THE FEATHERFOOT SPIDER, ULOBORUS PLUMIPES. 179 
The same author says that the spiral lines of Hyptiotes and Uloborus 
have a strong, smooth thread through the centre. That of Hyptiotes, which 
he examined fresh, had the finer 
part arranged in reg- 
ular leaves or scallops, 
in which the separate 
fibres could not be distinguished. 
The thread of Uloborus, at least 
when old and dried, had the 
loops longer and less regular, and 
he had not been able to distin- 
guish the separate fibres except 
at the edges of the band. To 
my eye the spiral seemed to be 
a single continuous flocculent fil- 
ament without any supporting 
thread, thus differing from Hyp- 
tiotes. But of this I am_ not 
confident. Under a common 
hand lens it has a milky or 
filmy hue. 
The position of the spider upon her snare is very much like that of 
Tetragnatha. I have found her stretched out underneath the hub, with 
the legs extended fore and aft almost in a straight line with the 
ribboned decorations to which the feet clung. Sometimes, how- 
ever, she turned and hung beneath the hub at a position at 
right angles with the ribbon. 
One young specimen, captured upon her snare, I saw repairing the 
broken margins of her web. It was done line after line, one 
radius and one spiral at a time, precisely in the manner common 
to other Orbweayers. The broken lines were cut out, and new 
ones substituted, or were picked up by the spider’s feet, spliced, and 
stretched into position, She worked very deftly and rapidly. I saw her 
capturing a small insect, a gnat. The two hind legs were used for rapidly 
pulling out the enswathing thread, while the second and third legs re- 
volved the insect and held it to the web. According to Hentz, Uloborus 
has the habit of vio- 
lently shaking her 
web when threatened. 
But when at rest he 
always found it in an 
inverted position underneath its orb, with its hind legs extended in parallel 
lines like Tetragnatha. This record of habits, imperfect as it is, indubi- 
tably places Uloborus among the weavers of orbwebs, 
Spiral 
Thread. 
Fie. 167. Unfinished web of Uloborus Walckenaerius. 
(After Emerton.) 
Position 
on Snare. 
Repairing 
Snare. 
Fic. 168. Uloborus hanging beneath her orb. 
