MATERNAL INDUSTRY : COCOONS OP ORBWEAVERS. 



97 



Distribu- 

 tion. 



at Washington, D. C, a single cocoon; another containing two cocoons, 



sent to Dr. Marx from Fort Yukon, Alaska. Still others were forwarded 

 to me from various parts of the country. 

 The range of the species is, therefore, evi- 

 dently from the southern extremity of Cali- 

 fornia to the Alaskan peninsula on the west, and in 



the east along the New England coast, and as far south 



at least as Washington. 



Several of my specimens are fastened to the twigs 



upon which they were woveij, and give a correct idea 



of the ordinary manner of attachment. The cocoons 



are about three-eighths of an inch in length, with a 



foot stalk of varying length, which gradually ends in 



a fine thread stretched upward along the twig. One 



example, containing two cocoons, is lashed against a 



twig by an overlying cord of yellowish silk five inches 



loiig. The cocoons are composed of dark brown or 



bluish silk, with overspread tufts or patches of white. 



They are separated by a space of nearly half an inch, 



and the foot stalk of the lower cocoon is united to the 



bottom of the upper one by a thick, stiff, blackish 



cord. 



The lower portion of the ball of the egg sac has a fig. 78. cocoons ^cyrta- 



SCalloped fringe with blunt points or processes, which, rachne suspended against 

 ^ " ^ ' ' ' a twig. Natural size. 



as far as my specimens show, have nothing 

 ca op ^^ ^^ with the manner of suspension. Nevertheless, they may 

 serve some useful purpose in anchoring the egg sac to the twig. 

 This description will fairly represent the form and mode of suspension 

 of all my specimens. 



Emerton found his specimens at New Haven, Connecticut, on a beech 

 tree. They were dark brown, as dark as the bark of the tree, and as 

 hard. Around the middle of each was a circle of irregular 

 points. One of his cocoons was attached by a string to the 

 bark, and the other was attached in the same w'ay to the 

 first cocoon. The spider held on to one of the cocoons, 

 which, therefore, had probably been recently spun. We may 

 safely conjecture the date of this observation, October 22d, 

 Fio. 79. A single ^q ]jg ^l^Q cocooniug period of this species. The followintr 



cocoon of Cyr- , ... 



tarachne bi- Spring another similar pair of cocoons was found on a low 



ter*Bmerton') ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ *^^*^ Same vicinity, still firmly attached to the 



bark. From these the young came out in June. 



In my specimens there is mucli difference as to the regularity of the 



little exterior processes or points alluded to. In some specimens they are 



quite regularly formed, and make a very pretty ornament upon the 



