. American spiders and their spinning work. A natural history of the orbweaving spiders of the United States, with special regard to their industry and habits. Spiders. 262 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNING WORK. There is no difference between the aeronautic habit of these araneads and tiiat of spiders in other parts of the United States. Moreover, obser- vations of naturalists on ballooning spiders in various (j^uarters of the globe show that the same methods everywhere prevail. It will be further ob- served that the notes relate chiefly to Lycosids, which appear to be univer- sally addicte
. American spiders and their spinning work. A natural history of the orbweaving spiders of the United States, with special regard to their industry and habits. Spiders. 262 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNING WORK. There is no difference between the aeronautic habit of these araneads and tiiat of spiders in other parts of the United States. Moreover, obser- vations of naturalists on ballooning spiders in various (j^uarters of the globe show that the same methods everywhere prevail. It will be further ob- served that the notes relate chiefly to Lycosids, which appear to be univer- sally addicted to the ballooning habit. This is probably true of all Citi- grades. It is worthy of special notice that these ground spiders, when seeking aeronautic flight, take pains to seek some elevated spot as a point of departure. This is not limited to the Lycosids, for Mr. Enock speaks _^___^___ of young Atypinaj in Eng- land securing an easy and un- obstructed flight in the same way. The instinctive impulse whicli urges spiderlings to leave their resorts on the ground and seek spots essen- tial for favorable ascent, cer- tainly has the appearance of reasoning intelligence. At all events, the younglings, by whatever process they reach the conclusion, do the best thing possible to aid their ballooning enterprise. Example No. 1. A young Lj'cosid, apparently Lycosa scutulata Hentz, was posed on the side of a fence post opposite the wind, face down- wards, abdomen elevated, the body raised by the legs. I followed it after flight for two hundred feet; it rose as high Its flight was across a wide Several threads were streaming. Ballooning Lycosids ascending fVom a fence post, and floating before the wind. as thirtj' feet before it was lost to sight, meadow, and promised to be a long one. out and up behind and before the spider. No. 2. A Saltigrade, probably the young of Astia vittata, was posed on the side of a fence board opposite the wind. Its legs were elevated, thus raising up the body
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectspiders, bookyear1889
