1917.] Notes on the Habits of Gyrtophora citricola. 25 



cola, with its mesh of 25 to the inch, and lines so fine that it i> 

 difficult to see them individually except in a strong light, 

 bears about the same proportion in the matter of fineness to 

 the cart wheel snare as a piece of the finest Dacca Muslin to 

 a fishing net ! And well it may ; for the cart wheel is generally 

 made in 40 to 45 minutes including the foundation lines, 

 whereas C. citricola } s snare, after the foundation lines are pro- 

 vided, takes 5 hours of continuous toil to make. 



Having laid out some of the radiating lines on which she 

 purposes to weave the horizontal sheet, she will commence 

 from the centre to lay spiral lines and work round and round 

 till she has prepared a disc of about the size of a rupee. 

 During her progress on the circle she will from time to time 

 suddenly leave the centre by one of the spokes, carrying a new 

 radial line which she attaches to the line at the outer edge of 

 her snare, and instantly return with another line stretching 

 from the periphery to where she left off. Then she will resume 

 her circular work to and fro on a segment of the inner circle, 

 and suddenly dart out in another direction to the periphery 

 and back again, and resume her work on the ever-growing 

 inner circle, all without the slightest hesitation. You will 

 observe the line she runs on bends with her w r eight. 



In one respect the movements, as regards precision and 

 accuracy and rapidity, are machine-like ; but the work is not 

 that of a machine ; there is nothing automatic or tiresome or 

 monotonous about the action, but it is rather the work of a sen- 

 tient, calculating, thoughtful being. She does not go round and 

 round with tiresome iteration, but attends to some part or 

 segment of the circle — now with her right side to the centre, 

 then returning over the segment with her left side to the 

 centre. Anon she walks sidewavs with her head towards the 

 centre, and in the meantime she now and then leaves the circle 

 and runs out two more spokes — one on the outward run and 



one on the inward run. 

 Perhaps, when the 



i 



she will suddenly return to the centre and do something that is 

 not immediately apparent, but when after a minute or so she 

 returns to her circular weave again, you will notice with aston- 

 ished delight that she has drawn down the suspensory threads 



and shortened them, and lo, there is the raised cone of the 



bell-tent ! 



It will be noticed that the spokes (the radiating lines) are 

 thicker than the spiral weaving lines. The latter are so thin 

 that they are utterly invisible, unless seen in a bright light. It 

 will be observed also that not all the spokes terminate in the 

 centre like the spokes of a wheel do in the hub. This is why she 

 breaks off her circular peregrinations to run out a new couple 

 of spokes as required for if all emanated from the centre they 

 would be too far apart at the outer edge of the circle. v 



