912 JOVRI^AL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVlll. 
I have compared were essentially of the same kind. Nevertheless in a strict sense 
I doubt if this would be true. I suspect that what I have called the temporary 
spiral is in actual reality an immensely extended hub. Just compare a few points 
of detail. The hub is the first of the different spirals which the Araneus ap- 
phes to her snare. And so is the temporary spiral in the architecture of the 
Nephila, for, as I have before stated, she constructs no real hub. Again, the 
Araneus, when she extends her radii, at the same time manufactures her hub. 
And this is exactly what the Nephila does when she is constructing what appears 
to be her temporary spiral. But a more important point is this. The temporary 
spiral in the snare of the Nephila is not destroyed at a later stage as always 
occurs in the ordinary snare. It remains as a part of the architecture to the 
end. Thus in this point it differs markedly from the temporary spiral of the 
Araneus and agrees more closely with the hub. Indeed it is only for conve- 
nience of description that we can speak of it as the “ temporary spiral.” It 
appears as such ; fulfils that purpose as a scaffold, but close and strict obser- 
vation reveals that it is in reality more to be compared with the ordinary hub. 
Considered in this light the snare of the Nephila possesses an enormous hub 
and no temporary spiral at all. 
We have now reached the last stage in the architecture, the construction of the 
viscid spiral. The work bears a close resemblance to that of the Araneus ; never- 
theless it supplies some additional information and differs in some interesting 
points. The Nephila, of course, begins at the circumference and winds her 
spiral round and round the snare. >She draws out a thin transparent line which 
she affixes to every spoke. It is very delicate, pale yellow in colour, and a 
powerful light will disclose even to the naked aye that it is beaded with droj)- 
lets of gum. 
Now this laying of the viscid spiral is a very prolonged and tedious work. 
I have seen the Nephila commence her thread at 8-15 p.m. She worked inces- 
santly almost without interruption, and not till 1 a.m., on the following morn- 
ing did she finally secure the line. How different is this from the Araneus, 
The wea\dng of her viscid spiral is likewise her slowest and most difficult work ; 
nevertheless she will secure it to a moderate snare in from twenty minutes ta 
half an hour. Elsewhere I have told of certain forms of Araneus which destroy 
their architecture every evening and reconstruct a new one for the night. But 
such an operation would not suit the Nephila. The laying of this spiral is 
much too tedious to permit of such frequent architecture as this. Her immense 
sheet must fulfil its purpose for many nights and days. 
By means of the application of the viscid spiral the Nephila converts her 
naked spokes into a delicate and close-meshed net. She must travel a consi- 
derable distance in the operation ; she may circle one hundred and thirty or 
more times around her great wheel before she has completed the whole. It is 
at this stage of the architecture that the Araneus severs her temporary spiral. 
As soon as she draws her viscid line across two spokes then she cuts the tempo- 
rary thread away. Its work as a scaffold is over ; consequently it has no further 
use. Her final spiral is thus very exact, being composed of only a single viscid 
line. But the Nephila acts otherwise ; she allows her long temporary spiral 
to remain. Thus her snare is in a sense less perfect than that of the Araneus ; 
there is an intermingling of viscid and non-viscid lines. This results in some 
confusion and in a loss of symmetry in the architecture. The turns of the two 
spirals tend to become entangled wherever they happen to meet, and 
this detracts somewhat from the perfect and symmetrical appearance of the 
web. 
It is worth examining with a little care the more detailed mechanism of this 
tedious work. How is each long slender limb employed in the slow deliberate 
circuit round the snare ? Here is our opportunity. The little Araneus baffles 
us by her agility and speed, but we can follow the great methodical Nephila 
