The Structure and Habits of Spiders. 5 i 



and the spider came out and snatched it in the 

 same wa}*, and kept it. Xone of the spiders 

 came entirely out of their holes, and the\- were 

 onh a little more active than in the daytime. 



Erber, in the Island of Tinos, noticed a place 

 where se\"eral trap-door nests were near each 

 other, and spent a moonlight night watching 

 tliem. Soon after nine o'clock some of the 

 spiders came out. fastened back their doors, 

 and each spun a web, about six inches long and 

 all inch high, among the grass near her hole, 

 and went back into the tube. In course of 

 time beetles were caught in the webs, and 

 eaten bv the spiders, and the hard parts carried 

 several feet from the nest. The next morning 

 the webs had been cleared away, and the doors 

 of tlie tubes closed, leaving no traces of the 

 night's work. 



SILK TUBES AXD XESTS. 



Several species of Tlu-ridic'i and Ef<.-:rj 

 make tents near their webs, under which they 

 hang when at rest, and in which some species 

 make their cocoons, and lay their eggs. The 

 tert? are usi:a':]v covered outside witli leaves 



