354 NEW ARANEIDiE OF NEW SOUTH WALES, 
ornamented about midway between branchial opercula and 
spinnerets with a yellowish transverse, slightly curved band, the 
lateral extremities of which are somewhat abruptly directed 
towards posterior extremity. Epigyne a dark brown, glossy, 
transverse oval eminence, concave within. 
Hab.— Sydney. 
The spiders of the genus Nephiia are undoubtedly one of the 
most interesting groups of Australian orb-weavers, both as regards 
their size, beauty and webs. Representatives of the genus abound 
in tropical and sub-tropical regions, often occurring in communi- 
ties, and constructing their webs closely together, occasionally 
within reach, but not infrequently from 10 to 20 feet from the 
ground, and always in a position exposed to the rays of the sun. 
The snares are bright yellow, and so remarkably viscid as to 
follow the point of a needle; they vary in diameter from three 
feet upwards, while the supporting lines or guys sometimes 
measure from 10 to 12 feet.* 
So strong are these snares that small birds are occasionally 
entrapped by them. The writer on one occasion saw a young- 
bird that had been newly caught in the web of a Nephiia in the 
vicinity of Sydney. It was in vain the unhappy bird struggled 
to free itself from the toils; the more it fought, the more hopeless 
became its position, while the damage inflicted upon the web was 
considerable. And the spider itself was evidently afraid of the 
victim. It had taken its position in the usual spot — the centre — 
its huge legs spread out, covering a space of four or five inches. 
Occasionally it ran from the centre towards the struggling bird, 
but speedily retraced its steps. All this time the spider was 
throwing threads around the body of the victim, and rapidly 
enveloping its head and wings. As a result the struggles became 
less desperate, until at length they ceased, death resulting ap- 
parently from exhaustion. Bushmen have assured the writer 
* According to Graffe, a large species of Epe'ira occurs in the Fiji 
Islands, which constructs a strong web often 30 feet or more in diameter. 
Verh. Zool. Bot. Ges. in Wien, xvi. p. 500. [Doubtless one of the Nephilce* 
— W.J.R.] 
