i i alc rel ol acl 
NESTING HABITS AND PROTECTIVE ARCHITECTURE. 291 
Two of the above colony had established nests in tufts of a parasitic 
moss fastened upon dead limbs. One of these was very pretty and ingen- 
ious. The moss grew in a bunch about the size of a hickory 
: nut; this was pierced at the top, and the filaments 
ent a pushed aside sufficiently to allow an interior cavity 
e Moss. 5 
large enough to house a spider. An oval door or 
opening was formed near the top by bending and binding 
back the fibres of the plant. A secure and tasteful retreat 
was thus obtained at the only really available spot in the 
vicinity of the snare. (Fig. 266.) 
When the Furrow spider weaves her orb upon the ex- 
posed surfaces of human habitations, as the cornices of porch-  yy¢. 264. Funnel 
es, outhouses, etc., her nest takes a form quite different from ee ee of 
any above described. A tube of stiff, silken fibre is spun against 
the surface, to which it is lashed at all sides. This cylinder is 
about an inch long and half an inch thick, and at the end 
toward the orb has a circular opening about a quarter of an 
inch in diameter. (See Fig. 260.) The stiff texture of this nest appears 
to be necessary to make the walls self supporting, inasmuch as there are 
no supports like the twigs and leaves 
found at hand in arboreal sites. Moreover, 
the open position of the domicile exposes 
the spider very freely to the assaults of 
the mud daubers who frequent such lo- 
calities, to birds, and other enemies, so 
¥x@, 265, Shelter tent of Hpeira strix. that a canvas is needed of tougher text- 
ure than that required in sheltered sites, 
Nevertheless, it may be remarked that Strix will often 
spin a quite close tube even within a rolled leaf of 
two or three thicknesses. 
In this summary of the nest architecture of the 
Furrow spider it is manifest that while there is a gen- 
eral regard to protection of the spider’s person, there 
is a modification over quite a wide degree of 
Tubular 
Nest. 
aoe variation in the form of the protective nest. 
Daec. Further, that this modification appears to be Fic. 266. ‘Tent in the 
tation, regulated, more or less, by the accidental en- Tae eas 
vironment of the domicile, and in such wise as to show no small 
degree of intelligence in adapting the ordinary spinning habit to various 
circumstances, and to economizing labor and material. 
Lia 
One of the most interesting sights in the way of spinning industry 
which it has been my privilege to see was observed upon a rocky hillside 
