"188 



THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



Cocoon sectioned to show structure. Natural 

 ! ; Photo.— H. 



night the cocoon had attained its final 

 contours. The spinning ou the outer 

 surface then reached a finer stage, and 

 the glossy waterproofing was being done. 

 Instead of working in vertical lines, the 

 tlireads were attached from side to side 

 as the sj^ider niade its way doAvn and 

 then up the capsule. This lateral move- 

 ment was very noticeable, and the re- 

 sultant spinning added to the toughness 

 of the material, giving a criss-cross weav- 

 ing. The whole surface of the cocoon 

 had been woven over many times." 



Spidcriings may emerge from the co- 

 coon in about three months. They arc 

 aide to penetrate the tough outer enve- 

 lope without aid from the mother, and, 

 when they emerge through a tiny hole, 

 they spin fine threads and balloon away 

 on the breeze. Apparently very few of 

 these tiny aeronauts survive to maturity, 

 or the species would be far more com- 

 mon. 



Dicrosdclius magnificus does not catch 

 its prev in a web. Except for the 



many supporting strands 

 for the cocoons, and the 

 simple lines by which it 

 suspends itself, which are 

 also connected with the 

 closely woven retreat, no 

 other web is spun. None 

 of these lines are sticky 

 and no insect can be 

 caught on them. There is 

 no welj entanglement to 

 trap the moths on which 

 it feeds. Shortly after 

 sunset, the spider hangs 

 suspended on a more or 

 less horizontal line near 

 its cocoons. My wife and 

 I repeatedly found it 

 sucking a common species 

 of Noetuid Moth {Re- 

 inipro frngalis Fabr.) 

 which it had secured in 

 some mysterious way. 

 Close and persistent 

 watching through many 

 nights revealed the re- 

 markable method by which 

 it caught them. From its 

 slender bridge it would 

 spin a filament, usually 

 al)out one-and-a-half inches 

 in length, which was suspended down- 

 wards; on the end of this was a 

 globule of very viscid matter a 

 little larger than the head of an 

 ordinary pin, occasionally with several 

 smaller globules above. This filament 

 wa^ held out by one of the front legs, 

 the miniature apparatus bearing a quaint 

 resemblance to a fisherman's rod and 

 line. On the approach of the moth, the 

 spider whirls the filament and globule 

 wit'i surprising speed, and this is un- 

 doubtedly the way in which it secures 

 its prey. The moths are unquestionably 

 attracted to an effective extent by the 

 spider and glo1)ule, whether by scent or 

 its colour we cannot say. We certainly 

 could not distinguish the slightest odour. 

 r>ut the fact remains that night after 

 niglit one or two moths would flutter up 

 and be caught. Other moths near by 

 seemed to be indifferent, but two were 

 often secured in the space of an hour, 

 one of whicli would be packed away on 

 the line to he sucked later. The spec- 



size. 



Hacker. 



