[December 
412 
Psyche 
Figs. 3, 4. Webs of Hypochilus gertschl. Fig. 3. Web in crevice. Fig. 4. 
Web on nearly vertical rock face. Drawn from photos. 
in the tangle, and as the silk used there is not sticky, most prey ani- 
mals found it easy to escape, remaining in the tangle a maximum of 
80 seconds. 
The spider responded to prey only if the prey came in direct con- 
tact with the sticky silk of the lampshade. Unless the initial contact 
was violent, there was no visible response on the part of the spider. 
The continued struggles of the prey caused a “testing” of web ten- 
sion by the spider, slowly flexing and extending its legs, and moving 
the body up and down. Presumably this allowed the spider to sense 
on which side of the lampshade the prey had been caught. During 
these motions the spider slowly turned to face the prey (Fig. 6). 
Up to this point any decrease in prey activity caused the spider to 
stop what it was doing, to resume its movements only when prey 
struggles began again. 
Once the prey had been touched with the tarsi of the first and 
second legs, the actions of the spider were more or less continuous. 
Legs 3 and 4 grasped the opposite side of the lampshade near the base, 
while legs 1 and 2 pulled on the lampshade threads near the prey. 
From this position, the spider pulled in the side of the lampshade 
(Fig. 6) with a very slow, but continuous, movement. When the 
struggling prey came within reach of the jaws, it was palpated and 
bitten repeatedly. The use of silk to subdue prey was not observed. 
Apparently the prey was killed by a combination of biting and poison- 
