THE GENESIS OF SNARES. 343 
any apparent purpose of the spider, drop into a maze of interlacing single 
threads, which would present in crude form the typical snare of such 
genera as Theridium, Pholcus, Ero, Neriene, and others of the 
Therid- Retitelarie. That web is, in point of fact, just such a snare as 
nied I have seen other spiders make, notably the Orbweavers, by such 
Snare. Purposeless moving back and forward as I have mentioned. 
To be sure, the snares of Theridium and Pholeus, as we now see 
them, have a little more finished character than that of the crude cobweb 
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Fie. 884, The sheeted web of Linyphia costata. 
described, but the difference is not very great, and it therefore implies a 
rigid persistence in habit throughout an immense period of time. 
We take another step in the development of web making, confining 
ourselves still to the tribe of Lineweavers. I have already described, in 
the chapter on Engineering Skill, the manner in which Theridium tends 
