. 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. 300 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. First stages stages of the work, and therefore proceed to record my observations. A typical example of methods was given by a female Domicile spider. The first foundation line of her orb was already stretched when I began the observation. She passed over this once or twice, and then, without waiting to spin an orbweb, near one of the extremities began preparing a nesting place from t
. 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. 300 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. First stages stages of the work, and therefore proceed to record my observations. A typical example of methods was given by a female Domicile spider. The first foundation line of her orb was already stretched when I began the observation. She passed over this once or twice, and then, without waiting to spin an orbweb, near one of the extremities began preparing a nesting place from two leaves of the honey- suckle vine upon which she was located. When the M'ork commenced the leaves presented the appearance of Fig. 276. The first steps consisted in stringing a number of lines (L L) between the inner surfaces of the two leaves, at the upper part thereof. This work was done rather slowly, the spider striding across from one leaf to the other until a little maze of lines was thus formed between the inner surfaces. Any pressure upon these lines, in the way of tightening or shortening them, tended to approximate the tops of the leaves. The next step consisted in at- taching a line (A, B) to the edge of one of the leaves near the tip. Striding across to the other leaf, dragging out the line after her, the spider threw the legs on one side of her body around the outer surface of the leaf, then attached the line and began slowly to shorten it. This movement, of course, drew the tips of the two leaves towards each other. The edges of the leaves on the oppo- site sides were treated in the same manner. Thus, by fixing a line to one leaf and pulling the opposite leaf towards this point, and then attaching thereto the other extremity of the line, the leaves were approximated, as indi- cated by the dotted lines X X, and the prepar- atory stages of a nest accomplished. When the nest was completed it presented the appearance of Fig. 277. The spider stayed in this nest for s
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectspiders, bookyear1889
