236 ELEMENTARY ZOOLOGY 



corners and on plants ; and finally orb-weavers (Epeiridae) 

 (fig. 100), the host of variously colored and patterned 

 stout-bodied garden-spiders which spin the beautiful sym- 

 metrical circular webs familiar to all (fig. 101). If a 

 complete uninjured orb web be examined it will be found 

 to consist of a small central hub either open or closed, 

 from which run radii to the outer edges of the web. 

 Around the hub is an open or free zone, and farther out 

 a spiral zone, so called because a line running in close 



FIG. 100. Argiope sp., a large orb- weaver (Epeiridse). (From Jenkins 

 and Kellogg.) 



spiral turns fills in the space between the radii. This is 

 the real prey-catching part of the snare, and the silken 

 line here is sticky, while the radii and some other parts 

 of the web are made of silk that is not sticky. The 

 web is supported by strong foundation-lines, attached to 

 leaves, stems, or whatever is firm in the neighborhood of 

 the web. The spider either rests on the web, usually in 

 the centre, or lies concealed in a nest or tent near at hand 

 from which a special path-line runs to the centre of the 

 web. The building of one of these orb webs is a great 



