. 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. At occasional intervals the spinnerets were laid against the cocoon and lield there a brief space, while the spider pushed them into the mass, attaching her thread precisely after the manner described as cus- tomary when she is making a dragline anchorage. (See Vol. I, page 61.) This, of course, held to its position and prevented the raveling of the thread al- ready accumulated. I was somewhat sur- prised that more use was not
. 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. At occasional intervals the spinnerets were laid against the cocoon and lield there a brief space, while the spider pushed them into the mass, attaching her thread precisely after the manner described as cus- tomary when she is making a dragline anchorage. (See Vol. I, page 61.) This, of course, held to its position and prevented the raveling of the thread al- ready accumulated. I was somewhat sur- prised that more use was not made of the spinnerets, as I had conceived the idea that Fig. 196. The hind leg of Argiope stretched they wcrc Continually employed to beat out and drawing the ray of threads. , i .1 ⢠â â 4.â .; 1 down and pack the cocoonnig material, after the fasliion of the long spinnerets of Agalena noevia and most of the Tunnelweavers. On the contrary, the spinnerets rarely touched the cocoon, at this stage of the work at least, and the entire process of packing was accomplished by the pressure of the leg alone. It seemed to me also that the palpi had something to do in packing the flossy loops as they gathered upon the mass. At all events, they were always held doubled under, as represented in some of the fig- ac mg. ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ moved continually in a way that gave me the idea that the spider appeared to be kneading the silk with them. Per- haps the reason of this was to prevent the palpal claw from fastening in the threads, for care was also taken to bend the claws of the feet well under, as though to guard them from that annoyance. In this manner the spider proceeded, working her silken mass down- ward, and gradually bringing it to a tolerably regular, oval shape. This was done entirely by so regulating the discliarge of the silk and Equaliz- jjjg application of it to the cocoon that the surface was kept J?^. ® even and regular. I cannot positively say upon what principle t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectspiders, bookyear1889
