship is conducted under the most unexpected 

 difficulties. A male in love is equally a male in a fright, for if his addresses are not 

 received favourably, he runs 'a great chance of being eaten on the spot. And even when 

 he has not been repulsed, he still stands in great danger ; for many of these Arachnidan 

 beauties are as cruelly deceitful as the enchantress of the "Arabian Nights," and kill their 

 lovers ruthlessly as soon as they have granted their prayers. So, as Alphonse Karr well 

 remarks, the stereotyped exclamation of " Love me, or I die !" is by no means a metaphor, 

 but a simple enunciation of a fact. 



When spiders of nearly equal powers fight with each other, the battle rages 

 vehemently, and if the weaker can escape with life, it is sure to have lost several of its 

 limbs. As with the crustaceans, however, the deprivation is only temporary, for the 

 severed members are reproduced ; and though they hardly seem to attain the same 

 dimensions as the original limbs, are yet to a degree serviceable. 



THE spiders belonging to the genus Thomisus are, like the hunting spiders, dependent 

 for their subsistence on their bodily powers and activity. Some, which are rather slow of 

 limb, are in the habit of concealing themselves under leaves or in crevices, and thence 

 pouncing suddenly on the insects that venture too near the treacherous precincts, but the 

 generality are active creatures, running about swiftly, and much resembling the saltici in 

 their movements. Sometimes these creatures are popularly called Crab-spiders, because 

 they can move in any direction without needing to turn their bodies. 



At fig. A is shown one of our common species of Thomisus. It is mostly found on 

 the ground, or lurking among the foliage of old pasture-land. In its colour, and indeed 

 in its whole appearance, it is singularly variable, and exhibits so many differences that the 

 simple varieties have been treated by several zoologists as distinct species. 



This is one of the many species which, when young, is accustomed to take aerial 

 excursions, and to form that delicate substance popularly known as "gossamer." There is 

 no gossamer spider, as is generally supposed, but many species are in the habit of 

 spinning long loose threads and allowing themselves to be wafted into the air. Lycosse 

 are very fond of the same curious habit. Sometimes these gossamer webs, each with its 

 minute aeronaut, may be seen floating by thousands in the air, glittering with iridescent 

 light as the morning sunbeams fall on them, and covering the fields with their pearl- 

 strung threads as far as the eye can reach. 



The whole question of the spider's web is very curious and interesting ; and although 

 our fast waning space will not permit of a full description, a few lines must still be 

 granted to these beautiful structures. 



The web is produced primarily from a fluid contained within the body of the spider, 

 and secreted within certain glands, varying in number and dimensions according to the 

 species. Like the thread of the silkworm, this substance becomes hard on exposure to the 

 atmosphere, and is drawn out through tubes of exceeding minuteness. In the silkworm, 

 these spinnerets, as they are called, are two in number, but in the spider they are almost 



