1I0 CRABS AND INSECTS. 
air, hardens and forms a silken thread (Fig. 131, s) that is 
seemingly inexhaustible. 
Fic. 131.—Parts of a spider. x, Under part of a spider's body : ¢, thorax, or 
chest, from which the eight legs spring, and to which the head is united 
in one piece; 7, fangs ; 2, palpi, or feelers, attached to the jaws; «, ab- 
domen; 4, breathing-slits; s, six spinnerets with thread coming from 
them. 2, Front of spider’s head: e, eyes; #, palpi; /, front legs; 4, 
hasp of fangs; 4, poison-fangs ; 7, outer jaws. 
NotTE.—Professor Wilder wound several miles of silk from the 
Southern Vephila plumipes, the largest spider in the United States 
Fic. 132.—Spiders’ nests of different kinds, 
containing eggs. 4 and C are common 
nests in sheds and barns; 2 was found 
under a board in the field—the part 
containing the eggs stands upon a stalk. 
(After Morse), 
(Fig. 130). In the Pacific 
islands an Zgetra spins a web 
strong enough to catch birds. 
Professor Moseley found a 
finch entangled in one of 
their webs. Some spiders 
spin a web that bears them 
away through the air like 
a balloon. The Dolomedes 
builds a raft of leaves and 
silk, and launches it in search 
of food. Many mimic their 
surroundings, while others communicate so rapid a movement to their 
webs as to become invisible. The Sa/#cus leaps through the air after 
