. 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. NEST MAKING : ITS ORIGIN AND USE. 319. This dragline she fastens to one of those which connect with the mouth of her nest, and which just serve to suspend the object. Returning, an- other thread is attached, and the piece is suspended midway between earth and nest. A third trip serves to fix the substance at the mouth of her domicile, to be afterward more neatly arranged. Several objects are thus frequently suspended at one tim
. 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. NEST MAKING : ITS ORIGIN AND USE. 319. This dragline she fastens to one of those which connect with the mouth of her nest, and which just serve to suspend the object. Returning, an- other thread is attached, and the piece is suspended midway between earth and nest. A third trip serves to fix the substance at the mouth of her domicile, to be afterward more neatly arranged. Several objects are thus frequently suspended at one time, giving the nest a rather unfinished ap- pearance, as represented in the figures. Nests built in the open air are almost im- pervious to light, while those built in confine- ment admit the light through the various in- terstices left by angular pieces of the building material. The little crea- ture seems unable to rem- edy this, doubtless be- cause the natural site affords her better opportunity for the selection of material adapted to her wants. The objects used are invariably built into the inner surfaces only • and Mr. Robertson scarcely ever observed one of the busy little workmen on the exterior of its house, excepting when forming a slight covering of silk on the upper part, which is sometimes done. The snare of the spider is spun downward from the mouth of her tubular nest. The lines are the ordinary intersecting threads of her species, which are so disposed that they enclose an inverted funnel shaped space, the mouth of the nest representing the point of the funnel. From some unknown cause these spiders sometimes left their homes with their broods, built on the inside of a branch irregular structures, one of which is figured. (Fig. 300.) Riparium's nest is not simply a domicile for the proprietor, but is a nursery and home in which to rear the young. The mother spins several nearly spherical cocoons of yellowish white silk, the diameter of each bemg about one-eighth
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectspiders, bookyear1889
