﻿438 
  

  

  W. 
  F. 
  FISKE. 
  

  

  At 
  times 
  the 
  great 
  webs 
  of 
  the 
  Nephele 
  are 
  so 
  numerous 
  that 
  in 
  passing 
  through 
  

   semi-open 
  spaces 
  along 
  shore 
  one 
  must 
  strike 
  them 
  down 
  at 
  every 
  step, 
  and 
  literally 
  

   hundreds 
  of 
  the 
  gigantic 
  spiders 
  can 
  be 
  seen 
  through 
  openings 
  between 
  the 
  trees, 
  

   each 
  suspended 
  in 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  its 
  web 
  and 
  silhouetted 
  against 
  the 
  sky 
  ; 
  and 
  not 
  

   the 
  least 
  remarkable 
  feature 
  of 
  the 
  phenomenon 
  is 
  that 
  one 
  small 
  islet 
  may 
  be 
  thus 
  

   festooned, 
  and 
  another, 
  a 
  few 
  hundreds 
  or 
  thousands 
  of 
  yards 
  away, 
  may 
  be 
  entirely 
  

   free. 
  Several 
  of 
  the 
  islets 
  and 
  small 
  islands 
  lying 
  off 
  the 
  shores 
  of 
  Kome 
  (fig. 
  1) 
  

   have 
  been 
  found 
  densely 
  infested, 
  but 
  Kome 
  itself 
  has 
  always 
  been 
  entirely 
  free. 
  

  

  These 
  webs 
  are 
  frequently 
  stretched 
  squarely 
  across 
  the 
  courses 
  which 
  would 
  

   naturally 
  be 
  followed 
  by 
  streams 
  of 
  food-hunting 
  flies, 
  and 
  are 
  inevitably 
  a 
  source 
  

   of 
  considerable 
  danger. 
  The 
  flies 
  are 
  well 
  aware 
  of 
  it, 
  and 
  remarkably 
  successful 
  

   in 
  avoiding 
  capture 
  ; 
  still 
  many 
  of 
  them 
  become 
  entangled. 
  Of 
  these 
  a 
  fair 
  

   proportion 
  escape 
  by 
  the 
  strength 
  and 
  vigour 
  of 
  their 
  actions, 
  but 
  a 
  proportion 
  

   are 
  destroyed. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  island 
  of 
  Wema, 
  in 
  February 
  1914, 
  a 
  light 
  infestation 
  by 
  spider 
  and 
  

   dense 
  infestation 
  by 
  fly 
  afforded 
  opportunity 
  for 
  study, 
  and 
  counts 
  were 
  made 
  of 
  

   insects 
  as 
  large 
  as 
  or 
  larger 
  than 
  tsetse 
  that 
  were 
  found 
  entangled 
  in 
  the 
  webs, 
  with 
  

   results 
  as 
  shown 
  in 
  Table 
  XXXV. 
  It 
  should 
  be 
  noted 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  seven 
  tsetse 
  recorded 
  

   five 
  were 
  found 
  entangled 
  on 
  approaching 
  the 
  webs, 
  and 
  two 
  became 
  entangled 
  

   while 
  the 
  webs 
  were 
  under 
  examination. 
  

  

  Table 
  XXXV. 
  

   Insects 
  found 
  entangled 
  in 
  Webs 
  of 
  Nephele 
  pilipe-. 
  

  

  Insects. 
  

  

  In 
  webs 
  along 
  

   fly 
  beach, 
  

   27th 
  Feb. 
  

  

  In 
  webs 
  in 
  old 
  

  

  plantations, 
  

  

  1st 
  March. 
  

  

  Total. 
  

  

  Odonata 
  . 
  

   Ephemeridae 
  

   Orthoptera 
  (Acridiidae) 
  

   Homoptera 
  (Fulgoridae) 
  

   Hemiptera 
  

   Lepidoptera 
  

   Coleoptera 
  

   Hymenoptera 
  

   Miscellaneous 
  Diptera 
  . 
  

   Glossina 
  . 
  

  

  » 
  • 
  • 
  

  

  

  1 
  

   4 
  

   4 
  

   

   4 
  

   9 
  

   3 
  

   8 
  

   5 
  

   5 
  

  

  2 
  

   1 
  

   9 
  

  

  14 
  

   4 
  

  

  14 
  

   6 
  

  

  11 
  

   2 
  

   2 
  

  

  3 
  

  

  5 
  

  

  13 
  

  

  14 
  

  

  8 
  

   23 
  

   14 
  

   14 
  

  

  7 
  

   7 
  

  

  Total 
  

  

  43 
  

  

  65 
  

  

  108 
  

  

  Percentage 
  Glossina 
  

  

  11-6 
  

  

  3-1 
  % 
  

  

  6-5 
  % 
  

  

  The 
  unexpectedly 
  high 
  percentage 
  of 
  Glossina 
  amongst 
  the 
  insects 
  of 
  equal 
  or 
  

   larger 
  size 
  captured 
  by 
  the 
  Nephele 
  rendered 
  it 
  extremely 
  probable 
  that 
  where 
  

   infestation 
  by 
  spider 
  is 
  excessively 
  heavy 
  it 
  must 
  have 
  some 
  effect 
  in 
  reducing 
  

   local 
  density 
  of 
  tsetse, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  believed 
  that 
  its 
  effect 
  is 
  fairly 
  measured 
  in 
  the 
  

  

  