Some of Mrs. Epeira’s Neighbors 
in the web to brace it while she is 
practising her gymnastic exercises. 
See what she does when I touch her 
web near the centre. She begins to 
vibrate back and forth; she swings, 
faster and faster, till she looks like a 
mere thread of black and yellow in the 
air. Now if a bird has decided to 
make a meal of Mrs. Argiope don’t 
you think it will have a hard time 
trying to catch her while she is vi- 
brating so rapidly? It will no doubt 
fly away and seek a dinner elsewhere ; 
and that is exactly what Mrs. Argiope 
expects it to do. Don’t you think that is 
a pretty clever way to outwit an enemy? 
Most of the Autumn Spiders prefer 
to set up their homes in the fields 
rather than in our gardens. Often you 
may find a whole colony of them, with 
their houses placed in arow among the 
tall grasses and weeds which border 
the pastures and meadows. 
57 


