418 FOOD OF INSECTS. 



can be caught laying the foundations of their snares. Yet 

 doubtless the lucky moment might be hit by an atten- 

 tive observer, and I shall be glad if my attempt to de- 

 scribe their more ordinary operations should induce you 

 to aim at signalizing yourself by the discovery. If you 

 failed in solving every difficulty, you would at least be 

 rewarded by witnessing their industry, ingenuity, and 

 patience. 



For the latter virtue they have no small occasion. In- 

 capable of actively pursuing their prey, they are depen- 

 dent upon what chance conducts into their toils, which, 

 especially those spread in neglected buildings, often re- 

 main for a long period empty. Even the geometrical 

 spiders, which fix themselves in the midst of a well-peo- 

 pled district in the open air, have frequently to sustain 

 a protracted abstinence. A continued storm of wind 

 and rain will demolish their nets, and preclude the pos- 

 sibility of reconstructing them for many days or some- 

 times weeks, during which not a single gnat regales their 

 sharp-set appetites. And when at length formed anew 

 or repaired, an unlucky bee or wasp, or an overgrown 

 fly, will perversely entangle itself in toils not intended 

 for insects of its bulk, and in disengaging itself once 

 more leave the net in ruin. — All these trials move not 

 our philosophic race. They patiently sit in their watch- 

 ing-place in the same posture, scarcely ever stirring but 

 when the expected prey appears. And however repeat- 

 edly their nets are injured or destroyed, as long as their 

 store of silk is unexhausted, they repair or reconstruct 

 them without loss of time. 



The web of a house spider will, with occasional re- 



