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114 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 
whose basal extremities touch the united radii, the apical ends being con- 
verged within the claw. (Figs. 102, 103.) Thus the agitation made at any 
point of the snare is communicated through the radii to the feet, made 
extremely sensitive by the numerous delicate hairs and spines which 
clothe them. The eight claws of the spider, each one of which is in 
communication with three, four or more converged radii, together com- 
mand the whole number of radii, and through them also the 
Under interwoven spirals; By this arrangement Madam Arachne, like 
a good housewife, may be said to have the whole of her house- 
hold establishment literally “under her thumb.” 
The Orbweaver while thus in waiting is chiefly supported by the 
claws, and apparently by those of the hind feet. But the spinnerets also 
aid in maintaining the weight, by means of a thread or threads which 
may be seen issuing from them and attached to the hub beneath by a 
minute white dot of silk. 
The frequent formation of 
these attachments, as Menge 
has observed of Epeira: di- 
ademata, on the return from 
her various excursions after 
insects or on housekeeping 
duties, sometimes causes the 
hub to be dotted over by 
white specks, especially in 
the region underneath the 
spinnerets. This is espe- 
Fic. 108. Feet of Orbweaver while in position at the hub, to show cially apparent on a thinly 
the radiating footlines. sheeted hub of Argiope. 
The Furrow spiders, like others of their genus, are found near running 
streams and still water, where the congregations of insects are usually 
largest. I have seen multitudes of them upon the railings of 
Natural the old Gray’s Ferry Bridge over the Schuylkill before the rest- 
pecs of jess innovations of human creatures had set up the new struct- 
nares. : 
ure; and on the famous Long Bridge over the Potomac at Wash- 
ington they were domiciled in legions. This species will often be found 
upon the shrubbery and trees of yards, lawns, and orchards, and in such 
locations frequently selects a site for her snare which forms for it a beau- 
tiful background of leaves, tendrils, and flowers. Such an example is Fig. 
104, snares spun among lilies and sprigs of coxcomb in a flower garden in 
Eastern Ohio. But more than some others of the especial group to which , 
she belongs Strix is a wood spider. I have often found her in forests, 
groves, and fields, building upon the branches and nesting among the foli- 
age. In color Strix varies much; the young specimens are often found 
quite black; in maturity the prevailing color is yellowish, with reddish 
Thumb. 
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