4 88 
Psyche 
[December 
Terminology 
Confusion can arise over the use of the terms immobilization and 
post immobilization. This is because the word immobile is frequently 
regarded as synonymous with motionless. This problem of terminol- 
ogy is a difficult one. Robinson (1969) used the expression restraint 
wrapping in preference to immobilization wrapping since restraint 
does not have connotations of motionlessness. However, if restraint is 
used as a word to qualify biting attacks, two separate effects may 
be confounded. Thus the bite may effect restraint simply because 
the prey is held in the chelicerae, whereas the addition of poison, by 
means of the bite, ensures a degree of immobilization after the spider 
releases its hold. In the interests of consistency we have decided to 
refer to wrapping used as a means of initial restraint as immobilization 
wrapping and to use “post immobilization wrapping” to designate all 
the forms of wrapping that occur after an initial atack by biting. 
This usage is not meant to imply that immobilization wrapping ren- 
ders the prey absolutely motionless^ or that post immobilization wrap- 
ping is applied to completely motionless prey. Immobilization 
wrapping does seem to effectively immobilize prey by preventing those 
forms of movement which could result in escape from the web. 
Similarly the immobilization bite does not necessarily render the prey 
motionless but does reduce the level of movements to a stage at which 
the spider can safely stop biting. Eberhard (1967, p. 177) seems to 
recognize this distinction without explicitly stating it. Thus, in de- 
scribing the behavior of diguetid spiders, he refers to the (immobili- 
zation) bite being maintained “until the prey’s struggles subsided”, 
but also states that the prey were “usually still twitching” when the 
bite ceased. 
Wrapping by Nephila clavipes 
Data on the behavior of Nephila clavipes are derived from a recent 
study by Robinson & Mirick (in prep.). Nephila clcwipes bites all 
prey and does not enswathe prey in silk prior to biting. Wrapping 
occurs in three sets of circumstances: 
1. Wrapping occurs at the feeding site (the hub of the web) 
and is there applied to prey which have previously been treated 
in two different ways. All prey small enough to be pulled 
from the web at the capture site and carried to the hub in 
the jaws are wrapped on arrival at the hub. All prey which 
have been wrapped at the capture site (after biting) and sub- 
sequently carried to the hub in the jaws, are rewrapped at the 
hub. This is post immobilization wrapping at the feeding site. 
