WEAVERS OF ROUND WEBS. 123 
perpendicular. The heavy spider hanging on the under side of the close 
meshed hub pulled the net down at its centre as the snares were swayed 
by the wind. The upper foundation lines were quite strong and usually 
of great length, being from three to five feet, and in one case twelve feet 
long. The orb itself is often about eighteen inches in diameter, and is a 
conspicuous object to one driving by it upon the road. The concentric 
spirals are numerous and placed in with great beauty and regularity. 
They extend entirely around the snare, giving it a more circular appear- 
ance than is common with 
those webs which have 
looped spirals below the 
hub, thus giving the orb 
an elongated form. For 
the most part the hub is 
closely meshed, but in one 
vase was found open. 
My own observation of 
the snare of Gasteracantha 
is limited to a single indi- 
vidual seen in Texas in 
the neighborhood of Aus- 
tin. This web was spun 
within a triangular space 
of two feet or more in 
length from top to bottom. 
This space was marked off 
by foundation lines, which 
were decorated in a pecu- 
liar manner, as represented 
in Fig. 110. This decora- 
tion consisted of tufts of 
flossy white silk from one- 
eighth to one-fourth inch 
long. They were spread 
along the outer foundation lines throughout nearly their entire length. 
Several were also placed on the two inner supports of the orb. Two 
radii, one above and another below the centre, were similarly 
Flossy decorated, and several tufts were grouped around the hub, which 
asia was open. The number of these flossy tufts on one foundation 
line was twenty-one; on the other fifteen. The spider hung at 
the centre of her web, which was vertical, and consisted of twenty-three 
radii regularly crossed by spirals, many of which presented the deltated 
appearance usually produced by the capture of insects. The figure here 
given is drawn simply to indicate the exact position of the flossy tufts 
Fig. 110. Snare of Gasteracantha, to show the flossy tufts. 
