SPIDERS AND THEIR IVEB-MAKING I97 



struction. The webs made by the various individuals of 

 any one species of spiders are always alike, however; 

 indeed, each family of web-weavers has its own peculiar 

 type-plan of web construction, and as we could distin- 

 guish various families of 

 non-web-weaving spiders 

 by their habits of locomo- 

 tion, so we can distin- 

 guish the various families 

 of web-weavers by the 

 character of the webs. .. 



Most familiar to us 

 probably are the "cob- 

 webs " of the neglected 

 corners and byways of 

 the house and out-build- 

 ings. The family of cob- 

 web weavers is a large 

 one, and its species are 

 not restricted to an in- 

 door habitat, but many 

 spin their loose, irregular 

 webs in bushes. With 

 them all the web is a 

 tangled maze of silken 



, , , . , Fig. 157. — Burrow of trap-door spider 



threads, mostly m the cut open to show interior. (One-half 

 form, of a flat or curved natural size; from specimen.) 



sheet of silk, on the under side of which the spider stands 

 or runs, back downward. Sometimes the owner has a 

 silken nest in a crack near the web, and there is some- 

 times a short silken tube leading to the nest. The spiders 

 themselves are usually small and very slim-legged. 



Examine a cobweb carefully. Note its irregular, un- 

 symmetrical character. Can its general sheet-like form 

 be made out ? Are there vertical threads running to it 



