hd i ee 
NESTING HABITS AND PROTECTIVE ARCHITECTURE. 295 
In the neighborhood of Philadelphia the Shamrock spider is somewhat 
rare, but here her huge orbicular snare is hung on every bush. 
Sham- Without passing the limits of a single field I could collect hun- 
caf dreds of specimens of females, whose large, rounded abdomens 
' show that they are approaching the crisis period of motherhood. 
During the entire day, with rare exception, these araneads keep them- 
selves closely to their nests, leaving them only in the late evening hours 
to station themselves at the centre of their orbs for the more convenient 
trapping of prey. The nests are in most respects well suited as a domi- 
cile for the occupants. They vary in style and proportion according to 
the character of the plants upon which they are spun. Often they consist 
of a single leaf, in which case the edges of the leaf will be brought together 
and fastened close to the stem. The lobes of the leaf also, as far as prac- 
ticable, will be joined in the same manner, but with a wider interval be- 
tween the tips, the interspace being spanned by threads or by a thin tissue 
of spinningwork. 
The laurel is a strong, tough leaf, yet even that will be rolled and sewed 
together by this spider’s art. (Fig. 267.) Sometimes, as though to save the 
effort required for the bending of such stiff material, several 
laurel leaves will be adjusted in a manner somewhat peculiar. 
One leaf will be selected as the roof, and without being curled 
will be fastened across the edges of two other leaves, which have been so 
disposed that they stand with their flat surfaces almost upright. Thus 
both roof and sides are flat, as though they had been built of inelastic 
boards, and within this cubical refuge the spider fixes her home, On the 
sumac plant, whose leaves are lanceolate and very pliable, a number of 
leaves are chosen, and these are overlapped and the tips bent downward 
until they form a wigwam, within which the spider dwells. (Fig. 268.) 
Its blossoms also (Fig. 269) are pressed and spun into nests, 
Here, again, in this natural fernery, which straggles along the borders 
of the stone fence, one has a good opportunity to select nests that are 
strikingly beautiful in form. ‘The delicate tips of the ferns, 
sometimes one spray, sometimes more, are drawn together, over- 
laid and interlashed, until a domicile is constructed that might 
attract even the Queen of the Fairies to fix her palace therein. (Figs. 
270, 271.) Hard by, a neighbor Trifolium is ensconced beneath a bower 
of rich brown blackberry leaves. (Fig. 272.) Thus, it will be observed that 
the spiders have wrought upon their material as practical architects, adapt- 
ing methods and accommodating plans to the quality of their material. 
The nest of the Insular spider differs very little from her congener 
Among these bushes scattered over the rocky slope she pitches her tent 
and makes her home side by side with the Shamrock spider. Perhaps, if 
I were asked to name a distinction, I would say that Insularis is rather 
more fond of an open wooded location than Trifolium, and is somewhat 
Nests in 
Laurel. 
Fern 
Nests. 
