. American spiders and their spinningwork. A natural history of the orbweaving spiders of the United States, with special regard to their industry and habits . vers. I have already described, inthe chapter on Engineering Skill, the manner in which Theridium tends 344 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. to thicken that portion of her snare in which she hangs back is a most natural action, resuUing from several facts. First, as shepasses from her resting point to the various parts of her snare in whichinsects are entangled, she spins out an anchorage for the dragline, bywhich
. American spiders and their spinningwork. A natural history of the orbweaving spiders of the United States, with special regard to their industry and habits . vers. I have already described, inthe chapter on Engineering Skill, the manner in which Theridium tends 344 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. to thicken that portion of her snare in which she hangs back is a most natural action, resuUing from several facts. First, as shepasses from her resting point to the various parts of her snare in whichinsects are entangled, she spins out an anchorage for the dragline, bywhich she is sure to connect herself to this roosting spot. Again, when she returns with her prey, she swings her abdomen aroundseveral times, before finally settling for her banquet, and at each time sheejects a similar jet of silk and unites the thickened spots by a little thread.(See Fig. 59, page 61.) Still further, in her restless movements backand forward over her web, around this central roost, she throws out sim-ilar anchorages and lines. Thus, this spot and its vicinity in a littlewhile become much thicker than the surrounding portions of the i-lG. 6So. Lmyphia ;> huare aiiiung the inuruing glories. Here, now, we have the germ of the typical snare of the genus Liny-phia. In point of fact, it consists, as I have already shown (Chap-ter IX.), of a sheet like bit of spinningwork, whose fibres areFroni ygj,y ojien, or, as one might otherwise express it, of a netted. ^^]^ sheet of spinningwork, whose meshes are very close. Our origi-Linvphia ^^ snare of irregularly crossed lines has thus advanced a steptoward a meshed sheet like snare. In many species of the genusLinyphia the snare is simply a netted sheet, more or less horizontal, havingoutgoing straight lines, which support it above and below. It thus very THE GENESIS OF SNARES. 345 FromSheet toDome. nearly approaches, in the habitual form of its snare, that form which, asI have shown, incidentally results from the
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