THE ZEBRA SPIDER. 



59 



a gauge to measure her work, iii the same way as a bird uses its body 

 to gauge the size and form of its nest. The spider first spreads a thin 

 coating of silk as a foundation, taking care to have this circular by 

 turning round its body during the process. It then in the same 

 manner spins a raised border round this, till it take the form of a cup ; 

 and at this stage of the work it begins to lay its eggs in the cup, not only 

 filling it with these up to the brim, but piling them up above it into a 

 rounded heap, as high as the cup is deep. Here, then, is a cup full of 

 eggs, the under half covered and protected by the silken sides of the 

 cup, but the upper still bare, and exposed to the air and the cold. It 

 is now the spider's task to cover these, and the process is similar to 

 the preceding ; that is, she weaves a thick web of silk all round them, 

 and instead of a cup-shaped nest, like some birds, the whole eggs are 

 enclosed in a ball, much larger than the body of the spider that 

 covered it. 



Dr. Heineker found the zebra spider common in Madeira, and M. 

 Leon Dufour, in Spain. The following is 



Walckenaer's Description. — Corselet and upper base of the abdomen silvery ; back 

 yellow, Avith black wavy crossing bands, somewliat contiguous ; belly black, with two 

 yellow bands placed length wise. 



Synonym.es Araneus septimus totus viridis et pratensis, protenso corpore, et acuto alvo 



lineis candidissimis quinque insignita. Aldrovandi de Anim. Insect., Francofurti, 1618, 



p. 240, D, fig. 11, No. 7. Id. De Insectis, Bononiaj, 1602, p. 607 et 609, fig. 7 



Ar. Septimus. Jonstonius de Insectis, Francofurti, 1653, p. 134, tab. 18, fig. 7. — At. 

 Tarentina. Bonanni Micrographia, 4to, Romae, 1691, p. 70, fig. 69, 70 et 71. — Ar. 



Zebra. Sulzero abgekurtze Geschichte der Spinner, 4to, 1776 r p. 254, fig. 15 Ar. 



Speciosa? Cosaccis ad Jaikum Bojie Misgnir, i. e., Aranea sacrariorum. Pallas 

 Voyages, traduit par la Peyronie, Paris, 1789. In 4to. vol. 2, p. 543, No. 40. — Der 

 Heilige Spinne? Ibid. Reisen 2. Ausg. Auh., p. 36, No. 97, et Muller's Suppl. und 



Reg. B. p. 343, t. 51 Ar. Speciosa. Goeze, System Naturg. der Spinnen, p. 267, No. 41. 



— Ar. Pulchra. Razoumowsky, Lettre a M. Reynier sur une Araignee dans le Journal 

 de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Rozier, 1787, t. 2, p. 372. — Ar. Pulchra. 

 Razoumowsky, Hist. Nat. du Jorat, p. 244, No. 333, pi. 3, fig. 14. — Ar. Fasciata. Ar. 

 Fasciee, Olivier, Encyclop. Method. Ins. t. 4, p. 188, No. 1, et p. 198, No. 1. Ibid. pi. 18, 



partie, pi. 261, fig. 14 Ar. Formosa (la belle). C. de Villiers c. Linna? Entomolog., 



Lugduni, 1789, p. 130, No. 125, pi. 11, fig. 10. — Ar. Fasciata. Fabricius, Entomol. 

 Systematica, p. 414, No. 28. — Ar. Phragmitis. Rossi, Faun. Etrusca, t. 2, p. 128, 



No. 964, tab. 3, fig. 13, et tab. 9, fig. 15 Ar. Speciosa. J. F. Hermann, Aranese 



Rheni medii, p. 4, tab. 4, et 5. — Ar. Fasciata. Gmelin, Linnee Systema Nat. edit. 13, t. 1, 



partie 5, p. 29 46, No. 48 Ar. Fasciee. Latreille, Hist. Nat. des Crust, et des Insect. 



t. 7, p. 269, No. 79. — Epeire Fasciee. Walcken. Tableau des Araneides, p. 55, No. 4 



Epeira Fasciata, Latreille, Genera Crustac. et Insect, t. 1. p. 106, spec. 8. 



ie Eyes lateral, touching each other, the front one red, the hind one 

 black and larger. Corselet flattened with silvery hairs. Breast yellow 



