14 Woodside. 



Here is a hole in the wall, which a spider has selected for 

 its home. It has lined it with silk and formed a tube, so 

 that you will not be surprised to hear that this spider 

 belongs to the Tubitelarice ; whilst on the bank another kind 

 has not made use of a hole ready prepared for it, but has 

 actually bored a hole in the ground before building its tube. 

 Those that bore into the ground are called Territelario?.. 

 The names are well chosen, and you can remember the four 

 groups of spiders as (1) the " orbit weavers," (2) the " net 

 weavers," (3) the "tube spinners," and (4) the "earth 

 borers." 



How well does the poet describe the " orbit weaver's ' T 

 work : 



" Still at the centre she her warp begins, 

 Then round at length her little thread she spins, 

 And equal distance to her compass leaves ; 

 Then neat and nimbly her new web she weaves, 

 With her fine shuttle circularly drawn 

 Through all the circuit of her open lawn. 

 Open ! lest else the ungentle wind should tear 

 Her cypress tent, weaker than any hair ; 

 And then the foolish fly might easier get 

 Within the meshes of the curious net, 

 Which he no sooner doth begin to shake, 

 But straight the male doth to the centre make, 

 That he may conquer more securely there 

 The humming creature hampered in his snare." 



You would like to know something about the way in 

 which the spider digests its food. This is exceedingly simple. 

 Since the spider lives on the juices of the various animals 

 on which it preys, very little digestion is necessary. Its 

 mouth leads through a short gullet into a very simple 

 stomach, which narrows again into a rather short, coiled 



