AMERICAN SPIDERS AND TEER SPINNINGWORK. —— A RMATURAL HISTORY ORBWEAVING SPIDERS OF THE UNITED STATES WITH SPECIAL REGARD TO THEIR INDUSTRY AND HABITS. ———= (j= BY HENRY OC. McCOOK, D. D., Vick-PRESIDENT OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA; VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 5 AuTHoR oF “Time AGRICULTURAL ANTS OF TEXAS,” “Tine Honky AND OccIDENT ANTS,” ETC, ETC. VOL. IT. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. A. D. 1890. a A G12 / CORNELL | UNIVERSITY) a 2 \. LIBRARY 7 AUTHORS: E.DETTOm, This Edition is limited to Two Hunprep anp Firry copies, of which this set is Subscription No..... haa Autior’s SIGNATURE, THE PRESS OF ALLEN, LANE & SCOTT, PHILADELPHIA, = See eee eS “a = ’ —-— Sr a . my 4 : PREFACE. Wir the completion of the second volume of “American Spiders and their Spinningwork,” I feel that I have substantially ended the task which many years ago I proposed to myself. That task, as it lay in my pur- pose, was the description and illustration, in as large detail as possible, of the spinning industry and general habits of true spiders. Subsequently, as announced in the first volume of this work, my plan was so far modified as to make the spinningwork and habits of Orbweay- ers the principal theme, and to group around the same the industries of other spiders in such relations and proportions as seemed practicable, In the present volume I have adhered to this modified plan, but less closely than in the preceding one, having made large use of the natural history of other tribes than the Orbitelaric. It is probable that this volume will be more interesting than Volume I. both to the scientific and general public. It takes up the life history of spiders, and follows them literally from birth to death, from the cradle to the grave; more than that, it goes beyond the sphere of existing faunal life into the geologic periods, and touches upon the history and destiny of ancestral araneads who lived in the strange surroundings of prehistoric continents, the sites of which are embosomed in the rocks, or, like the amber forests, are now beneath the ocean. The courtship and mating of these solitary creatures; their maternal skill, devotion, and self sacrifice ; their cocoon life and babyhood; their youth and old age; their means of communion with the world around them; their voyages through the air and dens in the ground; their allies and enemies; their fashion of death and its strange disguises—these and other facts I haye tried to bring be- fore the reader in the following pages. Moreover, my studies have necessarily brought me face to face with many of the interesting problems, theories, and speculations of modern science. I have had no pet theory to approve or oppose, and haye not (3) 4 ‘ PREFACE, sought to marshal the facts in hand for or against this or that philoso- phy of life and its origin, Indeed, my aim has been to write a natural history, and not a philosophy thereof. Yet I have here and there alluded to matters with which current thinking has much to do. This fact may also tend to make this volume more generally interesting than the preced- ing or sueceeding one. I have not found the difficulties of my task lessened, but rather in- creased in treating these features of the history. Spiders are solitary and secretive at the best, and these characteristics have reached their highest expression in those acts—cocooning, for example—with which a large part of Volume II. is concerned. It has thus been unusually difficult to secure a continuous authentic record of habits. Then, again, these studies have necessarily been only the recreations of a busy professional life, whose en- gagements have rapidly multiplied, and been more onerous and exacting in the last six years than ever before. These off labors have, therefore, continually receded or been suspended before the pressing and more se- rious obligations of duty. Nevertheless, I am glad to have done so much, and have great satisfaction in the hope that others, stimulated by my labors, may pass on through the vestibule where I must stop, and explore the vast temple of aranead lore that lies beyond. I have spoken of my task as substantially completed. I do not forget that the Third Volume yet remains to be finished, and that it is the most costly and, in some respects, the most difficult of all. But much of the work thereon is already done, and I feel justified in finishing it in a more leisurely way. That volume, with the exception of two chapters, will be devoted to species work, and will present, as far as it seems to me neces- sary for identification, descriptions of the Orbweaving fauna of the United States. These will be illustrated by a number of lithographic plates, drawn in the best style of art and colored by hand from Nature. Plate IV. of the five colored plates in the present volume will best illustrate the character of those which are to follow. To the above I will add some species of other tribes whose habits have had especial notice in this work. I have now said all that I expect to make public of my observations of spider manners, with the exception of one chapter on General Habits, which I have reserved for the opening pages of Volume III., and, per- haps, a second chapter, which may be necessary for the explanation and enlargement of matters to which attention may be called by those: who have followed me in the preceding studies. ——— | ——— Toe site wit ao" on ml, il im a ie, ls aad 7 ———— PREFACE, oO In these opening chapters of Volume III. I shall consider the toilet habits, manner of drinking, methods of burrowing, moulting and its con- Sequences, prognostication of the weather, some of the superstitions associ- ated with spiders, spider silk and its commercial value, and some other points in the natural history of spiders not embraced in the preceding volumes. I again make my thankful acknowledgments of the assistance cordially given me by various friends and fellow laborers. Dr. George Marx, of Washington, has been especially helpful by generously placing at my dis- posal his entire collection of spider cocoons, and also by notes upon the habits of some of the species whose life history I have described. ‘To Prof. Samuel H. Scudder I am indebted for various references and hints in pre- paring the chapter on Fossil Spiders, and for the use of his own publi- cations. Mrs, Mary Treat and Mrs. Rosa Smith Eigenmann have both helped me with valuable material sent by the one from the Atlantic coast, by the other from the Pacific. H. C. McC. Tue Manse, Puivapevputa, July 3d, 1890. hag gar ihe ; Vonaton td ad He wi ™ hae 3 roa «foxy ERLE LY ay ar th, mop et Cp’ gfe: iy faniion . ‘ Nie y- fs “ipsa Urdaneri i? Bera vate i> TAbin OF CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. PART I.—COURTSHIP AND MATING OF SPIDERS. CHAPTER I. WOOING AND MATING OF ORBWEAVERS. PAGES The Mystery of Mating—The Male searching for his Mate—Males relatively Fewer— Males before Mating—Argiope cophinaria—Stages of Courtship—Aranead Lovers—A Lover’s Peril—Relative Sizes of Sexes—An unequally matched Couple—Nephila and Argiope—Sexes that live together—The Water Spider—Quarrels of Males—Fe- male Combativeness—Methods of Pairing among Orbweavers—A Love Bower. . 15-40 CHAPTER II. COURTSHIP AND PAIRING OF THE TRIBES. Love Dances of Saltigrades—Pairing of Linyphia marginata—The Period of Union—In- terruptions—Agalena neevia pairing—Love beneath the Waters—Caressing—Pairing of Laterigrades—Lycosids—Love Dances of the Saltigrades—Love Dances of Birds— Displays are to attract Females—A Saltigrade Harem—Color Development. . . . 41-60 CHAPTER ITI. COMPARATIVE VIEWS OF VARIOUS MATING HABITS. Value of general Habits—Value of spinning Habit—Maternity inspires Insect Archi- tecture—Spider Industry influenced by Maternity—By sexual Feeling in Males— Disproportion of Size in Sexes—Sexes of equal Sizes—Numerical Proportion of Sexes—Relative Activity of Sexes—Spermatozoa—Agamic Reproduction . . .. . 61-74 PART II—MATERNAL INDUSTRY AND INSTINCTS. CHAPTER IV. MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. Cocooning Sites—Argiope’s Cocoons—Leafy Canopies—Contents of Cocoons—The Egg Mass—Argiope cophinaria—Epeira Cocoons—Cocooning Tents—Cocoons of Zilla— Cocoon of Nephila—Gasteracantha—Spiders with several Cocoons—Tetragnatha extensa—Cyrtarachne’s Cocoon—The Cocoon String of Labyrinthea—Cyclosa bi- furca—Basilica Spider’s Cocoon—Plumefoot Spider’s Cocoon—Uloborus—Double Co- COOMINnbineAIIONE: sa 8 6 a wy sce leo ee pest aces Pnta a's ofc he hg ROEM IR Che mtn 437 WG) 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. PAGES Cocoons of Theridium—Argyrodes trigonum—Cocoons of Ero—Theridium frondeum or Theridiosoma radiosum ?—Cocoons in Nests—Carrying Cocoons in Jaws—Pholeus— Upholstered Cocoon of Agalena—Medicinal Spider—The Water Spider’s Cocoon-— The Parson Spider—Brooding Cocoons—Mud plastered Cocoons—Cocooning Nest of an English Drassid—Cocoons in Tubes—Segestria canities and her Cocoons—Dic- tyna philoteichous—Cocoons of the Territelarie—Trapdoor Spiders—Cocoon of the Tarantula—Lycosa carrying her Cocoon—The Leaf thatched Cocoon Nest of Dolo- medes—Pucetia aurora—Nesting Cocoons of Saltigrades—Cocoons of Laterigrades— The Huntsman Spider and her Ege Cradle—Cave Spiders—Origin of Cave Fauna— Effects of iCawe ‘iife: a2 008 ao Se ee oat ea » 7 110-158 CHAPTER VI. COMPARATIVE COCOONING INDUSTRY. How Argiope weaves her Cocoon—Use of the Legs in Spinning—Equalizing the Output of Thread—Epeira’s Method—Weaving a Cocoon—Theridium—Agalena nievia— Beating down the ,Thread—General Spinning Method—Composition of Cocoons— How Cocoons are disposed of—Protection of Cocoons—Cocoon Forms—Variety and Complexity—Number of Cocoons ............55. 55 24 was . 159-177 CHAPTER VII. MATERNAL INSTINCTS: MOTHERHOOD, Cocoon Sites—Feeding Limits—Secreting Cocoons—Night Cocooning—Ovipositing—Cali- fornia Trapdoor Spider’s Eggs—Shape of Cocoon—Maternity and Cocoon Structure— Complexity and Maternal Care—Cocoon Vigils—Multifold Cocooning—Number of Eggs—Fertility and Exposure—The Mother Turret Spider—The Watch of Dolo- medes—British Spiders—Special Cases of Mother Care—Feeding the Young—Per- sonal Care of Young—The Spiderlings—Strength of Maternal Feeling—Mistakes of Mothers—Unintelligent Instinct—Intuitive Skill—Marks of pebviy: Bere Mud Cradle Maker—Man’s Method and the Spider’s ............... . 178-205 PART III.—EARLY LIFE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES. CHAPTER VIII. COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. Adult and Young—Period of Hatching—First Moult—Cocoon Canni! Jism—Escape from the Cocoon—Delivery by Birds—By Mother Aid—First Days e Outdoor Life—Gre- garious Habit—Movement Upward—A Tented Colony—Dispersions—The Children of the Spider Web—Mortality among Spiderlings—Assembly of Spiderlings—Bridge and Tent Making—A Cantonment and Tower—Argiope aurelia and her Young— Spider Communities—Spider Colonies—Darwin’s View Examined—Accidental As- semblage—Squatter Sovereignty—A Cellar Colony—A Camp of Juveniles—Young Water Spiders—The Spiderlings Pick-a-back—The Turret Spider’s Young—A young Tower Builder—Follow the Leader—The Young of Atypus—Nurture in the Nest— Young Tarantulas—Young Trapdoor Builders—Nest Development—Marvels of In- stinct—Dew covered Webs—Character Habits Inmate ........... . . 206-2655 —~ > F TABLE OF CONTENTS. 9 CHAPTER IX, AERONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT, PAGES Flying Spiders—Velocity of Flight—Attitude of the Aeronautic Spider—Frolicsome Spi- derlings—In the. Air—Controlling the Descent—The Height of Ascents—Floating Gossamer—Aeronautic Orbweavers—Flossy Balloons—Modes of Ballooning— je cata tit ty es ints WOOING AND MATING. 33 Combativeness among spiders is not limited to males; the females also fight, and with great ferocity, not only with one another, but with the op- posite sex. Professor and Mrs. Peckham haye contributed to our coer knowledge of this trait as displayed by females among the At- tidee, to which brilliant family their studies have been chiefly iveness. ; : : ; directed. They found that the females are, with few exceptions, larger, stronger, and much more pugnacious than the males. They placed two females of Phidippus morsitans together in a glass jar. No sooner did they observe each other than both prepared for battle. Eyeing one another with a firm glance, they slowly approached, and in a moment were locked in deadly combat. Within a few seconds the cephalothorax of one was pierced by the fang of the other, and with a convulsive tremor it re- laxed its hold and fell dead. In all, four females were placed together, and in each instance the fight was short, but to the death. Subsequently, the observers admitted a well developed male, which, though smaller, was compactly built and apparently strong enough to bring the virago to terms; but, to their surprise, he seemed alarmed and retreated, trying to avoid her; she, however, followed him up, and finally killed him. They ob- served the same habits in Phidippus rufus. In Dendryphantes elegans the female is nearly a third larger than the male. A number of this species, males and females, were kept together in a large mating box, and their behavior demonstrated the greater poe quarrelsomeness of the females; they would frequently go out of Females, their way to chase one another, and they were much more cir- cumspect in approaching each other than were the males. In Icius mitratus neither sex was especially pugnacious, but the male was as little so as the female. In Synageles picata the females never came near each other without some display of hostility, though they did not actually fight. In several species of Xysticus, as ferox and gulosus, the females are savage and ready to attack anything that comes in their way, while the males are smaller and more peaceable. VII. From these more general facts we may now pass to the detailed descrip- tions of the act of conjugation in such species as have been studied. I have never been fortunate enough to observe the actual pairing of Orbweavers, my only opportunities of study having been with Linyphia marginata and Agalena nevia. I am therefore dependent upon the observations of others for the pairing habits of the Orbweavers. Termeyer, nearly a century ago, thus correctly noted some points in the * Observations on Sexual Selection in Spiders of the Family Attidse, by George W. and Elizabeth G. Peckham, pages 10, 11. 34 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. courtship of Epeira diademata: The male approaches little by little with much caution, doubtful of the reception which he is to meet in the web of the female, who occupies the centre, intent only on her prey. He = commences by touching with one leg a thread of her web. The a enae female approaches him. He flies, allowing himself to hang by demata, ® dropline. Soon he reascends, being assured in some way that he will not be ill received. Then he approaches his mate, and with one of the palps touches her abdomen quickly many times.* The pairing of the Diadem spider is also described by Menge.” ‘The male accomplishes his approach to the female by means of a strong thread fast- ened immediately above her, which thread is, in fact, the strongest Menge’s that he spins. This becomes his love bridge, over which he passes Descrip- E : ; : : : Hoa with trembling and uncertainty as to his reception, his feet ex- pressing both invitation and fear. If his reception is friendly, he passes under the body of the female, with his fore feet folded to allow her expanded feet to encircle his, while their faces and partly their breasts touch. He now quickly touches the vulva of the female with his palps, and instantly drops to the ground by a thread ; however, he soon returns, and the deposition of the semen is continued until finished. During Sep- tember, one year, Menge observed a male thus approach a female about twenty times. Finally he caught the ovipositor or hook of the vulva, de- taining the same and turning so that the two abdomens and their adjoin- ing parts touched, and the posterior parts of the same were no longer sep- arated, but pressed closely together. The connection continued for over a minute, when the male dropped backwards to the ground, and remained there for some time as if dead. Menge also observed the pairing of Epeira marmorea on a warm August evening. The female left her web and advanced towards the male. The movements of the latter were very careful, and when sufficiently Epeira —_Glose he touched the vulva of the female in passing, and instantly mar- : “ A : : morea, Withdrew. As the female remained quiet and did not attack him, the act was renewed the second and third time. The third time the female retired to her dwelling, and the male dropped down by a thread. The pairing of Tetragnatha extensa has been described by several writers. Lister, the pioneer of English arachnology, says that May 25th at sunset he saw the pairing of many spiders of this species. The two sexes were suspended by means of a thread placed upon their webs. The male was below, having his body stretched upon a straight line. The body of the female, on the contrary, was doubled, and her abdomen touched the fore part of the abdomen of the male. He continually thrust a little horn, remarkable by its tubercle, upon Tetragna- tha ex- tensa. 1 Translation of Prof. Wilder. Proceedings-Essex Institute, Vol. V., pages 71-3. 2 See Prussian Spiders, under Epeira diademata. WOOING AND MATING. 35 the superior part of the abdomen of the female. The feet and mandibles of the one were interlocked with those of the other.1 Walckenaer has given a complete and graphic description of the loves of Tetragnatha. His observation was made on the 26th of May, when the weather was serene and moderately warm. A male was stationed under a quite large orbweb spun in an inclined position. The female was below, suspended by the hindermost feet. Her body was bent double, her abdo- men in a sense horizontal, so that her cephalothorax was bent back upon the male in a vertical position. Her fore feet were entangled in the fore feet of the male, but gently and without stiffness. Her mandibles were opened, as were also those of the male, and the extremities were supported one upon the other, and presented the form of a trapeze, like the four open blades of two pairs of scissors if joined at their points. The male had his body stretched upon the same line in a horizontal position, but reversed; that is to say, the sternum of the cephalothorax and the venter or lower part of the abdomen were turned towards the sky, and the dorsum or back towards the ground. It resulted ‘ from this position that, from beneath, the male, although much rite smaller than the female, appeared to surpass her in length by ‘half of his abdomen. Further it resulted that the vulva of the female fell exactly beneath the palps of the male. He was suspended from his snare by the fore feet, which were entangled in those of the female. His two hindermost feet were posed upon the abdomen of the female, and served to press her lightly against himself, while he applied the palps to the vulva, The valve of the palpal bulb during the act of pairing was swollen, brilliant, and the color of yellow amber. This pairing lasted more than a quarter of an hour, and although the observer came very near in order to see more distinctly, the mates did not separate. Once he touched a part of the web and caused it to vibrate. The partners recoiled, but still remained coupled. The female then made some efforts to disengage herself, but the male prevented her. The ob- server’s attention was diverted at this point, for the space of two minutes, to make another observation. When he turned his eyes again upon the pair, only the female remained ; she was at the centre of her snare in the accustomed position, that is to say, with the body and feet stretched out. The male had disappeared, and was searched for in vain; but during the search Walckenaer observed another female engaged in spinning her snare While another male waited upon an adjoining branch. It will be seen from the above account, which describes the entire pro- cess, that, making allowance for less’ skill in observation, the English ob- server had correctly seen what the French naturalist so correctly reports. Lister, however, represents the male as stretched below the female, while Walckenaer reverses the attitude. Position of Female ‘ Lister, Historie Animalium Anglie (Araneorum Anglise), 1678, page 31. io = " ss —— os a ee a ee 36 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Emerton, in his chapter on the growth of spiders,' presents some inter- esting facts upon pairing. Two of these, the pairing of Linyphia and Ag- alena, I am able to confirm, from my own observations, as sub- stantially accurate. According to this author, the male of Argi- ope, which is very small, stands on the upper edge of the web, while the female occupies her usual position in the centre. After feeling the web with his feet for some time, he runs down the centre so lightly as not to disturb the female, and climbs over her body for some minutes in an apparently aimless way. She takes no notice of him at first, but at length, especially if he approach the under side of her abdomen, she turns and snaps at him with her jaws. He is usually nimble enough to dodge and drop out of the web. Not discouraged, however, he climbs up to the top and begins over again. In these encounters the males are often injured. They frequently lose their legs, and one fellow was seen with only four left out of ‘eight, but still maintaining his embrace. At length the male succeeds in getting under his mate and inserts his palpi under her, into the epigynum. (Fig. 13.) In the meanwhile the female hangs in the web, while the male holds by his legs to the under part of her abdomen. (See Fig. 14.2) Mr. Emerton thus describes the courtship of Epeira sclope- taria. The approaches of the male were always seen in the evening, just before dark, when the females usually Courtship make or repair their webs, and the males are wander- PE a ing about visiting. The male would climb carefully Poae over the edge of the web, and, finding that the female took no notice of him, would run suddenly towards rie. 18, Mare the middle of the snare, on the side opposite to that occupied Argiopecoph- hy the female. His head was towards her head, and, if she Se ge permitted him to approach near enough, he would slap one of male. (After his palps upon her epigynum. By this time the female would Emerton.) i sos strike viciously at her lover, and he would drop suddenly out of the web by the usual dragline.* September 24th, on the banks of the river Arduson, Baron Walckenaer found a reed, the leaves of which were spun together into a nest by Epeira apoclisa. He saw the male of this species mounting towards the nest. Wishing to make observations at his leisure, he broke the reed a little be- low the place where the male stood, and carried the whole to his chamber. The male did not attempt to run away or quit the neighborhood of the nest. Walckenaer placed the reed in a large box. The following morning he saw a long thread stretched and the female issuing from her nest upon ? Pairing of Argiope. 1 Structure and Habits of Spiders, page 87. 2 Drawn by Mr. Emerton for this work. * Letter to the author, October 17th, 1888. 37 WOOING AND MATING, NIRV UI: ~ i \ AS RUDY iW > ———— —— Nf u i —————— ns —— SS = —BZ NH —— ———— (| \ mn N\ Hd) (iil fj WHEN Ss nd figures in part just under the abdomen ria embracing the female. Snare a Argiope cophina ize. The male is seen life size Fic, 14, 38 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. the border of the box and in the act of pairing. But the male, forthwith frightened, quitted his hold and ran rapidly away. The female, on the ae contrary, remained motionless. The observer captured the two =m A of and placed them in a covered glass bottle with the nest which Spot the female had temporarily abandoned to meet her partner. He also introduced into the bottle living flies. During three days the mates ceased not to caress each other.. The female did not return to her nest, but kept below in a reversed position. The male approached her from the side, with head elevated, stretched out his feet and spread them gently and slowly upon the back of the abdomen of the female, sometimes touching the fore feet with his own by a slight and very quick movement. Then the female leaned to one side, in such a way as to expose her yenter, against which the male stretched his palps, and the union took place by means of the palps. It was between 5 and 6 A. M. when this act occurred, and it was repeated many times. During the remainder of the day the couple remained separate. The female rested in the same place almost wholly motionless, without doing anything. The male, more lively, more wandering, more active, constructed a little web, placed himself in the mid- dle and caught some flies. Again, he sometimes promenaded the glass, stretching threads; but always after this momentary absence he returned to a position in front of his spouse, appearing to contemplate her, laid his feet against her own, his head vis-d-vis with her head, in a reversed po- sition. Finally the female constructed a tube of silk, within which she retired. The male penetrated this; the tube was large enough to contain the two; and they remained therein for ten days in perfect harmony, with- out attempting to issue from their love bower. During all this time the female continued to rest wholly tranquil, and did not attempt to escape. It was not so, however, with the male, who frequently wandered abroad into the bottle. The two did not attempt to make orbic- ular webs, but stretched irregular lines, upon which they caught flies, a fact which shows that spiders are able to adapt themselves and their industry to various circumstances. On the twelfth day, October 4th, the female Apo- clisa became invisible, and it was observed that she had returned to her original nest, first built at the top of the reed. The tube was abandoned by her and remained vacant. The male did not attempt to rejoin his com- panion, but wandered about the glass, occupied in seeking an opportunity to escape therefrom. At this point Baron Walckenaer was compelled to interrupt his observation. I make the following summary of the various stages as above described : First, the female comes out to meet the male; second, she hangs below a few stretched lines, with her back downward; third, the male touches her A Love Bower. * Walckenaer, Aptires, Vol. IL., pages 63, 64. el i i es | a ae” teed Oe a a a ee) = WOOING AND MATING. 39 back and feet; fourth, the male palpal bulbs are applied many times to the epigynum ; fifth, the embrace ceases, the female remains stationary in the same place, the male wanders about, makes a straggling web and catches flies; sixth, the male comes before the female, touches her feet, and remains vis-d-vis; seventh, the female makes a tube and enters it; eighth, the male penetrates the tube; ninth, the pair remain for ten days domiciled within this bower, the female staying persistently within, the male making frequent excursions; tenth, on the twelfth day the female leaves the tubular bower and returns to her leafy nest; eley- enth, the male makes no attempt to follow her, but wanders around the bottle, seeking to escape. At this point observation ended, but there was probably nothing further to observe. Zilla callophylla is lacking in ferocity, and lives on good terms’ with Summary of Stages. Fic. 15. Fic, 16. Fig. 17. Argyroepeira hortorum. Fig, 15, male; Fig. 16, female; Fig. 17, the male palps, much enlarged. (After Emerton.) her mate. September 30th a male and female of this species were taken by Walckenaer, and placed in a glass bottle. The male, after the ordinary preliminary caresses, such as touching with the ex- tended feet, stretched some threads in the manner of those which served the female to descend from the top of the bottle to the bottom, where he was. Then, by the movement of her feet, she excited her spouse to approach her. Every part of the male’s body trembled in a sensible man- ner. He advanced towards his mate, not without appearance of fear, since she received him with open mandibles. Three times he essayed, always while advancing, to introduce the genital organ of one of his palps into the vulva of the female, and he succeeded at the fourth attempt with the digital bulb of his left palp. Then was manifest in the male, as in the female, a convulsive trembling of all the limbs and of all parts of the body, which evidently announced that the union was accomplished. Four Zilla cal- lophylla. ee 40 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. other movements of the same nature, separated only by very short. inter- vals, followed the first. After these five acts of union the male retired to a short distance. About half a minute afterwards he approached as on the first occasion, introduced the bulb of his right palp into the epigynum of the female; then, after the fifth movement of convulsive trembling, he again retired. He continued in this manner during the space of twenty minutes. In these twenty minutes he made thirteen embraces, or thirteen introductions of the digital bulb of one of his palps into the vulva of his partner. After these acts the male retired and went away. The female rested for about a half hour in the same position, as if she awaited the return of the male, who did not come back. Then she decided to remount to the top of the bottle. ! 1 Walckenaer, Apt., Vol. II., pages 71, 72. OR APE LT. COURTSHIP AND PAIRING OF THE TRIBES: LOVE DANCES OF SALTIGRADES. Havine thus considered the methods of pairing which prevail among Orbweavers, we may note some of the modes which obtain among repre- sentatives of other aranead tribes, M On the afternoon of June 14th? I witnessed the pairing of a male and female of Linyphia marginata. The spiders were first observed at a quarter before four o’clock. They were hanging inverted in the Line- dome shaped nest of the species, in line with each other and weavers: about three-quarters of an inch apart. Each hung within a ae smaller dome which was formed by the outspread feet drawing nan down the inner surface of the snare. The nest was hung from the under surface of a plank that jutted over from a pile of lumber, and was about two and a half feet from the ground; so that, seated before the nest, my face was on a level with the spiders. The male cautiously extended one foot towards the female, and pulled upon the intervening threads. I turned a moment to adjust the block on which I sat, and, on looking again, the two were in embrace. The _ female was suspended as before, although turned at right angles to her first position. The male’s head was laid against the sternum of the female, his abdomen inclined a little upward, the fore legs interlocked with, or, rather, interlaid upon those of the female. Both spiders hung by threads, in the normal way. (Fig. 18.2) This was nine minutes be- fore 4 P. M. After a moment’s embrace the pair separated; the female made a cir- cuit of the lower part of the dome, moving in an excited, jerking manner, then returned to the summit. The male approached, the female stretching out her fore legs somewhat as he laid his fore legs within them, which po- sition was maintained, as was the relative position of the two, during the entire period of union. The female, during the act, remained perfectly motionless, except an occasional twitching of the apex of the abdomen. The two terminal bulbs upon the male palps were laid upon the epigy- num of the female, and pressed downward. From one of these issued the * 1 The same species was again seen pairing in August, in Connecticut. * Drawn by Mr. J. H. Emerton for this work. (41) 42 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. palpal sac, a bean shaped organ, of a bright amber color, and translucent, which shone brilliantly in the sun that fell full upon it from the west. It remained thus projected for a brief space, held between the finger like tufted horn of the palpal bulb, and was then gradually contracted and withdrawn within the black corneous bulb, which was meanwhile pressed eagerly against the vulva. A small elbow or projection upon the upper Useof part of the bulb. seemed to press within the spermatheca. The i Ss two bulbs were laid simultaneously upon the epigynum, but the ulb. : i ; inflated palpal sac appeared in but one bulb at a time, alter- nately. There was a prolonged squeezing motion of the bulbs, as though Yai vane PIII SS = SS thi aes ea ———— —S— ] it Ny a PN I Mi : ihe ape i HN Mays _ Mi a o oa mt i rl i) yy | (I) il i) Wy Hl Ai HI i i Mi Mh i YA LON Se CO a Die ‘il ms a ie. pea 1) mi IN W ——— i ns st a iit LON os i Ha RN Bl i — =— SSS ——— s AMIN NN ayy; / HON oe a ie fe ae iv . i ( \ mn Maa ini CaN? Ny Hn au AN Ihe WW ANH I ail HAN (ri il NZ Ki I We ail HN Fic. 18. Pairing of Linyphia marginata. The figures much enlarged. The little dome caused by the pulling down of the feet is represented, and a part of the snare proper. pressing into the spermatheca, and at times a corresponding motion in the abdomen of the female, especially at the apex. With this exception the female remained motionless during the whole period. After applica- a tion as above the palpal bulb was slowly, for the most part, Biting the 4 sometimes rapid] d by th le, bent d, and Bulbs. pidly raised by the male, ben upward, and ap- parently clasped upon the falces or lower margin of his face, which parts of course were upward. Three or four movements back and forth in this clinched position followed, when the series of motions above described “was repeated. PAIRING OF SPIDERS. 43 In the meanwhile the second bulb remained upon the other tube until the first bulb began to descend, when it in turn was elevated and the same motion made, As the bulb descended, its sac began to inflate and issue. ‘This process was quite regularly repeated. Sometimes, however, both bulbs were clinched upon the falces at the same time; sometimes the moyements of the bulb were more rapid than at others. The bulbs had the appearance of having been moistened by some secretion, presenting the peculiar gloss which a colorless liquid gives to a black surface, but I could see no secretion otherwise, although I was able at any time to use my pocket lens with the exercise of a little care.1 At twenty minutes before six o’clock I was compelled to leave, at which time the pair had been in embrace one hour and forty-nine minutes. At six o’clock twenty-eight minutes I returned, and found the pair in precisely the same positions. I remained five minutes, and then left an intelligent young man at the post, with full instructions as to points of observation. He reported that at thirteen and a half minutes past seven, afternoon, the pair parted suddenly. The male ran down to the lower margin of the dome, pursued by the female, who stopped suddenly just above, and turned back to the central point in the summit. Shortly after receiving this report I visited the web, and found the female sus- pended motionless in this position, and the male at the point to which he had fled, feeding upon a small fly. The next morning at seven o’clock the female was in the same position, and the male had disappeared. I attempted to capture the female, but she ran among the boards and escaped. The pair had thus been in union two hours and fifty-five and a half minutes. During this period they were separated a number of times. Nineteen of these interruptions were noted; one was caused by a small fly striking the snare, at which the male darted in a fierce manner, but Interrup- failed to seize, as the fly broke loose before he reached it. Others See nd ere caused by the observer touching the foundation threads or tions other parts of the web. Toward the close of my observations I accidentally broke the suspending lines nearest me, and caused one side of the dome to fall in. This made only a momentary interrup- tion. Many of these separations were, however, apparently without any extraneous cause. Twice the male ran to one side of the domed snare, made a web at- tachment to a bit of leaf hanging therein, drew out a thread about two and a half inches long, which he overlaid a couple of times, and then made the following motion: First, the body was placed erect, that is, back Epyans; and was moved back and forth along the line, rubbing the points or “nippers” of the palps at the same time; then the spider swung over Period of Union. 1T did not at the time suspect that the palpal bulb oitaht have been applied to the ab- dominal organ of the male, and did not look for this act. But subsequently I have imagined that such might have been the case. ae _————- == ve -_ % — iy ee ee ee 44 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. until the body made an angle of about forty-five degrees with the line, and while holding on thus the palps were rubbed back and forth alter- nately along the line as before. The process was repeated during another of the intermissions, as described above. It was conjectured that the pur- pose of this movement might have been, the distribution of the seminal fluid into the palpal bulbs. It has been supposed that this is taken up by the saes, by the inflation and contraction of whose membraneous coats it is forced into the spermathecse of the female. Mr. Emerton! observed the pairing of the male and female of Steatoda borealis in April, and again in May. The female was in a scant web under a fence cap. The pair stood head to head, as far apart as pos- PA sible. The left palpus was kept in an hour and a quarter after the couple were first seen. The male contracted his body sud- denly, and swelled up the base of the palpal organ once every two or three seconds. Two days afterwards Emerton saw the right palpus used by the same pair for an hour. The adult males and females of this species occur at all seasons, differing in this respect from many others. TUL Among the Tubeweavers I have observed the pairing of our common Speckled Agalena. The male cautiously approaches over the broad sheeted Fig. 19. Agalena nevia pairing. Fic. 20. Agalena nevia applying Fig. 21. Agalena applying the Front view. (After Emerton.) the right palp in pairing. left palp in pairing. web which forms a sort of front yard or plaza before the tube in which the female waits. He is usually larger than the female, and is, therefore, better able to compel a respectful reception. In the act of union eae he takes his partner in his mandibles, turns her upon one side, Agalena, 2 Which position she lies perfectly motionless, and with her legs somewhat doubled together, as in the attitude of feigning death. (Fig. 19) The male rests upon the side of the female, in a posi- tion nearly at right angles with her prostrate body, and, while holding her still with his fore feet, applies the palps alternately to the vulva. (See Figs. 20, 21.) ' New England Theridide, Trans. Acad. Conn., 1882, page 19. PAIRING OF SPIDERS. 45 According to Walckenaer, the union of the male and female of the European Agalena labyrinthea takes place in the tube which serves as the dwelling place for the female. In France this act occurs about ae the middle of July. The female turns herself upon her side, al- rinthea, ™ost upon the broad of her back. The male places himself upon her in such a position as to hide from the observer his head and cephalothorax.!_ It will thus be seen that the method entirely corresponds with that of our own Agalena neevia, which this familiar Eu- ropean spider so closely resembles. The male of Clubiona constructs a web for union with the female, and prepares, as one may say, the marriage couch, to which he admits the female when the propitious moment has come.’ The interesting habits of Argyroneta aquatica, the well known Water spider of Europe, were first fully made known by De Lignac, a priest of the Oratoire, Paris, A. D. 1748. He not only observed the man- so ner of making the nest beneath the water (Fig. 22), which has Spider, been frequently confirmed since, but also the act of pairing. When the male wishes to pair, says De Lignac, he constructs near the nest of the female, and by the same means, a nest resembling that of his spouse; but the nest is somewhat smaller. When the male has completed the construction of his domicile, he makes a long canal, which joins his cell to that of his spouse. He then cuts through the wall of the latter, and introduces his body into the strange apartment. This vehicle of communication being made, he strengthens it on the roof and _ sides. He plasters this, as he does the rest of his nest, with silk, white and im- permeable, and thus extends this corridor until it may be as ieee large as the two apartments. Sometimes one sees, but only oc- Corridor, ©asionally, as many as three lodges, which communicate with each other. As these cells have been thus easily united, they also sometimes separate, as, for example, when they are too lightly united, or by the movements of the spiders when they engage in combats, for it ap- pears that during the time of amour they are somewhat irascible. Often- times one sees a strange spider making an effort to enter into one of these lodges; but the inmate, who keeps its feet outside, guards, as a watchful sentinel, the safety of its domicile, and drives the intruder from the door. Baron Walckenaer confirmed these observations of De Lignac and added some interesting details. On the 27th of July he placed together Walek- in glass vessels males and females of Argyroneta, On the fol- enaer’s : . ; Obwsrvn: lowing day he saw in one of the silken bells woven by them a tions. male caressing the female with his feet, and carrying his palps to her abdomen. The two spiders were then upon the same line, 1 Aptéres, Vol. II., page 22. 2 Walck., I. Apt., page 143. ° L’Histoire des Araignées Aquatiques, page 43. De Geer in Holland as early as 1736 had observed the curious industry of the Water spiders. 46 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. and stood face to face. The male carried his head under the body of his mate in a reversed position. He stepped aside, and the female with her feet tickled the apex of his abdomen. The next day at 6 A. M. he saw a little web constructed by one of his Argyronetas. He gradually filled the bottle with fresh water, whereupon the couple began to work with extraordinary activity, and in less than an hour’s time had formed a cell which looked like a bubble of air and had the form of a subterranean vault. The male and female kept together. As soon as the cell was finished, and on the same morning, the female made a web at the surface of the plant which had been in- troduced into the bell glass. Much to the baron’s sur- prise, she immediately de- posited her eggs and envel- oped them in a silken co- coon. ‘The cocoon was placed near the surface of the water, and upon the very walls of the vessel. The eggs, which were of a beautiful orange yellow, could be seen through the fine, white tissue of the cocoon. July 29th, at six o’clock morning, Walckenaer saw the female near her eggs; then she ascended to the surface and dived. The male joined himself to his companion. The two spiders gently rub- Fic. 22. The subaqueous nest of the Water spider, Argyroneta bed the extremities of their aquatica, within which the cocoon is woven. anterior feet one against the other, having the air of ca- ressing. Soon this movement of the feet became more brusque and ap- peared menacing. The male, struck by the feet of the female, suddenly leaped aside, but the pair presently sought each other anew. They interlaced their legs, the one within another, and gradually approached nearer and nearer, head against head, The man- dibles were opened; they flung themselves one upon’ another ; afterwards recoiled, separated instantly, and sprang aside as if they had suddenly been seized with fear. Thereupon the female returned to her position near her eggs, | ==>] The = Fiy Cocoon. Caress- ing. PAIRING OF SPIDERS. 47 The next day Walckenaer renewed the water in the vessels, and saw the couple approach one another, lightly touch their feet, swim without stretch- ing out any thread and without touching the insects which had been placed in the water for them, but which were all dead. At five o’clock in the evening again the observer saw the male and female upon the cocoon, drawn near together, the feet interlaced and mo- tionless. On opening the bottle they separated. He was then astonished to observe that the web that had surrounded the cocoon had disappeared. Had it been employed to strengthen the cocoon? The cocoon was a silken flask, attached to a plant by a short pedicle. It was in part immersed within the water. It was rounded, flat- tened, about three lines in diameter, was formed of a fine thread of a very compact tissue, thin as an onion peel, and difficult to tear. It contained forty eggs, not agglutinated, globular, of a pale yel- low color. On the first of April Walckenaer again observed in the jar where the spiders were confined a little bubble of air and a web larger than the former had been. After five days’ absence, April 6th he observed that the spiders had detached the cocoon, in order to sink it to the bottom of the bottle. The water was changed in the vessel and immediately they swam about with delight, refreshed themselves, reunited near the cocoon, and caressed each other with their feet. On the 7th of April he decanted the water of the jar into a cistern. The Argyronetas, troubled by the sudden movement of the flood, swam with great rapidity, and the female having recovered her cocoon in the midst of the water, seized it, embraced it with her feet and sought to buoy it up. One of the most interesting and satisfactory accounts of the act of pair- ing among 'Tubeweavers is given by Mr. Campbell from observations on * . egenaria guyonii.1 The male was placed in a bottle contain- steal ing a female which had been mature for a fortnight. He was left within the vessel in which he had been lodged, but the cover was removed therefrom. Notwithstanding the glass wall which sep- arated him from the female, he soon became conscious of her presence, and issuing from his own quarters approached her. The following morn- ing he was standing with the first pair of legs over the female, and his maxille resting on her abdomen, while she was crouching motion- less, with her head in an opposite direction. Both were in aah ae the same position the next morning, August 7th, 7 A. M. At Male. 10 A. M. the male became restless, and wandered about the bottle with spinnerets extended, returning every now and then to place his palps upon the female. After each action he jerked his abdomen Hmbrac- ing. The Cocoon. 1On the Pairing of Tegenaria guyonii Guer., with a Description of certain Organs in the Abdominal Sexual Region of the Male. By F. Maule Campbell, F. L. 8. Linn. Soe. Jour. Zool., Vol. XVI., page 163. 48 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THETR SPINNINGWORK. upwards and downwards, a movement which often may be observed in males, and which gives an idea of an expression of impatience. The next observation, after a few minutes’ absence, showed the male about two inches behind the female, standing as it were on tiptoe. His palps were placed alternately and nervously to his maxille. On their re- moval the whole body was raised still higher, and the abdomen brought nearly to a right angle with the cephalothorax, with con- siderable muscular effort in the basal portion, and with violent tremulations. The movements, which were repeated four times, had the effect of throwing the spider slightly forward, while the palps were shaken in that peculiar manner which denotes great muscular tension in some other part than that in visible motion. The palps were now gener- ally alternately placed under the sternum and moved backward and forward, upward and downward, with a scooping motion. In five minutes these move- ments of the abdomen and palps were repeated ten times in regular succes- sion, only varied by an occasional transfer of the digital organs to the mouth, Mr. Campbell observed thirteen couples pairing in confinement from the middle of July to the end of August; and the following account may be taken as typical of the species, with the exception that the union does not necessarily occur so quickly after the female has gained maturity. On the 13th of August he placed together a male and female. On the 17th the latter cast her last skin. Up to that time, 6 A. M., they had taken no notice of one another. At 9.45 P. M. the two were so close together that the femora of the first pair of legs of each were almost in contact. After a few convulsive twitches of the legs the male pressed forward, moving his palps up and down, when, as they touched the palps of the female, the pair played with these organs like two friendly bees with their antenne. After a few minutes the female raised herself, leaning a little on her left side, and the male crept forward until his head was under the sternum of his mate, while his first pair of legs were rest- ing upon hers. He then advanced his right palp, leaning a little to the left, and using the left palp as part of his support. The male now rapidly raised his palps up and down for four or more seconds, and with such energy as to compel the female to assume a verti- cal position, He then retired, and again approached her, repeat- ing the movements a greater or less number of times, occasion- ally pausing before he withdrew his palps with a slight twist inwards. At times he would leave the female for five minutes, and strut with straightened legs around the vase, wagging his abdomen. Now and then he would remain perfectly still with the palp withdrawn, or play with the palps of the female, who seemed in a comatose state. He would then re- new the union with undiminished vigor, appearing on each occasion less desirous of changing his position. Use o Palps. Ap- proaches, Use of Palps. ee ee PLATE | COLORS OF EPEIRA TRIFOLIUM. 1—9, VARIATIONS IN COLOR OF FEMALES, 10-11, THE MALE. PAIRING OF SPIDERS. 49 The observer left them at 12.30 A. M. and returned at 7 A. M. The male was still using his right palp. He saw no application of the left palp, but had no doubt that it was employed during the night, as in other cases. He had never observed the pairing interrupted for a fresh collection of semen, although there is no reason to think that this may not occur, The duration of the pairing is long, but he was inclined to think it is more dependent on the difficulty in inserting the embolos than on sexual endurance. Impreg- nation. III. The pairing of Xysticus trivittata Keyserling has been briefly described by Mr. Emerton, and figured.1_ The spiders were seen on the 5th of June among the short grass in an open pasture in New England. The female held: herself head downward on a blade of ° Pairing Of srass, with the abdomen turned Tati away only enough for the male grades. pia : to reach under it with his palps. There did not appear to have been any web on the grass, though there may have been a few threads for the female to hold by. Among Lycosids we have the descrip- tion given by one of the earliest natural- ists, Clerck, the Swedish observer.2 -He saw the pairing of Lycosa sac- cata about the middle of June, upon a rock exposed to the sun. The two sexes approached by jumps, which became fewer and slower as they drew near. The male ended these preliminary stages of courtship by suddenly leaping upon the female. He then passed one of his palps un- der her abdomen, and, holding and inclin- ing her body with the other, inserted first one and then the other palp. When the NY pairing was ended, the two sexes separated Fie. 23. The pairing of the Laterigrade species, Xysticus trivittata. (From Nature.) and promptly ran away from one another.® Emerton * says of the same family that the male leaps upon the back of the female, and is carried about by her. He reaches down at the side of her abdomen and inserts his palps into the epigynum underneath. The Pairing of Lycosids. ‘ Psyche, Vol. V., 1889, page 169. * Clerck, Aran, Svee., pages 91, 92, pl. 4, Tab. 5, Figs. 1, 2, male. * Walck., Apt., I, page 328, * Habits and Structure, page 95. Te ee ee a ee re - 4 50 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. accuracy of the early observation made by Clerck is thus abundantly con- firmed, The attitude of Lycosa is represented in Fig. 24, which has been drawn from Nature for this work by Mr. Emerton. Among the Attide, De Geer has described the pairing of Epiblemum scenicum (Attus scenicus), which occurred upon a wall. The male mounted uke upon the body of the female, passing over her head towards her overs of .bdomen, under which he advanced one of his palps. He gently * raised the abdomen by upward pressure of his legs, and then ap- plied the extremity of his palp to the vulva. An instant afterward the two spiders separated and removed a little distance from one another. The male did not wait long before again approaching, and he repeated many times the action above described. The female did not offer the slightest opposition, but, on the contrary, seemed to greatly enjoy the act." IV. The mating of the Attoids, as told in the delightful pages of Mr. and Mrs. Peckham’s Observations on Sexual Selection in Spiders, presents one of the most important chapters in the life history of araneads. It is a strange and interesting story, a romance of natural history as fascinating as any love story of modern fiction. These accom- plished arachnologists, who have Fic. 24. Male of Lycosa saccata embracing the female. carried on all their studies to- From Nature. (Drawn by Emerton.) : 5 gether, have given special atten- tion to the Saltigrades, and they were led into the study of the courtship of these interesting creatures by a desire to solve some of the current problems in natural and sexual selection. Independent of this, the facts recorded are extremely valuable. The first group of observations uncovered the habit of the males to exhibit themselves before the females in a series of varied movements, which may be generally characterized as dancing. ‘The purpose Love of this appears to be, beyond doubt, to attract the attention of Dances of : the Males. the female, and render her complaisant to the addresses of her lover. The courtship of Saitis pulex was thus conducted: The male, when placed in a box with a mature female, at once observed her, although she was twelve inches away. At the distance of four inches he stood still; and then began the most remarkable performances that an amorous male could offer to an admiring female. She eyed him eagerly, changing her position from time to time, so that he might always be in view. He, in the meantime, extended the fore legs upon one side of the 1 De. Geer, L’Hist. des Insectes, page 90. ee ee ee ee ee : =) LOVE DANCES OF SALTIGRADES. 51 body in such wise as to elevate that side and correspondingly to depress the other. The legs and palpus of the lower side were folded under, and upon these the spider sidled along, moving in a semicircle for about two inches. He then instantly reversed the position of the legs, and circled in the opposite direction, gradually approaching nearer and nearer to the female in the course of these oscillations. The female dashed toward him, while he, raising his first pair of legs, extended them upward and forward, as if to hold her off, but withal slowly retreated. Again he began his oscillating movements until one hundred and eleven circles had been counted. The female in the meanwhile gazed toward him, apparently in a softer mood, evidently admiring the grace of his antics. When he had approached almost within reach of her, he whirled madly around and around her, she joining and whirling with him in a giddy maze. He then fell back, and resumed his semicircular motions, with his body tilted over. She, all excitement, lowered her head and raised her body, so that it was almost vertical. ‘lhe two then drew nearer. ‘The female moved slowly under the male, he crawling over her head, and the mating was accomplished. ! A male of Synagales picata executes his love dance with all his feet on the ground. He raises himself on the tips of the six hindermost legs, but slightly inclines his head downward by bending his front Saitis pulex. Love legs, their convex surface being always turned forward. His ab- Dance of cole F ate : Benes domen is lifted vertically, so that it is at a right angle to the gales. plane of the cephalothorax. In this position he sways from side to side. After a moment he lowers the abdomen, runs a few steps nearer the female, and then tips his body and begins to sway again. Now he turns in one direction, now in another, pausing every few moments to rock from side to side, and to bend his brilliant legs so that she may look full at them. He could not have chosen a better position than the one he took to make a display, and the observers were impressed by the fact that the attitude taken by the males served perfectly to show off their fine points to the female.” Marptusa familiaris is an Attus of sombre gray and black colors, that may be frequently found on trees, fences, and like positions in the neigh- borhood of Philadelphia. It is apparently a widely distributed Mita species. When the two sexes were placed together, the female Ae “*P" saw the male as he entered at the opposite side of the box, thir- familiaris. teen inches away. Eyeing him attentively, she slowly changed her position to keep him in sight, and kept her palps moving rapidly, a characteristic action of the species. As the male neared her, ‘ Observations on Sexual Selection in Spiders’ of the Family Attide. By George W. and Elizabeth G, Peckham. Occasional Papers of the Natural History Society of Wisconsin, Vol. I, 1889. * Idem, page 43. a ae a. as 52 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. he stretched the first and second pairs of legs sidewise, but after a moment backed away. These manceuvres were repeated many times, the attitude assumed during them being as represented by Fig. 25. Occasionally he would bend the tip of the abdomen down, lifting the body up on the last joints of the two hindermost legs. The female always paid the greatest attention to his movements, lying on = the ground with all the legs flattened Fic. 25. Positions in courtship of Marptusa familiaris, and the palpi slightly raised, the Male on the right hand. (After Peckham.) only movement visible being the vi- bration of the palps. There is a certain slowness and dignity about the wooing of this species, almost ludicrous. ! The males of Dendryphantes capitatus approach the female rapidly, until within two to five inches, when they stop and extend the legs di- rectly forward close to the ground, the legs being slightly curved, with the _ tips turned up. This position serves admirably to Showing expose the whole of the bronze and white face ha es (Fig. 26) to the attentive female, who watches him closely from a little distance. As the wooer grows more excited, he lies down on one side, with his legs still % extended. These antics are repeated for a very long time, fie, 26. Bronze even for hours, before the female accepts his addresses. tee g yphan The male of Habrocestum splendens is a magnificent fel- tes. Male. (At low, having an abdomen of glowing pink, and bronze ceph- ‘* Peexhem? alothorax tinted with reddish brown. He began his addresses by advanc- ing a few inches towards the female and then backing off again. Habro- ‘This movement was repeated many times. After awhile he set- cestum 3 é me oleridate tled down under a little web in a corner. The female, troubled by this indifferent treatment, advanced toward him, whereupon he came out and she fell back. This play was kept up for some time, and at length the male began his courting in earnest. When within a few inches of her, he commenced a rapid dance from side to side, raising the whole body high on the tips of the legs, the first pair being directed forward, and the palps clasped together, with the abdomen Fic. 27. Male Saltigrade, Habroces. turned to one side and lifted up. (Fig. 27.) tum splendens, when approaching After a short dance he stood motionless, female. (After Peckham.) Aap 5 ;. striking an attitude as shown in the figure, re- maining quiet for half a minute. Then he turned his back on the female, moving irregularly about with his legs forward and his palps vibrating. 1 Tdem, page 44. LOVE DANCES OF SALTIGRADES. 6 Again he danced sidewise before her, strutting and showing off like a peacock, whirling around and around. Professor Peckham at first supposed that this turning around was accidental, but it hap- pened so regularly at a certain stage of oe courtship, that he concluded that it was an rule important part of his display, serving the 3 better to show his brilliant abdomen. In approaching the female the males of Phileus militaris were very eager and fairly quiy- = ered with excitement. The first two legs ‘aiged he head d ed d Fic, 28. Position of male were raised over the head and curved toward — phijeus militaris when ap- each other, so that the tips nearly met, and the palps Proaching the female. (Af- q 2 ter Peckham.) were moved up and down. (Fig. 28.) Astia vittata is peculiar in the fact that it has two well marked male forms, which shade into each other, but maintain at least one characteristic distinction, namely, three tufts of hair which mark the black form, niger. Mrs. Peckham was kind enough to send me a box in which were packed : a number of specimens of the female Dervish Bec . : and both varieties of the male, in order Dance of : : Rata. that I might witness these remarkable courtship dances. This was prior to the receipt of the work from which I have been quot- ing, and I had but a hint of what I might expect, and how best to proceed. Moreover, my specimens unfortunately, arrived in a bad condition. All were dead except one female and two males, and Fic. 29, Male Astia vittataindanc- the latter were much dilapidated, one of them par- a eae before female. (From ticularly being apparently in a dying condition. I ature, . . . succeeded, however, in resuscitating both males by doses of water and good nursing. One of them in a short time seemed quite well. I placed the three together in a box, and had the privilege of observing, in some degree, what the Peckhams have so fully described. The most lively male at once began animated movements, which were evidently induced by the presence of © — the female, who, however, ran away and kept cir- = ~ a cling around the box, running over the walls and ig. 90. The male of Astia vittate climbing upon the glass cover without showing im the act of vaulting during a ¢ qs ore love dance. (From Nature.) any disposition to respond to the advances made. The male threw himself into what may be described as a rampant position Phileeus militaris. - 1 Idem, page 49, 2 Tdem, page 51, 54 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. (Fig. 29), that is, the body was thrown into a position at about an angle of forty-five degrees, the abdomen almost in the line with the cephalothorax, but a little bent under at the apex, which nearly or quite touched the ground. The two hind pairs of legs were thrown outward from the body, the fourth or hindermost pair being well curved, the third or next pair somewhat bent, but more extend- oo ed. The second pair (next to the foremost) ih fete My confirmed Was quite extended in a line without much noticia = curvature, except towards the last two joints. ee) hee froak legs were extended in a line somewhat Fic. 31. Love dance of Astia vittata. Male with front curved, and well thrown upward above the head, and es poise. (After Peck- the palps, which are black, were stretched out in a corresponding position, and continually rubbed one upon the other in an excited manner. In this attitude the male moved backward and forward with a lively sal- tigrade movement, whirling around a little as he leaped upward (Fig. 30) and brush- ing the tips of his palps together in the meanwhile. This was about all I was permitted to see, but it at least confirms in part what the Peckhams have so care- fully recorded. The first male form, which corresponds in appearance to the female, when he ap- proaches his mate, raises his first mutt of legs so that they point either tie, forward or upward, keeping his palps stiffly outstretched, while the tip of his abdomen is bent to the Nes ground, This position he commonly takes fic. 32. Position of male Astia vittata when when three or four inches away. While ‘%PProsching the female. Much enlarged. : (After Peckham.) he retains this attitude he keeps curving and waving his legs in a very curious manner. Frequently he raises only , one of the legs of the first pair, running all the time from side to side. As he draws nearer to _ the female, he ee his at to the ground and, pairs so that the Hips Menbhe in front (Fig. 32), ee we eee ae mitratus ‘0€ proximal joints being turned almost at an dancing before female. (After angle to the body. Now he glides in a semicir- Peckham.) times receding, until at last she accepts his addresses. The Niger form is much the more lively of the two, and whenever the cle before the female, sometimes advancing, some-' . 5 ee. LOVE DANCES OF SALTIGRADES. 55 two varieties were seen to compete for the female, the black male was suc- cessful. He is bolder in his manners, and was never seen to assume the prone position as did the red form when close to the female. He always held one or both of the first legs high in the air (Fig. 31), waving them wildly to and fro; or, when the female became excited, he stood perfectly motionless before her, sometimes for a whole minute, ateming to fascinate her by the power of his glance. The male of Icius mitratus is quite different from the female, especially in his slender tapering body and long first legs. The female is remark- able for her indifference, and takes less interest in the male’s display of his personal charms than any spider observed. In courting and fighting, the position of the male is the same; the body is somewhat raised; the first legs are held at a right angle to the cephalothorax ; the abdomen is twisted to one side, and, as he dances before his lady love, is changed now to the right, now to the left.’ (Fig. 33.) It is interesting to find that these amorous displays on the part of males have recently been observed in other invertebrates. Mr. 'T. H. Mor- gan thus describes the performance of a male crab (Platyonychus Love ocellatus) in paying his courtship to the lady crab. The specimens rani were confined together in an aquarium. While sketching some Grals: hermit crabs which had previously been placed in the same tank, the observer was attracted by the movements of the male Platy- onychus. Without apparent cause he was seen to rise upon the third and fourth pairs of legs; his large chelee were thrown above his head, with the claws open and their points touching in the middle line; his fifth pair of feet were held horizontally behind, and his body perpendicular to the floor of the aquarium, or at right angles to the normal position. The posture was ludicrous, and when he began slowly to gyrate, hjs movements and attitude were the cause of much merriment upon the part of the spectators. At times he balanced on two legs of one side, again on two legs of opposite sides. Now he advanced slowly and majestically, and now he wheeled in circles in the sand on the floor of the aquarium, and now for a few moments he stood as if transfixed in this unnatural posi- tion. An electric light hung above and to one side of the water, which suggested the possibility that it might be the exciting cause. It was turned out, and still the dancing went on. At last, from sheer exhaustion, Mon- sieur Crab sank down to the sand in his usual attitude. But now the female, who had all this time remained tucked away in the sand, came forth and began to move about the aquarium; soon she came near to the male crab, who instantly rose to his feet and began to dance. Again and again the performance was repeated, and each time the approach of the female was the signal for the male to rear upon his hind feet, and reel about the aquarium as if intoxicated. 1 Tdem, page 50, — OO ae ee me “. a 56 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. At times, when the female approached him as he danced, he was seen to make attempts to enclose her in his great chelate arms, not with any violence, for the claws never snapped or closed violently. She was coy, however, and refused to be won by his advances; for the dance may haye been nothing new to the lady crab, nor half as interesting as it was to the two spectators outside the water. Later the male also buried himself in the sand, and the performance came to an end.1 The love dances of Saltigrade spiders also suggest a similar habit record- ed of certain birds. Familiars of our American woods and fields will recall the well known partridge dances. Among the Chatterers the beau- Love tiful bird known as the Cock of the Rock (Rupicola rocia) is a a of pamous for its saltigrade performances at the mating time. In- deed, the action of our domestic pigeons and barnyard fowls, although not so decided as these, yet suggest a like tendency.? Mr. Wallace has given an account of similar actions by the beautiful Birds of Paradise in the Aru Islands. They moult about January or Feb- ruary; and in May, when in full plumage, the males assemble in the morn- ing to exhibit thernselves in a most singular manner. ‘These are what are called their “ sacaleli,” or dancing parties, and they occur in certain trees in the forest, which are not fruit trees, but have an immense head of spread- ing branches and large but scattered leaves, giving a clear space for the birds to play and exhibit their plumes. On one of these trees a dozen or twenty full plumaged male birds assemble together, raise up their wings, stretch out their necks, and elevate their exquisite plumes, keeping them in a continual vibration. Between whiles they fly across from branch to branch in great excitement, so that the whole of the tree is filled with waving plumes in every variety of attitude and motion. The bird itself is nearly as large as a crow, and is of a rich coffee brown color. The head and neck are a pure straw yellow above, and rich metallic green beneath. The long, plumy tufts of golden orange Displays feathers spring from the sides beneath each wing, and when the cae bird is in repose are partly concealed by them. At the time of Paradise, lts excitement, however, the wings are raised vertically over the back, the head is bent down and stretched out, and the long plumes are raised up and expanded until they form two magnificent golden fans, striped with deep red at the base, and fading off into the pale brown tint of the finely divided and softly waving points. The whole bird is then over- shadowed by them, the crouching body, yellow head, and emerald green throat forming but the foundation and setting to the golden glory which waves above. When seen in this attitude the Bird of Paradise really 'T. H. Morgan, Popular Science Monthly, February, 1889, “The Dance of the Lady Crab.” * For further material on the display of their charms by the males of birds see Darwin’s Descent of Man, Vol. II., chap. xiii, Am, Ed. LOVE DANCES OF SALTIGRADES. 57 deserves its name, and must be ranked as one of the most beautiful and wonderful of living things.! This habit enables the natives to obtain specimens with comparative ease. As soon as they find that the birds have fixed upon a tree on which to assemble, they ambush themselves in the neighborhood. :h ee —_— 66 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK,. Rey. O. P. Cambridge! accounts for the great lessening in size of some male spiders, as Nephila, in comparison with that of the female, Dispro- hy a kind of sexual selection. It is obvious, he reasons, that chagrin the smaller the male the better his chance of escape, and thus in Sexes. Selection would operate until males became so small as only just to be able to fulfill the office of impregnating the female, It is perhaps difficult to reason upon this subject without a much larger array of facts than we at present possess, but there are some points which may be remarked upon with advantage. And it is to be noted that, in the case of Orbweavers, the extremely diminutive size of the male obtains in those species whose females have acquired the largest development. For example, our indigenous Argiopes are among the largest of the tribe, and their partners are very small, not exceeding one-fourth the female’s size. The same is true of Nephila wilderi of our Southern seaboard, and in the case of the large Nephilas of tropical countries, as, for example, Disad- the Nephila nigra of Vinson (see Fig. 6, page 27), the differ- vantages once ig even more remarkable. Now, it is certainly true that, of Large 5 i , ; : Size. were the male of a size corresponding with the female, his weight upon the orbicular snare of the genus would appear at first sight to be a disadvantage in several respects. First, it might break down and injure the snare, and thus place a serious obstruction in the way of nat- ural union. Again, the advent of such a bulky creature upon the snare would at once advise the female of invasion by a most formidable stranger, and the natural instincts of the occupant of the web would be to regard that stranger as hostile, so that her natural ferocity would be awakened, and, the chances for combat and loss of life, or the prevention of sexual union, would be a pretty certain result. From this view of the subject, Mr. Cam- bridge’s suggestion, that the diminution of size would be a great advantage to the male of these large species in accomplishing his amatory purpose and protecting his life, has somewhat to support it. But, on the other hand, it may be said that the immense snares of Nephila and Argiope are no more fragile in proportion than those of smaller sized Orbweavers, in whose case the sexual disparity’ does not exist. Again, it might well be reasoned that natural selection might have operated quite as favorably by maintaining the pro- portionate size of the male or even preserving the largest examples of that sex, inasmuch as increased strength would make him more formidable and thus better fitted to accomplish his purpose. In other words, there is no reason why Nature should not have preserved or bestowed the adyantage of superior strength, as well as the advantage of insignificance in size and therewith, perhaps, corresponding caution and ingenuity in approach. As Per Contra. 1 Zoologist, 1868, page 216, and Proceedings Zool. Soc. Lond., 1871, page 621. COMPARATIVE VIEWS OF VARIOUS MATING HABITS. 67 to the latter point, however, I must say, as a result of many: observations, that I have not been at all impressed with the ingenuity of the male sex of Argiope in approaching his lady’s premises. On the other hand, I have rather acquired the impression that he shows a remarkable degree of stu- pidity or, at least, stolidity. Moreover, Mr. Cambridge’s argument implies the fact that at one time the sexes were of equal size, and that natural selection operated in the way of producing a diminution of size in the male, to his advantage. But this hypothesis, in its first particular, is not admissible, by the very nature of the reasoning, which implies the necessity for a reduction in size in order to preserve the male, and thus facilitate the preservation of the species. It seems difficult to convince one that Nature, having at the outset provided a comparative equality between the species, or wrought the sexes up to such an equality, should have felt compelled to reverse her decision and her processes, and reduce the size of one of the sexes to such ridiculously small proportions. In other words, if Mr. Cam- bridge’s theory starts out, as it seems to do, with a comparative equality of the sexes, there appears to be no reason why that equality, having once obtained, should not have continued; for the fact that it had once ob- tained forbids the hypothesis that any necessity existed, or would be likely to arise, for reducing the original equality of size. Still further, it is a very common thing to find Orbweaving species whose sexes are of nearly equal size and vigor. Such, for example, are Epeira strix, Epeira sclopetaria, and Epeira labyrinthea, which Sexes of i + ae . . Equal 2% among our most common indigenous species. The same is Size: true of many Lineweavers, as, for example, Theridium tepidari- orum, Steatoda borealis, Linyphia marginata, and Linyphia com- munis. The reasons for difference in size between the two sexes would seem to be equally potent in the case of the above species, and all others of like habit. Yet we see that natural selection has not operated along the line of action supposed in the case of Nephila and Argiope. Cer- tainly these exceptions are too numerous not to be regarded as throwing much discredit upon the theory or, at least, laying upon its supporters the burden of further proof. It is pertinent to ask, do those Orbweaving species which habitually oc- cupy nests or tents, in which the pairing occurs, at least occasionally, show a disproportion of size on the part of the sexes? One would reason that in such cases a substantial equality of size, or even the superior strength of the male, would work to his advantage, and so to the propagation of the species. That is to say, it has been found that among the Tubeweavers and Wanderers, and all other species where courtship and mating are conducted by direct contact, and not by the act of suspension within the snare, as is habitual with Lineweavers and Orbweayers, the male is of equal, or even superior, size. In the case Natural Selection. Nesting Species. 0 a. ‘ 68 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. of the nesting species of Orbweavers does the same rule obtain, thus fol- lowing the line of similar mating habit? With Epeira trifolium the males observed by me are very much smaller than the females. The disproportion is nearly as great as between the male and female of Argiope. In the case of Epeira insularis the male is smaller than the female, but the disproportion is not great. ‘The male of Epeira domiciliorum is not greatly inferior to the female. The male of Epeira cinerea is smaller in abdomen, but in the size of the cephalothorax and mouth parts is about equal, and the legs, if anything, are geen q more powerful.. So far as our American species throw light Disparity Upon the question, it would seem that the Orbweavers who per- sistently dwell within tents, show no very marked disparity of size between the sexes. This is the rule, with occasional exceptions. Among British spiders, as described by Blackwall, the case is as follows: In Epeira quadrata the male is about one-half the size of the female; the female of Epeira apoclisa is about one-third longer than the male.’ The proportions are nearly the same as those prevailing between the sexes of American nesting species; but there is apparently a greater tendency in the former than the latter toward diminished size of the males. On the whole, it can hardly be inferred that the facts among Orbweavers indicate that equality of size results from contact of male with female without the mediation of a snare. It has already been intimated that, ordinarily, where the sexes habitu- ally come into direct contact, by reason of their natural habit, the dispar- ity in size between them is less noticeable. Kyen among species Sexual of the Sedentary tribes, such as the Tubeweavers, where union Size in ; : : Tube does not occur during suspension upon the web, this rule ob- oe weavers, tains. For example, the male of Agalena nevia is quite as large and powerful as the female. In the case of the remark- able Water spider of Europe, Argyroneta aquatica, the male is even larger than the female. There is, perhaps, some relation between this fact and the necessity which seems to be compelled by the element in which the life of the species is spent, and which appears to preclude anything like cautious approach. The male Argyroneta must necessarily adopt for his motto the Virgilian sentiment “Fit via vi” in his approach to his lady’s domicile. It thus falls out that the superiority of size proves to be a con- siderable advantage to him. Among Tubeweavers, generally, there exists no very marked disparity of size. With the immense creatures popularly known as Tarantula, the Mygalidee, the male is certainly somewhat smaller than the female, but the difference is not sufficient, as far as my observation extends, to make any great disproportion in vigor. In fact, in this and in all other cases, it 1 Spi. Gt. Brit. and Ir, plate xxii., Figs. 236, 237. _ 4 oe le. COMPARATIVE VIEWS OF VARIOUS MATING HABITS. 69 must be remembered that the abdomen of the male is always, and neces- sarily, by reason of difference in organization, much smaller than that of the female, which gives him, to the current observer, the appearance of being less in general size. But the organs of offense and defense are not situated in the abdomen. The legs and mouth parts of the male, including the cephalothorax, are often equal or superior in size to those of the female, even when he seems at a casual glance to be much smaller by reason of difference in size of the abdomen. Among the Wandering tribes the same rule holds good. The Attoids show a substantial equality in size between the two sexes, there being an average difference of about one-sixth in favor of the female. But this difference in size does not necessarily imply a difference in physical vigor. It must also be remembered that at the mat- ing period the sexual excitement of the male imparts an abnormal degree of strength, which helps greatly to overcome any disparity in physical or- ganism which may exist. The Lycosids follow the same rule of substan- tial equality in size, with a slight difference in favor of the female. In the case of the Laterigrades the rule holds good, as an examination of the superb plates of Blackwall’s “British Spiders” (Plates IV and V), will show. There are some remarkable exceptions, for which I am not able to account. With a few Thomisoids there is said to exist the same immense disparity in size that has already been noted between the sexes of the Orbweaving Nephila and Argiope.? Male Anatomy Wan- derers. LY. The numerical proportion of the two sexes is a matter of great interest, not only in itself, but in its bearing upon certain theories, especially relat- _. ing to development. The facts are so insufficient, and at many Numeri- points so conflicting, that it is a difficult matter to arrive at any- cal Pro- Fs ‘ : nota thing like a settled conclusion. of Sexes. M. Eugene Simon remarks that in the genera where the in- equality between the sexes is slightest the number of males ap- pears to be equal to that of the females, since at the period of amour Orb- weavers having this characteristic regularly come together in pairs. But in the genera where there is a great disproportion of size the number of males is much more considerable, since it is not unusual to see four or five individuals of the sex courting one female. These little males mature first, but the duration of their life appears very short, for after the period of re- production they completely disappear. ‘They do not construct a proper web, but keep in the neighborhood of those woven by the female, watching for the propitious moment for union.? 1 Cambridge, Art. Arachnida, Brit. Eneye. 2 Les Arachnides de France, I., page 20. o— 2 eo) ee ae a 70 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Blackwall and Mr. C. Spense Bate reported to Darwin that the males of spiders are very active and more erratic in their habits than those of females.1_ This appears to be a general opinion among araneolo- Are Males pists, upon what ground as to the matter of activity I am not pein able to perceive. One, of course, is compelled to ask what is Sex ? meant by activity and inactivity as applied to spiders. Cer- tainly the words must be regarded as relative terms. here is a sense in which the females of Sedentary spiders are not as active as the females of the Wandering groups. They may not, indeed, be able to make way over the ground and among herbage with the same facility that marks the Saltigrades, Laterigrades, and Citigrades; but the activity in spinningwork of the average female Orbweayer is simply Female enormous. One who has watched the method by which the ee great round webs of our common indigenous species are spun, tivity, Will certainly agree that the operator is one of the most active of creatures in that department of work, at least. The rapidity with which the threads are woven, the unceasing play of the hind legs in pulling out the thread, and the striding of the other limbs around the circle, together with the active exercise of the remaining organs, are evidences of immense vigor and activity. The fact that such a large and intricate web as Epeira spins can be wrought out in the course of half an hour or forty minutes, is proof enough of this activity. These snares will be reproduced several times a day if necessary, and the repro- duction continues day after day throughout the lifetime of the aranead. So also the same vitality of the female Orbweaver appears in the con- struction of nests, which is not an inconsiderable work, involving no slight exercise of strength, as well as of ingenuity, as any one will see by turning to the chapter upon Nesting Habits, of this work, Chapter XVII., Volume I. Again, this activity appears in the capture of prey. If any one will take his stand before an average orbweb of almost any common species, _, say Epeira strix or Epeira sclopetaria, or Argiope cophinaria, Activity at a season when flies and other insects abound, and in a site ee where they are plenty, he will be surprised at the intense ac- tivity displayed in the capture of insects. One after another these victims are seized, swathed, dragged to the hub or den to be de- voured, and that with a display of vigor in capturing, in swathing, in cutting out the captive, and repairing the web, which must strike the most casual observer. The feast will be left a number of times to seize and truss up in like manner other victims who happen to strike the snare, and on each successive capture the same tremendous rush and energy of action will be noticed. 1 Descent of Man, chapter ix., Vol. IL., page 329. COMPARATIVE VIEWS OF VARIOUS MATING HABITS. 71 I scarcely know a limit to the voracity of these orbweaving spiders when full opportunity is given them to feed upon their natural prey ; and I can certainly appeal to any one who has observed the actions referred to, whether the whole demeanor of the aranead is not such as to impress him with the sense of a vast store of vitality, and an almost exhaustless activity. Taking, then, the spinning- work and the ordinary action in capturing prey by means of nets as the standard, it cannot be affirmed with truthfulness that female Orbweavers are inactive, or that they suffer in respect of this element from compari- son either with the Wandering tribes or with the males of their own species. I might go further and say that when a female Orbweaver is placed upon the leaves of a plant, or even upon the ground among the grasses, she will display an amount of activity in getting from leaf to leaf, and limb to limb, and from point to point, which is surprising in a creature whose habits are so generally sedentary. I have often been amazed at the rapidity and facility with which the largest Orbweavers, as Argiope cophi- naria and argyraspis, could make the circuit of a bush, or travel over a plane surface. As to the males of Orbweavers generally, it is certainly not in accord- ance with my observations that they are more active than the females. On the contrary, I am disposed to think them rather lethargic and Female Activity. mae ., sluggish fellows. I am aware that it has been said, in corrobora- uggish- |. j Page a neuEr tion of the theory that the female is more inactive than the male, that she will hang to the hub of her orb, or remain motion- less within her tent for hours and perhaps even days. It is true; but that action is quite as characteristic of the male as of the female. I have seen the males of Cophinaria, in attendance upon a female, hanging upon the outer courts of their lady love’s snare, apparently entirely inactive, for as much as two or three or four days in succession. They are very patient in their waiting, and make few movements during the courting period. So also it may be said that those Orbweaver males which spin webs that are as perfect after their kind as those of the female, show precisely the same degree of patience in managing their snares and watching for the advent of insects, as is shown by the female. If we turn now to the Wandering groups, and make comparison be- tween the males and females of the species of these tribes, I am certain that it will be found that the females are as active as, or even Wander- more active than, the males. During certain seasons of the year, a=. as, for example, when they are carrying their cocoons, they do roups . j ; Gane indeed prepare for themselves a little cave or silken cell where- pared, in they live until their young are hatched. But during that period, even, the Lycosids may be found running around upon the rocks and over the fields, dragging their egg bag after them. When ne i A ia AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. the young are hatched, it is not uncommon to observe the mother wan- dering over the fields with all her offspring piled upon her abdomen and the lower part of the cephalothorax—a strange, and, to most beholders, a horrible sight, since the ordinary observer is not apt to associate the un- couth vision with the beautiful maternal devotion which the spider thus shows, and which has its analogue in the human mother bearing her child in her arms, or carrying it upon her bosom. Moreover, the exca- vating and fitting up these subterranean homes is a strong proof of a de- cidedly industrious character, and the act requires the exercise of great vigor, which, of course, is exclusively by the female. As a matter of fact, therefore, I am compelled to think that among all Wandering groups the difference between the activity of male and female is certainly not in favor of the former. Whatever conclusions, therefore, are drawn from the belief that the male is possessed of greater activity and vital force than the female, must, in my judgment, be regarded as erroneous. That he is more erratic, in certain species, is true. V. There appears to be little doubt that previous to the act of pairing, the fertilizing fluid is extruded from the sexual organs of the male upon par- ticles of spinningwork, thence is transferred to the dig- ital joint of the male palps (Figs. 85 and 36), whence it is conveyed to the epigynum of the female. , Convey- he alternate inflation and contraction of the niga hehi ah palpal bulb is probably the means by which the fertilizing fluid is forced into its proper receptacle. Various naturalists have been able to estab- lish this fact. Menge has observed, in the cases of Lin- yphia, Agalena, and Lycosa, this fluid collected from the sheet like spinningwork.! Mr. Campbell, in the case of Tegenaria guyonii above cited, was able to confirm this account. It was only dur- ing the last moments of the process that reflected light permitted him to see a triangular silken sheet attached to the spider behind the abdominal sexual organ by its ee , apex, and by its external angles to the mesh across aaa a ee the bottle in which the aranead was confined. The vittata, Fic.36. Epeira sheet extended from under the abdomen to the anterior domiciliorum, largely magnified. (After Em- Part of the sternum, and lay above the palps. The male erton.) now left the sheet and approached the female; but she appeared heedless of his addresses. The observer seized him, and in his attempts to evade capture he injured the silken sheet. An examination 7 Preussische Spinnen. COMPARATIVE VIEWS OF VARIOUS MATING HABITS. fs: showed that the sides consisted of many shreds (Fig. 37, A), while the intervening space was covered with an irregular mesh, which was doubtless originally more systematically arranged. Here and there was a mass of semen containing a fine, granulated substance (Fig. 37, B) of great refract- ive power. The whole was in a very liquid state, and spermatozoa were arranged singly above the threads. Immediately after the spider was secured, one of its palps was removed. The vesiculum seminis was charged with spermatozoa, even to the embolos, where they were plainly seen at intervals. He could not, however, discover any on the external parts of the palpus. Menge is entitled to the credit of discovering the relation between the male palpus and the male abdom- inal sexual organ.! Ausserer confirmed the observations of Menge in studies of Linyphia triangularis and Dictyna benigna.? Bertkau, following the same line of investigation with Linyphia montana and another species, corroborated these statements. * In the act of copulation Blackwall observed, what I have recorded of Linyphia marginata, that the palps were frequently conveyed to the mouth. He saw a male Lycosa lugubrius apply his palps eighty times to the vulva of the female without Applica- the possibility of bringing it into contact tions of : = : : Palps with the inferior surface of its abdomen, except by a very conspicuous change of * position. As an equal number of similar acts was performed by the left palp, we have the extraor- yy. 97. spermatozoa of Teg: dinary fact of the palps being employed one hun- cette) X 570. (After Camp- dred and sixty times during this greatly protracted ; process, unaccompanied by any contact whatever with the part where the seminal ducts are considered to terminate.* VI. Whether or not spiders may be propagated by agamic reproduction is an open question. I am at least satisfied that females will produce cocoons without previous pairing with the male. It is reasonably certain, male also, that in some species a single act of fecundation suffices for mo all the eggs laid for several years in succession, where life is duction. 88 y continued that long. Audebert brought up and kept for some years many individuals of the domestic spider, probably Tegenaria domestica. * “Ueber die Lebensweise der Arachniden,” Neuste Schriften der Naturf. Gesellsch, Danzig, Vol. IV., 1848. ae Beobachtungen uber die Lebensweise, Fortpflanzung und Entwicklung der Spinnen,” Zeistchr. Ferdinendeums, 1867. *“Ueber den Generationsapparat der Arachniden,” Arch. Nat. Gesch., 1875, page 254. * Zoolog. Researches, page 3165. / 74 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Some females which had been isolated, produced in succession several gen- erations, each in its order being equally fruitful. Mr. F. Maule Campbell records an example of probable parthenogenesis in the common English house spider. An immature female of Tegenaria guyonii was taken and boxed in May. It moulted twice, and survived during the winter confined within a large glass bottle. Herein she quite domesticated herself, and was fed throughout the winter. - In the early part of April she spun the ordinary cocoon of her species, within which she deposited eggs, and about a month thereafter she died. On the 7th of June, Mr. Campbell, observing some movement in the cocoon, separated the sheets enclosing the eggs and found that two spiders had been hatched. Twelve eggs still retained vitality, while the rest were hard and shriveled. The fertility of this spider, after a confinement of eleyen months, during which time she twice moulted, can only be explained by one of the follow- ing alternate causes: First, that she was impregnated previous to the cast- ing of the two exuvie in an early, and therefore immature, stage; second, that parthenogenesis occurs in true spiders.” Mr. Campbell is inclined to believe that the case recorded by him is one of agamic reproduction, inasmuch as he could find no lumen in the exuvie through which impregnation could have taken place. This is jus- tified by the opinion of Bertkau, which expresses the general belief of ara- neologists: this much is certain, that spiders immediately upon or shortly after the final moult become sexually mature.® 1 Cuvier, Animal Kingdom, Lond. Ed., Vol. XIII., page 468, supplement. 2 Jour. Linn. Soe. Zool., Vol. XVI., page 538. 3 “Ueber den Generationsapparat der Araneiden,” page 253. PART II—MATERNAL INDUSTRY AND INSTINCTS. CHAPTER IV. ? MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. Tue maternal industry of spiders is concerned chiefly in the preparation of the silken sac within which the eggs are deposited. It includes also the various methods by which this sac, when woven, is disposed of in order to secure a greater protection for its contents from exigencies of climate and weather, and assaults of enemies. I shall treat this part of my subject after the methods previously adopted, and describe in detail the cocooning habits of Orbweayers, and then present brief studies of the cocoonery of typical species of other tribes, with a view to comparison as to various points, such as the form, number, modes of preservation, and construction. it Among, Orbweavers, the largest cocoon known, to me is that of Basket Argiope. It is usually a pyriform or globular flask or sac of stiff, parch- .__,. ment like, yellowish silk, suspended in various sites by a series eae of short lines passing from all parts thereof to surrounding ob- jects. These lines, at the points of attachment to the cocoon, diverge into minute conical or pyramidal deltas, similar to those formed to anchor the usual dragline when the spider walks. The objects upon which the cocoons are hung depend, of course, upon the local habitat of the individual. For the most part, Argiope spins her web in low positions; on the tall grasses growing in the angles of a rail or “worm” fence; on the miscellaneous shrubbery that will be seen along the edge of a New England stone fence; in the low bushes of various sorts found in fields, lanes, the skirts of woods, and out of the way places—one will be sure to meet these pear shaped objects in October or early November. A collection that lies before me as I write will be sufficiently typical of the positions in which Argiope spins her cocoons. Here is a cluster of tall grasses, upon which two cocoons are hung. One, with a brown external case, is suspended within a series of closely intersecting yellowish threads, which are lashed to the stalks of the grass eight inches from the roots. Just within the little concavity formed by the stems as they have been pulled together in a circular position, the little (75) : Cocoon- ing Sites. 76 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. flask, with its precious contents, is swung. At the top of this clump a second cocoon is placed. It is of a yellowish white color, and, in order to give it a proper site, the tops of the spears of grass have been pulled down and twisted together, so that the capsules, or graceful clusters of seed vessels, hang around the cocoon on every side, giving it a beautiful setting. These cocoons are eleyen inches apart, and were probably spun by two spiders. Another example is hung in the very midst of a tall field chrysanthemum. The cocoon is much larger than those just described, and is of a rounder shape. ‘Two branches of the plant have been drawn towards each oth- er, and these again Among towards the cen- Fhocrcmna, tral stalk. With- in the space thus circumscribed the egg sac is suspended in the midst of a maze of lines attached at one end to the cocoon, and at the other to various parts of leaves and stems of the plant. It is about eighteen inches from the ground, and forms a pretty object amidst the balled white blossoms of chrysanthemum. (Fig. 39.) A third and fourth spec- imens are hung in similar positions within the out- branching limbs of a wild flower unknown to me, which is thick set with little white blossoms. Still an- Fic. 38, Cocoon of Argiope cophinaria, hung in the tops of grasses. other is hung within a little canopy formed by the leaves of a blackberry vine, that have the beautiful hues with which, in our climate, the autumn is wont to paint the foliage. Still another is suspended beneath a similar canopy, formed of leaves on a young maple Leafy bush. Another has a similar site within the clustered leaves of Canopies. PUsh nother has a similar site within the clustered leaves o a fragrant honeysuckle vine; and yet one more has been sus- pended upon the leaf stalks and under the leaves of our well known MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. Fig. 39. Cocoons of Argiope cophinaria, swung among field grasses and wild flowers. Virginia creeper. A _ pretty environment, indeed, this last one, but of less stability than beauty; for, as the autumn ad- vanced, and the leaves of the ampelopsis dropped to the ground, the egg case, so care- fully wrought by the mother while expending upon it the last energies of her life, fell to the ground, and probably would have soon mingled with mother earth had it not been rescued by the collector’s hand. These cases will sufficiently il- lustrate the natural sites chosen by this spider upon which to suspend her cocoon. The hanging of the silken flask is not without an evi- dence of nice care and discrim- ination in the adjustment of its supports. The guy lines are commonly so placed upon the different parts of the cocoon, vt es a a a ' : 78 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. and so stretched and fastened to adjacent objects, that the mother leaves her precious casket so well poised and finely hung that even the strongest wind fails to disturb its balance when a good position has been selected. In this position it will commonly remain until the brood is hatched; but, as we have pare seen, sometimes the mother’s care is misplaced. Stability T+ sometimes happens that the cocoon is simply anchored to eis leaves, and, when the autumn brings the usual fall of foliage, it is carried down to the ground. There, buried among rubbish, covered with snows and rains, the chances for development of the young are seemingly not very good. Yet even thus it is possible that, in sites comparatively undisturbed by tramping feet of men and animals, the eggs may remain healthful throughout winter, and yield their broodling Argiopes when spring suns dissolve the snow and the spring wind has scattered the leaves. It is not an unusual thing for Cophinaria to hang her cocoon in the angle of walls in a house or outbuilding. (Iig. 40.) I have met a number of such cases in the outlying parts of Philadel- phia, as, for example, Germantown and West Philadelphia. There still remain in those sections a number of gardens and spacious yards, within which this large and beautiful creature has maintained her position against all encroachments of civilization since the landing of the Swedish pioneers. Their snares are woven upon the vines which cluster about Fic. 40. Cophinaria’s cocoon suspendea arbors, outbuildings, and verandahs; and it is in the angle of a wall in the midstof 4 common thing for the mother, when the crossed lines. = cocooning time has come, to slip underneath a roof or cornice, and there suspend her egg sac. In this case she protects it by a slender encasement of retitelarian lines spun entirely around it. A cocoon thus disposed is represented at Fig. 40, as it was found in the early summer in the basement of a hotel at Atlantic City. The enclosing lines were from seven to eight inches high, and of about equal width. The lines were much soiled by dust, the accumulation of winter and spring, but the cocoon proved to contain many healthy spiders, although in the lower part it was infested with parasitic ichneu- mon flies. Another case of suspension within doors offered an interesting exception to the usual mode. This cocoon was hung in the angle of the walls of a room in Sedgley House, at Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, the headquarters of Captain Chasteau, of the Park Guard, who said that it was made about Indoor Sites. MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS, 79 October 1st. When first observed, it was a round ball, which was gradually wrought into a pear shaped object. This, when I saw it, was hung from the under side of a Cocoon sheeted curtain (Fig. ae *41), that curved over and extended like a bridge from the shield shaped hub of the snare to the adjacent wall. The curtain terminated in a pocket, from the bottom of which the cocoon was suspended. The cocoon was thus just behind the orb which was spun across the angle about seven feet from the floor. The characteristic zig- zag ribbon of the web extended well downward, and a number of WS lines stretched from side to side Aly across the angle, nearly to the ye “ floor, forming a convenient gang- way for the spider. Immediately after finishing her work the mother spider be- gan to languish. She would not take flies as aforetime when of- fered to her. Once she tried to escape from the room into the Park, but was brought back, and Fra. 41. Cocoon of Argiope suspended from a curtain behind her snare in Sedgley House. placed upon her lower gangway lines, which she mounted, with great apparent difficulty, to the central shield, behind which she stationed herself. She was found dead upon the floor one morning, haying lived only a few days after the completion of her cocoon. The cocoons of Cophinaria vary in length from five- eighths of an inch to one inch and five-eighths. Three meas- urements between these limits are one and a half, one and a fourth, and one and one-eighth inches. The bowl is gen- erally about one inch wide, and the flask one-eighth inch Fic. 42, Around co. Wide at the tip of the neck. The bowls are for the most coon of Argiope part decidedly pyriform in shape, but sometimes are spher- ba" ical instead of oval. As the spiderlings grow a little within the sac after hatching, the bowl somewhat expands, or rather fulls out, but the original shape remains substantially unchanged. The structure of the cocoon is as follows: First, the outer case or shell 80 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. (Figs. 43, 44, 0.c) is usually a thin, stiff, parchment like substance, that feels dry, and crackles under the touch, as though glazed. It is substan- Fie, 43. Section view of cocoon of Argiope cophinaria. fe, flossy envelope inside the outer case, oc; p.d, the brown padding; e.u, the cup or dish against which the eggs (e) are deposited; c.a, cap covering the egg cup; ¢c.s, suspen- sion cord. is filled with a tially water tight. I have found several cocoons of a softer material, and thicker, much like a delicate yellow felt. The glazing above mentioned is not the result of ageing or weathering simply, but is produced by the action of the spider herself, perhaps by the overspreading of the viscid secretion which forms the beads on the spirals of a snare. When this outer case is cut away there is first pre- sented a flossy envelope (f.e) of soft yellowish silk, which quite surrounds the contents of the bowl. Next is a dark brown pyriform or spherical pad of spinningwork (p.d), which swathes the eggs completely, interposing a thick, warm, silken blanket between them and the external case. On the upper part of this pad is a plate or cup (c.u), of like color and closer texture, with the concavity down- ward. I have at least once found this to be a whitish disk of stiff silk. The neck or stalk (nk) of the cocoon compact silken cone (cs), of a yellowish or brown color, which is united at the base to the egg plate (c.u), and at the top terminates in a strong twisted cord (c.s), which sometimes extends upwards and forms the central support to the cocoon. Next to the brown pad is often a thin flossy envelope, which surrounds the egg sac. : The latter is a rather closely spun pouch of variable tenacity, and whitish or pinkish white color, that encloses the thousand or more eggs which lie in a globular mass with- in the heart of the cocoon. The inner egg sac (e) is attached above to the plate or cup (c.u), which, after the spiderlings hatch, is pushed upward by them not unlike a trap- door, permitting them to creep out into the surrounding padding, leaving their white shells within the sac. The plate serves to support the eggs, which are probably oviposited upward against it. One female, confined within a box, got so far in the construction of her cocoon as to spin the plate, but went no farther, leaving, how- ever, this evidence of the point at which her ovipositing would have begun. The genus Argiope is widely distributed throughout the globe, and the cocooning habit of the species has elsewhere the same characteristics as in America. Argiope fasciata of Southern Europe and Northern Africa makes Fic. 44, Cocoon of Cophinaria dissected to show the parts. Letters as in Fig. 43. “ a z< yiee. cys, nH ——— es ee ee ee ers Winey, < Ly ’ 7 . aa < MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 81 a cocoon much like that of our Cophinaria. Fig. 46 shows the external case, and -Fig. 45 gives a section view of the central egg sac, supported in the midst of a bunch of loose flossy silk.1 IT have found numbers of Cophinaria’s cocoons on vacant city lots in Philadelphia, strung to the stems of tall weeds on either side of a well traveled footpath. The mothers had safely passed through the betel perils of assaulting boys and voracious birds, and left these i tokens of their maternal care in this conspicuous spot. As far as examined the cocoons contained broods of healthy spiders, One excep- tion, however, permitted me to see the position and structure of the egg mass. It is a hemispherical mass five-sixteenths of an inch high and wide. he eggs are bright yellow, contained within a delicate white or pink hued membranous silken sac, through which they can be seen in outline. - It is interesting to observe that there is some variety among the mother Argiopes in the manner of preparing a cocoon. I have one before me which is composed, Variation first, of a soft silken in Struct- : ear exterior case; then, of three easily sep- arated layers of delicate yellow silken tissue, extremely soft and beautiful. Next to these layers is the loose yellow flossy mass hitherto described, and then the brown padding which surrounds the egg sac proper. This brown padding is not as Fa, 45, Fie, 46, abundant as I commonly find Fig. 46. Cocoon case of Argiope fasciata. Fie. 45. Section of it f or th e reason p erh aps th at same, to show the central egg sac. (After Cuvier.) ) ) ’ the yellow silken envelope is so much more pronounced. Another cocoon before me has in it nothing but the brown padding, scarcely a trace of yellow floss, and no layers such as above described. I account for the distinet layers by supposing that they were woven between well marked intervals of resting. The Banded Argiope is not as common a spider, at least in the imme- diate vicinity of Philadelphia, as her congener Cophinaria. Her life ap- ‘ pears to be prolonged a little further into the autumn, for I find pele her upon the bushes when the Basket Argiope has entirely dis- raspis, 2Ppeared. Her cocoon is therefore made, as a rule, somewhat later; but it is suspended in a similar manner and in similar sites. I do not find it often, and, as compared with the cocoon of Cophinaria, 1 Cuvier, Regne Animal, Arachnides, pl. ii. 82 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. it is rare. It seems to be less fond of human society, or else less able to stand the exigencies of civilization than Cophinaria. In outlying sections, where Nature has been less disturbed by men, it may probably be found more readily. It is suspended by means of silken guys to the leaves and stalks of grass or low growing plants, which are bent over and also lashed together above the swinging egg nest in the manner rep- resented at Fig. 47. Again, it may be found as at Fig. 48, swung in the midst of a retitelarian maze woven amidst the branches and leaves of a bush, or, as at Fig. 49, seated and suspended in the crotches of a wild meadow flower. The shape of her cocoon differs from Coph- inaria’s in being hemispheroidal instead of pyri- form; in other words, it resembles the lower half of a spheroid. Across the wide top is stretched a circular piece of silk, like the head of an Indian drum. (Fig. 50.) The outer case is of stiff yellow silk, as is also the head or top; this part, in a cocoon now before me, is somewhat darker in color Fic. 47. Banded Argiope’s cocoon beneath a canopy of leaves and than the rest of the case. A marginal flap sur- grass tops. A a . rounds the head, and has various points to which guy lines were attached in site. (See Fig. 50.) The height and width of the cocoon are about the same—one-half inch. When the outer case is cut aside, as at Fig, 51, the interior is seen to con- sist, first, of a yellow flossy envelope, which is packed between the inner wall; and, second, an egg pad, which is not composed of purple silk as in Cophinaria, but of yellow silk plush loosely woven, and is three-eighths of an inch long. Within this are the eggs. Immediately above is the egg cover of white silk plush, which is commonly flat, not con- cave as with Cophinaria. It is about one-eighth inch thick, and is attached firmly by silken threads to the inside of the top of the case. Against this cover, no doubt, the eggs are oviposited Fi. 48. Cocoon of Argiope argyraspis, suspended amidst supporting cross lines upon a bush. upwards, and are then covered by the mother spider. The portion of the egg cover is shown at Fig. 51, where one edge adheres to the remaining part of the top of the case, and also at Fig. 52, where the object is viewed from the side. MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 83 Among various other examples of California spinningwork received from Mrs. Higenmann and Mr. R. L. Oreutt, of San Diego, were several cocoons of rare beauty. They were lenticular or hemispheroidal Argiope masses, of a yellowish, yellowish green, and green color. (See ee figures, Plate IV.) They were pulled out into angles at the flat f side, as though they had been suspended by threads at the an- gular points. ‘They varied somewhat in size, from three-fourths of an inch to an inch long, one-half inch wide, and three- eighths high. It was long a matter of wonder and discussion with me what spe- cies formed these beautiful egg nests. Mr. Oreutt finally attributed them to Argiope argenteola, without giving a reason for his opinion. The question was at last settled by a living female specimen of that spider sent me by Mrs. Eigenmann, which, hap- pily, reached me alive, but very feeble. I placed her under a trying box, fed her with water and flies, and she revived. The following morning a cocoon was hung within the box, whose shape and color solved the mystery, and proved that Mr. Oreutt was correct in attributing the co- coon to Argenteola. This cocoon was a keystone shaped patch of white sheeted silk, upon which was raised a greenish button that enclosed the egg mass. (Fig. 53.) The white color of the sheet can hardly be characteristic, for in specimens before me this part is green. The whole was suspended between lines that were attached above to the lower foun- dation lines of the orb, and to the sides and bottom of the box beneath. Evidently the Fe. 49. Cocoon of Argiope argyraspis, : » A ‘ hung upon the stalks and leaves of a spider, in spinning her cocoon, had first — \iia fower. stretched the sheet, and against or within this had placed her eggs, which she then proceeded to overspin in the usual manner, though, of course, it is not impossible that in this and like cases the cocoon may be framed upon a flat surface and then raised and sus- pended in the above described position. In general appearance this cocoon resembles that of Epeira rather than the typical Argiope cocoons as rep- resented by our two familiar species, Cophinaria and Argyraspis. But in a EE a ee eee 84. AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. the manner of suspension, as well as the character of the egg case, Argen- teola resembles her congeners. ! A cocoon, when dissected, shows two principal parts—the basal sheet above referred to, and the cup or case which is set upon it. Both these parts consist of closely woven silk, like that which forms the out- er case of Cophinaria and Argyraspis, the latter of which it most resembles, This cup is of a yellow or yel- lowish Fria. 52. Fig. 51. Interior, showing Fa. 62. Side view of the egg cover. Fie, 50. Fig. 51. Fic. 50. Cocoon of Argiope argyraspis. X 2. padding, eggs, and the egg cover. green color, and the deep green tints appear most de- cidedly in slight flossy tufts, which here and there overspread it. ‘The inner surface of the basal sheet is overspread with white silk. Within the case is a ball of white flossy curled silk, which forms the inner upholstery of the nest. It thus ap- pears, that while the cocoonery of this remarkable spider resembles that of Epeira in its external shape and the nature of the interior furnishing, yet in the texture of the case and manner of suspension it is like the cocoonery of its congeners. In the example produced in my trying box the basal sheet is hung vertically. If it were suspended hor- izontally, with the egg case downward (Fig. 54), it would closely resemble an Argyraspis’ cocoon. Mrs. Higenmann tells me that Argenteola makes more than one cocoon. A specimen which had spun a web in her sitting room placed a cocoon upon it somewhat in the posi- tion observed by myself, as above described; but shortly after (the time is not specified) a second cocoon was formed upon the web about two inches below the first one. A few days previous to this iis thee td Raabe aaa ae cocooning the spider neglected to eat, and paid genteola; side view. Aboutnat- no attention to the flies placed upon her web. ry in The discoverer had concluded that the creature’s mission was ended and death would soon ensue, but was surprised to find Internal Structure Fia. 58. Cocoon of Argiope ar- genteola; front view. Natural size. ! Koch has described species from South America which closely resemble A. argenteola, and perhaps may be the same, See Arachniden, Tafeln 5-8, Fig. 860, Arg. argentatus, and Fig. 361, Arg. fenestrinus. _ MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 85 its lethargy only the condition naturally preceding cocooning. ‘he sec- ond cocoon was a little larger and more flocculent than the first. After this maternal duty the mother disposed of the flies that were entangled in her web, without any hesitation. This was not the end of the matter, however, for on the 14th of December, just three weeks after the second cocoon had been spun, a third was made, which was like- wise attached to the web. On the after- noon of January 6th, three weeks after this last maternal act, the spider lost her grip upon the meshes of her web and fell dead to the floor, having been in the possession of the observer three months. i. The genus Epeira, which includes our best known and most numerous species of Orbweavyers, has little va- riety among its most typical species in the form of its co- coons, the manner of protection, and nature of sites selected for them. The general form is that of a ball, hemi- sphere, or semiovoid mass of thick, silken floss, that enswathes a white silken bag, within which a number of eggs, usually yellow, are massed. ‘This is fastened in any convenient and eligible position, at- tached directly to the surface or hung amid supporting threads. I have strip- ped from a decaying trunk a bit of bark eighteen inches long, on which one could count forty or fifty of these cocoons in- termingled with those of Agalena nevia and other Tubeweayvers, and of Lateri- grades, as well as the white silken tubes of Saltigrades. (Fig. 55.) Often the dried bodies of the mothers, who had died shortly after their last maternal care and work, were found clinging to Epeira Cocoons. Fie. 55. Cocoons of Epeira underneath the bark of an old tree. the nurseries of their young. When deposited in such sites the eggs rarely have any other protection in the way of spinningwork than the EE ———————— 86 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. AN Z — ZN A Ss | AM UY, f panel) Mi at “me EM Mi ; Fic. 59. Fic. 56. Globular cocoon of Insular spider, spun in a paper box. woven against a leaf within a glass tumbler. (Natural size.) orum, within a curled leaf. Fic. 59. Epeira cocoon enclosed within a curled leaf. Epeira cocoons overspun with a common tent. BiG. 56. Fia. 57. Cocoon of Hpeira insularis, Fic. 58. Cocoon of Epeira domicili- Tia, 60. —- - 3 _ MATERNAL INDUSTRY : COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 87 flossy cocoon case, the shelter of the bark being, no doubt, sufficient barrier against assault of enemies and stress of weather. A favorite site of this gort is the trunk of an old hickory tree, whose flaky outer bark, curled up at the free ends, offers an acces- sible retreat. A cocoon of Insularis, in my col- lection, spun within a small paper box, is a globular ball of yellow silken plush three- fourths of an inch in di- ameter and of a light yellow color. (See Plate IV., Vol. IL) It is hung against the side of the box (Fig. 56) in the midst of a maze of short right lines an inch and a half wide and high. These lines. are knotted to- gether at innumerable points, which are marked by little white dots. ‘This meshed envelope extends nearly to the cocoon, and certainly appears to be a sufficient barricade against hymenopterous invaders, although it was not able to save the eggs from those universal and well nigh irresistible pests of collections, the Dermestide. I have another cocoon of this species similarly disposed within an inverted glass tumbler, under which" the mother had been confined. She attached herself to the bottom of the glass (the top when inverted), and, as is the custom of her kind, hung there back downward until the period of cocooning. (Fig. 57.) Not long after she died, and her dried up form is partly shown in the drawing. The spots upon the glass represent the points of attachment for the supporting lines of the co- coon, and are little pats of adhering silk. Sometimes cocoons are found laid against a leaf which has been drawn around it, as at Figs. 58 and 59, reminding one of Fig. 62. Cocoon of Epeira domiciliorum, woven upon a pine tree. the manner in which cer- tain lepidopterous larvee protect themselves before they pass into the pupa state. When this sort of protection is secured for the eggs, viz, a leafy covering around the egg pad, no further envelope is added, precisely as when the eggs are laid upon the under side of bark and stones. Cocoon of Insularis. Fic. 61. Epeira cocoon in angle of a wall, protected by a tent or palisade of lines. 88 , AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. In other cases, however, as in the angles of walls, porches, outhouses, etc., the silken egg pad is itself enclosed in a tent of spinningwork more or less open. (Fig. 60.) In some cases this tent is little more than a series of lines drawn across the angle at a little distance from the cocoon, as at Fig. 61. Strix, Sclo- petaria, and Domiciliorum are all in the habit of weav- ing around their cocoons such a tent. A Domicile spider, which I found in the act of com- pleting her cocoon, was con- tent with a scantier coyer- ing than this. Her ege sac was an oval mass of yellow- ish brown silk one and one- fourth inch long by three- Fic. 68. Epeira cocoon protected by a tent of close spinningwork, fourths of an inch wide. It was fastened upon a twig of a pine tree. At one end short lines were thickly strung across from the needle like leaves, making a sort of “fly” or awning. This was repeated at the other end, thus about half covering the cocoon. The mother spider hung to a few threads above (Tig. 62) her egg nest, with shrunken abdomen, and so much exhausted as to be little inclined to move. This cocoon was made September 24th. For the most part the outer tent is of closer texture than those above described, being in fact an enclosing curtain of silken cloth, through which the outline of the cocoon within may be traced. (Fig. 63.) pres Great numbers of these tent enclosed cocoons may be seen at the boat houses near the Inlet of Atlantic City and Cape May. They are made during the last days of May and to the middle or last of June, and again in the fall.1. The cocoons measure seven-eighths of an inch long by six-eighths of an inch wide, and less. The enclosing tent measures Fic. 64. Egg mass of Epeira, show- Foreordi- two and two and a half inches long by Mee uae oa nation in ‘ : : : Nature, ue and three-eighths inch wide. Fre- quently the tents are overlaid one upon another, or spun close to each other, as at Fig. 58. I have found three large cocoons thus Cocoons in Tents. ? Of two specimens of Epeira sclopetaria kept by me, one cocooned May 22d; the other May 26th; a third about the middle of June. An Epeira domiciliorum cocooned Septem- ber 16th. ss samme tm iil et ial MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 89 overlaid, and the outer tent, four inches long, covered the others so com- pletely that one might have supposed the whole to be the work of one spider. Undoubtedly, these works are precau- tions against both enemies and the weather, which, although without experience of the ef- fects of either upon her offspring, the mother takes as though she really foresaw the danger. jag, 65, gg mass of Epeira, showing If an egg nest of this class be opened the under sheet and outer covering ‘ : removed. there will be found, in order, first, the outer tent, separate from the covering of the cocoon; second,.a thin white silken sheet, which is the outer envelope of the cocoon proper ; third, the thick egg pad of curled silk, usually yellow; fourth, the eggs, a conical or hemispherical or spherical mass of small yellow globules. (Fig. 64.) When the spider oviposits against a flat sur- face, the eggs are generally laid upon a coating or sheet of silk spread upon the surface, and the padding is then woven over it in the manner of Argiope cophinaria. If the cocoon is suspended within a maze of lines, the eggs are laid in the midst of the curled nest or egg pad, which is after- wards completed. . The cocoon of Epeira cinerea shows a variation from the common type of her congeners, The egg pad is a large flattened hemisphere, an inch in diameter, and one-fourth to three-eighths of an inch thick. This is spun against some flat surface, the boards of a shed, as I have seen it, upon a light cushion of curled yellow silk. Over and around this, on all sides, is woven the egg pad, which is flattened down quite compactly, and the whole mass lashed at the edges to the surface. The entire cocoon has a diameter of one and five-eighths inch or more, and is a quarter or three-eighths of an inch thick at the centre. (Fig. 66.) Interior Structure lic. 66. Cocoon of Epeira cinerea, III. Epeira triaranea makes a cocoon of the common type, but smaller. Of two now before me, spun in bottles, one measures one-fifth of an inch, and the other about half that. They are both round or ovoid flossy masses, protected by a maze of intersecting lines spun around them. This maze is often thickened into a tent, in which condition I have observed numbers spun in the angles of the joists of a cellar at Atlantic City, in the early spring (May 22d), full of young spider- lings just ready to emerge. These cocoons measured one-half inch long, which is somewhat above the normal length. One female was observed (New Lisbon, Ohio), whose cocoon was wrapped up within a rolled leaf. This was swung to a cord, attached at one end Epeira triaranea. ——— as ——S ae S EE ee a ~* 90 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. to the silken, bell shaped tent within which the spider nested, and at the other end to the fence top against which the tent was placed. (Fig. 67.) In this way the mother had her future progeny literally “cradled,” and in good position also to be freely “rocked.” What freak had caused her to make this divergence we can only conjecture; probably the cocoon had first been spun upon the leaf, which, becoming loose, and threatening to fall, was secured in the manner described. A familiar resort of Triaranea in New England is the stone wall, char- acteristic of that section. Underneath the irregular slabs or boulders of granite which are heaped, one upon the other, to form the diyi- Stone sion fences between meadows, ete., I have found large numbers Fence : - oe ‘ ; oe : Colony. of this species. The orb, which is usually about six inches in diameter, is woven within the interspaces of the rocks, and the spider has her resting place against the rough surface, or within the little in- dentations of the stone which forms the top of the cavity. 77 Against this surface the moth- a nies Amin] ev Triaranea weaves her bowl i shaped tent, and against the same surface, an inch or two away, she spins her cocoon. This is about a quarter or three-eighths of an inch in diameter; is a hemispherical disk of flossy white silk, which is overspun by a stiff, taut, close, but transparent tent of white silk about three-fourths of an inch long. This may be considered the typical co- . coon of the species. The number of eggs in x three cocoons counted was, Fic. 67. Leaf enclosed cocoon of Epeira triaranea, swung respectively, forty-five, forty- to her silken nest and above her snare. : two, and thirty-two. They were of a gray color. Little spiders had just developed in one, and these had yellowish abdomens, round, and very slightly oval, with the legs white. The egg skin had just been cast, and the little fellows were stretching them- selves and straggling about in a feeble manner. One female was resting within a circular depression underneath a rock, and had spun a few silken lines, forming the foundations of a little circular tent, the framework of which extended downward toward her snare. Within this was an old empty cocoon, against which the spider rested. Near by was a fresh cocoon, nearly one-fourth inch in diameter, overspun by a moe =e =a 4 R rs ~—S gp ; SUOTTTENT | lon SS ee ee ee ee ES eee ae phd ~~ = MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 91 tough silken tent, and this appeared to belong to the spider, who, moreover, looked as though she might soon make another cocoon. The question was started, but was not solved, does Triaranea weave more than one cocoon? The cocoon was a little flossy ball, flattened, of course, on the side attached to the rock. I captured one of the fe- males, which cocooned in a box, thus showing that the cocoons above described were those of this species. A cocoon of Epeira thad- deus was sent to me from Vineland, by Mrs. Mary Treat. It had been spun upon some potted ferns within her lodgings. It is a subglobose sac, of a delicate pearl gray color, one-fourth inch (six millimetres) in diameter. It is attached at the top to a strip of silk ribbon, or rather it widens out at the top into two triangular points, by which it is fastened upon a cord stretched between two sprigs of fern. The egg ball thus swings free. (Fig. 68.) I have secured cocoons of this species, by confinement within the trying box, which differ from the above. They are globular or subglobular masses of flossy yellow silk, about three-eighths of an inch in diameter. I believe that, ordinarily, Thaddeus will be found to weave a cocoon of this sort upon a leaf or other surface, probably enclosing it within a curled leaf, or over- spinning it in the manner of Epeira triaranea. I have not been fortunate enough to identify the cocoons of our common Zillas; but a species which I observed in Florida made a cocoon shown at Fig. 69, top of the cut. It was a flossy ball, about three-eighths of an inch thick, and was woven within the silken tent which formed the spider’s domicile. It was placed in the top of the tent, and against the twigs, which formed a sort of framework for it. After the cocoon had been made the spider shifted her domicile to a lower point, and gradually spun a new dome shaped tent just be- neath her cocoon, within which she con- Fic. 69. Cocoon (top of figure) and tent tinued to dwell. of a Florida Zilla. Fic. 68. Cocoon of Epeira thaddeus, swung upon a line. Epeira thaddeus. Le il ieee |g iit i Za" ay bg Ky, Uh yFZ ny RY f The cocoon of Nephila wilderi, accord- ing to Professor Burt Wilder,' is a large flossy hemisphere of silk, which is usually spun upwards against a leaf or similar surface. The spinningwork 1Trans. Am, Assoc. Advance. Sci., 1873, page 263. 92 AMERICAN SPIDERS Fig, 71. AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Fic. 70. Cocoon of Nephila wilderi, woven against a leaf. (After Wilder.) Fic. 71. Cocoons of West Indies Nephilas spun on plants. (After Wood.) MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 93 is of a yellow color, and so slight as to show the loose mass of eggs within, (Fig. 70.) It appears to resemble quite exactly the cocoon of its congeners in Africa and the West India Islands. For example, the cocoon of Nephila ni- gra, according to Dr. Vinson,’ is of a beautiful yellow color, and is attached to the bark of trees, or spun against the surface of some re- cess. Nephila maurata spins a large cocoon, of a beautiful orange yellow color. This is not attached to her snare, but is woven against any adjacent recess, or in some shaded place near to her, al- though sometimes she goes quite a distance from her web to find a cocooning site. The orange colored egg sac is enclosed in a flossy envelope of a paler color.” If we may credit the statement, or rather the illustration of Mr. Wood, the Nephilas of the West Indies, which are there known as the Tufted spider, spin a cocoon similar to that described, but suspended to the stalks of various plants, instead of being hung beneath leaves or woven against hard surfaces. The figure presented by Mr. Wood, and which is here reproduced, is said by ye, 72, cocoon of a California the author to be made from specimens in the asteracantha, woven upon British Museum, although I do not remember to Nea ie ae haye seen these when examining the collections of spinningwork at Ken- sington several years ago. Nephila Cocoons. ENS. T have several cocoons of our American Gasteracantha, two of which were sent from Southern California by Mrs. Eigenmann. A third was woven by a living female sent from the same section; and a fourth was received from Dr. George Marx, of Washington. The latter is attached to the bark of a twig, upon which it is spun. It is a flossy button or wad of a bright yellow color. The outer strands of the spinningwork have a glossy appearance. It is about three-fourths inch long and one-half inch wide. (Fig. 72, and Plate IV., Vol. II.) The California examples are smaller but similar. These cocoons are, in structure, like those of their African congeners -as described by M. Vinson.4 This author describes a cocoon of Gastera- cantha bourbonica as an ovoid, round and flattened, w oolly wad of a a yellow : Avaneides des Madoegage ar, ete., page 191. 2 Idem, page 186. 3 “Homes Without Hands,” page 584. + Araneides Réunion, Maurice, et Madagascar, page 238. Gastera- cantha. —_— =.” © 94. AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. and green color. The case which enyelops it is twenty millimetres long, and the central egg mass measures four-fifths of an inch (ten millimetres) in width. The centre, which contains the eggs, is white, but grows brown from the moment of enclosure. The cocoon of Meta menardi, as I have found it, is a somewhat oblong roll of brownish silk, not very com- pact in texture, but sufficiently open to allow one to see the eggs enclosed with- in. It is deposited near the snare of Fig. 78. Cocoon of Meta menardi. (About one- the female, and simply attached to some third larger than natural size. . surface by a rather sparing system of supporting lines. According to Blackwall, the species (Epeira fusca) as observed by him in North Wales makes a cocoon somewhat different from this. In autumn the female fabricates a large oviform cocoon of white silk, of so delicate a texture that the eggs, connected together by silken lines in a globular mass a quarter of an inch in diameter, may be seen distinctly within it. Its transverse axis measures about eleven-tenths of an inch, and its conjugate axis eight-tenths. It is attached by numerous lines, generally forming a short pedicle on one extremity to the walls or roofs of the places it inhabits. (See Fig. 74.) The eggs, which are yellow and spherical, are between four and five hundred in number.? The general characteristics of the cocoon as thus described by Blackwall correspond with those of the American species, except in the habit of suspending the cocoon by a short pedicle. However, a wider obser- vation of the American species might show even closer re- semblance in cocooning habit. One or two of my specimens have a little tuft at one pole, as though a slight stalk or attachment had been there made. The cocoon of Tetragnatha extensa is a pretty object. I have never seen the mother weaving it, nor have I ob- tained it by confining the female within my trying boxes. A But I have found it in the fields, where one may identify Ya it by its resemblance to that spun by European ra, 74, Cocoon Tetrag- individuals of the species; and, moreover, I have °% Enslish Meta natha’s menardi or Epei- Cocoon. batched the young, and thus demonstrated the true ra fusca, (After cocoon. It is an ovoid object, about quarter of Blckwall) an inch long and three-sixteenths of an inch wide and thick, and is com- monly woven against a leaf, or twig, or bit of bark, or other convenient Meta menardi. * Mr, Isaac Banks has also found it thus placed in Central New York. * Blackwall, “Spiders of Great Britain,” page 350; and pl. 26, Fig. 252, g. ee ae ee ee -_—*. - ™» i MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 95 object. (Figs. 75, 76.) I have found what I suppose to be this cocoon, suspended by four diverging lines within an open space, as, for example, in the post hole of fences, as shown at Fig. 77. The cocoon varies some- what in color, being usually of a cream white tinted with green. The silk looks almost like wool. The exterior is covered with little points or minute projecting rolls, in this respect somewhat approximating the cocoon of Uloborus. Within this exterior case are found the eggs, which are over- spun by a slight flossy covering. The English species forms its cocoon in June. It is described as round- ish, less than one-fourth inch in diameter, fine and slightly woven; and is either whitish with greenish tufts, or greenish with whitish The Eu- tufts upon its surface. The cocoon is fixed to some object near pee a the web, and contains pale yellow eggs.! This corresponds sub- stantially with the account of Walckenaer, who describes the threads of the interior as of a bluish green color, but the exterior as a little browner in hue, and presenting inequalities as of little globules pro- duced by the eggs.? Lister also describes the cocoon, which he frequently found attached to the joints of twigs and to the leaves of plants. Thus it was nearly or quite the first example of spider cocooning to attract the notice of naturalists. Np Most Orbweavers habitually make but one cocoon. There are some ex- ceptions, however, among them two species very common in the United States, viz., the Labyrinth spider and the Tailed spider, which rig distribute their eggs in several cocoons, as does also Epeira bi- Revatet furca of Florida. A rarer species having the same habit is the Cocoons. Basilica spider; Uloborus plumipes and Cyrtarachne complete the list of Orbweayers known to me to habitually construct a string or cluster of egg sacs, These species represent groups having well defined differences in structure and decided differences in the characteristics of their snares. The genus Cyrtarachne is remarkable by the peculiar form of the body, and is distributed quite extensively throughout the United States. There are probably two species, the Bisaccata of Emerton and Corni- pel gera of Hentz. The cocoon made by the two species is similar cee in general form, but there appears to be a marked difference in the mode of attachment. Moreover, Cornigera apparently spins but one cocoon, while Bisaccata, as its name implies, spins at least two; and I have had cocoon strings sent me from California by Mrs. Eigen- mann containing three. Thus Emerton’s specific name appears to be a misnomer, I have a number of specimens; one collected by Dr. Marx ' Staveley, “British Spiders,” page 268, * Aptéres, Vol. IT., page 207. 96 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. hy, x WYSE Nb i WM ji ‘ % teh A ay Ali ik Men Lt agli Ny "4 Go NUM: ON diy, ( LN), Y Jur CTX. \| KOSS Fic. 77, Cocoons of Tetragnatha extensa: Fic. 75, spun upon a leaf, x 3; Fia, 76, woven against a twig, x 3; Fig. 77, suspended within a fence post hole, the last about natural size. MATERNAL INDUSTRY : COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 97 at Washington, D. C., a single cocoon; another containing two cocoons, gent to Dr. Marx from Fort Yukon, Alaska. Still others were forwarded to me from various parts of the country. The range of the species is, therefore, evi- dently from the southern extremity of Cali- fornia to the Alaskan peninsula on the west, and in the east along the New England coast, and as far south at least as Washington. Several of my specimens are fastened to the twigs upon which they were woven, and give a correct idea of the ordinary manner of attachment. The cocoons are about three-eighths of an inch in length, with a foot stalk of varying length, which gradually ends in a fine thread stretched upward along the twig. One example, containing two cocoons, is lashed against a twig by an overlying cord of yellowish silk five inches long. The cocoons are composed of dark brown or bluish silk, with overspread tufts or patches of: white. They are separated by a space of nearly half an inch, and the foot stalk of the lower cocoon is united to the bottom of the upper one by a thick, stiff, blackish cord. The lower portion of the ball of the egg sac has a ria. 78. Cocoons of Cyrta- scalloped fringe with blunt points or processes, which, — Tapimestspmded Against as far as my specimens show, have nothing to do with the manner of suspension. Nevertheless, they may serve some useful purpose in anchoring the egg sac to the twig. This description will fairly represent the form and mode of suspension of all my specimens. Emerton found his specimens at New Haven, Connecticut, on a beech tree. They were dark brown, as dark as the bark of the tree, and as hard. Around the middle of each was a circle of irregular points. One of his cocoons was attached by a string to the bark, and the other was attached in the same way to the first cocoon. The spider held on to one of the cocoons, which, therefore, had probably been recently spun. We may safely conjecture the date of this observation, October 22d, ena. to be the cocooning period of this species. The following tarachne bi- Spring another similar pair of cocoons was found on a low in OF oak tree in the same vicinity, still firmly attached to the bark. From these the young came out in June. In my specimens there is much difference as to the regularity of the little exterior processes or points alluded to. In some specimens they are quite regularly formed, and make a very pretty ornament upon the Distribu- tion. Scalloped Fringe. 98 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. cocoon. In others they are quite irregular, not only in their shape, but in the mode of arrangement, being little more than irregular nodules upon the surface. One of the specimens from California consists of three cocoons, the first of which has the points arranged with considerable regularity, while the others are less in size and are al- most without rugosities. All have little openings towards Fic. 80. Cocoon string of a California Cyrtarachne, seen from two the top, through which, no sts ge ek doubt, the spiderlings made their escape. (See Fig. 80, which shows the cocoons natural size.) Cyrtarachne cornigera is quite as remarkable in the character of its cocoon as in its own structure. This cocoon is a flask shaped object, re- sembling that of Argiope riparia, but with a neck relatively Cyrtar- much longer. ‘Two examples before me differ greatly in size, achne one being more than one- Cocoons. 5 ? third larger than the other.! In the former the stalk or neck is of uniform thickness ; in the latter it is twice as thick at the mouth as at the bowl. (Fig. 81.) The cocoon is lashed at the base of the bowl to a twig by a number of silken threads, which are attached to one side, carried quite around the twig, and simi- larly fastened to the opposite side. The entire lower half of the bowl is thus covered by the attached wrappings, which are drawn so tightly that the flask sits quite firmly upon the twig. At the op- posite end the cocoon is stayed by lines that pass from the tip of the stalk to the snare of the spider or Fig. 81. Cocoon of Cyrtarachne cornigera, lashed to a twig. x 2. other support. The attachments of these guys are shown in Fig. 81, which is drawn twice natural size. In the Camden cocoon (Fig. 82, natural size), the lashings are of a 1 No. 1, collected by Mr, Isaac Martindale, Camden, N. J.; length, 19 mm.; bowl, 10 mm. long, 9mm. wide; stalk, 9 mm. long, 8 mm. wide. No. 2, collected by Dr. George Marx, Washington, D. C.; length, 12 mm.; bowl, 6 mm. long, 5 mm. wide; stalk, 6 mm. long, 14 to 8 mm. wide, MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 99 yellow, glossy silk, and so abundant as to make quite a ribbon. Here the threads are carried around both sides of a projecting twig, as though the spider mother had purposely availed herself of this mechanical advantage, and are additionally strengthened by being crossed or twisted as they pass around the branch to which the cocoon is attached. The outer envelope is in color a very dark yellowish brown, and is of extraordinary stiffness. When cut open the bowl is found to contain a ball of white silken floss, within which the eggs are deposited. This ball is anes see fastened to a very tough twisted cord, IG. 82. Cocoon of Cyrtarachne cornigera (natural that passes up through the neck (Fig. ene en eee ere 83), and which is the line by which the egg ball was suspended before the outer flask was spun around it. The texture of the external shell has every appearance, under the lens, of having been hardened by means of a viscid secretion applied to it by the spider; the toughness is evidently not the result of simple weaving. Another example of Cornigera’s cocoon is drawn at Fig. 84. The manner in which the bowl of the vase shaped object is seated upon the twig and lashed by a ribbon is there well shown. The top of the stalk is stayed by various lines wrapped about a neighboring twig. Epeira labyrinthea belongs to the small group of Orbweavers that spin compound snares; that is, snares in which the orb is associated with a well developed retitelarian snare.'| The labyrinth of crossed lines Laby- —_ igs placed behind and above the orb, and within this the spider rinth : older has her dwelling, commonly beneath a dry leaf; here also she suspends her string of cocoons, placing them near her tent, and usually above it and to one side, as represented in Fig. 85. It consists of several, usually five, lenticular or semiglobular vessels, of a yellowish, tough texture, about one-fourth inch ‘long and one-sixth wide. These may be properly described as woven dishes with covers. Each cocoon consists of two disks joined together at the edges tightly enough to cause them to adhere until the parts are grad- ually loosened before the strain of the growing spiderlings, and finally Open up and permit the inmates to escape. Iie, 84. Cocoon of Cyrtarachne cornigera, with ribbon lashing. and stay lines. ‘See Vol. I, page 131, and Fig. 115. —_ ~ —- 100 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Ugniii\ yyy Go TINNYGN IRINA NO AD These disks, on examination, pre- sent very uniformly the appearance shown at Fig. 88, a, b. The lower part of the cup, a, is an oval dish twice as long at the top as at the the form of a portable bath tub much in vogue. The upper disk, the cover or cap, b, is in shape a miniature soft slouch hat with a rounded crown and turned up rim. ‘The rim of the cap fits upon a minute cor- responding lip of the cup. When the eggs are first laid the cocoon has a somewhat flattened appearance, which ON LRUUESSS, Fic. 85. The Labyrinth spider’s cocoon string, suspended within the maze above her leaf roofed tent. bottom, reminding one of Le eT eee t—™ MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS, 101 in many cases (not all) becomes much rounded as the spiders grow. If the cap be lifted up or pulled off, as may readily be done when the young are nearly ready to emerge, a ball of yellow silk will be found inside, amidst which the eggs are originally deposited, and in whose fibres the spi- derlings burrow. The cocoons are in number about five, more or less, and each one contains about twelve to twen- ty eggs, so that the aggregate number Fic. 88. The , . dish, a, and of eggs is about equal to that found gover, b, of in the single cocoons of some other ®Labyrinth P spider’s co- species. ean For the most part the cocoons over- lay one another, the top of each projecting one- third to one-half its length over its neighbor, as shown at Fig. 89, i, front view; ii, back view. They are held together chiefly by a band of loose threads (0, ii) which are stretched along the back Fig. 86. Fic. 87. parts of the cups, although at the points where the Cocoon strings of Labyrinth cocoons overlap they are also lightly attached. The ay, Sa age eee band upon which the cocoons are thus strung is above. Fic. 87. The tiled fastened to a strong, thick, branching white cord, position of the cocoons. P 5 which is anchored above and below to the network of cross lines. This cord is usually longest above, deltated and often suspended upon a similar trans- verse cord. (See Figs. 85, 86.) When the cocoons are opened in October, the spiderlings are found fully de- veloped, lively, and ready to escape. They resemble the adult form in markings. The cocoons are sometimes separated from each other, as at Fig. 86, but again are all overlaid, Fig. 87, being lashed together by the band of threads upon which they are strung. Occasionally, the spider will spin her tent beneath the lowest cocoon of the series, instead of the usual leaf or other débris, and will be found backed up against the same, holding to the trapline of her snare, fio. 89. Two overlaid (Fig. 90.) The full page cut (Fig. 85) shows Labyrin- — (yen°™Snowing the thea’s cocoons strung in natural site, above and behind cord i, and ii, o, x, the leaf-roofed tent. sae ieee The mother begins to spin her cocoons in August, adding one every week, or thereabouts, until the tale is complete. The suspensory cords that support the cocoon string are strong, thick, and of a pure white color, I have found numbers of the empty cocoon shells in — OE 102 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. the early spring, hanging intact upon the bushes where they had been placed, although, of course, the snare had entirely disappeared. The Tailed spider, Cyclosa caudata, differs from Labyrinthea in the mode of hanging her string of egg sacs. This is suspended within the limits of her orb, above the central space, along the line of the perpendicular. As the cocoons increase in number, the adjacent radii and the connecting spirals are cut out, leaving a clear seg- ment resembling that in the snare of Zilla, in the middle of which the cocoon string hangs. (Fig. 92.) The number of cocoons appears to vary much; I have usually found from three to five; Hentz never observed more than five. They are generally in shape a double cone, although often round or roundish, and are from three-sixteenths to quarter of an inch (five to seven millimetres) long and one-eighth inch (three millimetres) wide. A cocoon is not composed of two dis- tinct parts, like one of Labyrinthea’s, but is spun in a single piece of soft yellow- ish floss, externally close enough to be \ weatherproof, but which ravels out into woolly threads when picked with a needle. Within, the sac is filled abun- dantly with delicate, flossy, yellow silk, in which the eggs are de- posited. These vary in number; for example, three now before me, opened in succession, contain, re- spectively, twenty-two, two, and ten; certainly a remarkable differ- ence. On one occasion a female enclosed within a paper box began to make a cocoon, but proceeded no further than to weave a tiny saucer, similar to that spun by Ar- giope riparia. This would, there- fore, appear to be the commencement of her cocoon, and it may be that against such a disk Caudata habitually deposits her eggs before enclosing them. However, I have not found this within her cocoons, as is the case with Argiope’s, and conclude that the disk is made the basis of the external sac, into which it is woven as the spider proceeds. The cocoons are often well separated upon the string, but also are found touching and even over- Cyclosa caudata. (\ fh ff Fic. 90. Labyrinthea’s snare, viewed from behind, with two cocoons in site above the tubular nest. 1 “Spiders United States,” page 127. MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS, 108 lapping one another like tiles. Sometimes nodules of flossy silk, or of silk mixed with the débris of captured and devoured insects, are irregularly interposed between the cocoons. This is, indeed, a fixed and most interesting habit of the species, which will be described in a succeeding chapter. During a temporary stay in Florida, April, 1886, I found nested upon the porch of Dr. Wittfeld’s place, Fairyland, Merrit’s Island, on the Indian River a little way below Rockledge, a new spider, which I named Cyr- tophora bifurca. Its snare resembles that of Cyclosa caudata. It also resembles that spider in the manner of hanging its cocoon string in the vertical axis of its orb just above the hub. ‘The character of the cocoon, how- ever, differs entirely from that of Caudata. It is, in shape, a somewhat irregular octagon, and is of a dark green color. I have found as many as fourteen cocoons Be ete ea ee ciing in one string, overlapping one another in the manner of manner of suspend- cocoons of the Labyrinth spider, and which may also be = "8, = ae = seen at times with the cocoons of Caudata, although for the most part, the latter are arranged at intervals along the string. (See Figs. 96, 97.) The cocoon strings collected varied in the number of cocoons attached thereto, probably ac- cording to the period of advancement in the proc- ess of ovipositing on the part of the mother. Of the specimens collected one string contained fourteen, another twelve, and another ten cocoons. They are bound together, along one side, by con- tinuous series of thick white threads, which ex- tend from the top to the bottom of the string. Each cocoon consists of two parts, which have evidently been fastened together by a selvage. These parts present the appearance of two dishes placed together edge to edge. They are woven of a soft, but rather tough, texture. A very slight tuft of flossy white silk is found inside, and with- FG. 93. Bra. 95. ma.ss, in this the eggs are deposited. In one cocoon of Fic. 93. Cocoon string of Caudata, g string of thirteen, twenty-five minute dead spi- with silk nodules interposed. (Nat- ° : ural size.) Fic. 94(upper). Cocoons. Gers were counted, which had passed their first fe he ooo Ee moult. In another cocoon, taken from a string Epeira bifurca, showing shape and of five only, there were twenty-six. The num- Bais gee dare ber varies a good deal, however. ‘The cocooning period appears to extend into May; at least I have received from Miss Anna Wittfeld, as late as the middle of June, a string, in which were 104 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Fic. 97. Snare and cocoon string of Epeira bifurca, to show the manner of suspension.* . + The shape of the cocoons is not well represented in the cut. (See Fig. 96.) MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 105 some cocoons empty, one with spiderlings passed the first moult several days, and another with young who had just broken the egg. There was no trace of the bifurcated abdomen upon these younglings. The spider is of a uniform light green color, about the shade of its cocoon. Another Orbweaver that makes several. cocoons is Epeira basilica. I am indebted to Dr. George Marx, of Washington, for the specimens from which the following studies and drawings have been made, as Cocoon of wel] as for the information concerning Basilica’s habit of caring Basilica 4: her eggs. The number of cocoons is five, thus corresponding Spider. ge ve, esponding with that of Labyrinthea, and generally with Caudata. They are round, covered on the outside with gray spinningwork, and united by a cordage so stiff that the series stands out like a stick. They are attached to a triangular patch of yellowish white silk, which is an expansion of a long, glossy, strong linen like cord, composed of many threads, by which the string of egg balls is suspended. (Fig. 98.) According to Dr. Marx, whose observations were made at Washington, the string is hung just above the centre of Basilica’s peculiar domed snare, and wholly or in part within the dome, as represented at Fig. 99. The mother has position beneath her egg bags, back downward, as is the habit of Orbweavers making horizontal snares.! When the cocoon is dissected, it is found to consist, first, of an exterior sac of gray material; within this is next enclosed a round black case (Fig. 100), four or five millimetres in diameter, having a thin shell of remark- able hardness, in this respect resembling the cocoon of Fis. 98. Cocoon string Cornigera. When illuminated and examined under the cite cade microscope this egg ball is seen to be composed of yellow silken fibre of exceeding fineness, and so closely woven that, looked at when within its bag, it is quite black. The paper like stiffness of the ball could hardly be caused by even such fine spinning, and I believe that the fibres are smeared with a viscid secretion, which gives them their peculiar stiffness. When this black case is cut open it is seen to contain flossy silk (Fig. 101), which forms the customary wrapping of the eggs and nest of the young spiders. The cocoon of Uloborus is about one-fourth inch long, and one-eighth thick. It is drawn out at either pole into a point, and the surface is covered with small pointed or blunted processes. (Fig. 102.) It is made of a pure white silk, quite stiff of texture. Several of these cocoons (I have never found more than three) will be found united together so closely that they appear to be but one object, and not strung Cocoon. ‘See for further details Vol. I:, Chapter [X., especially page 170, Fig, 159, 106 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. y i Wy Supa, on NU NYA Me annie AC = WW) .; \ 4 WZ, Ui / Yj AW PN niin too Nee i ON eer i Wf == = YSN Za S— HN\\) Wie Fig. 99. Dome shaped snare and suspended cocoon string of the Basilica spider. a et MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 107 loosely, by attaching threads, as is the case of some other spiders that make several cocoons. However, in this respect, the habit may differ. As a rule these cocoons are stretched like those of Cyclosa caudata, along the axis of the mother’s horizontal orb, and are thus im- mediately under the maternal care. (Fig. 103.) In this posi- tion I have seen them in New Jersey, and thus Mrs. Treat has F Soci eae observed them, and so also Mr. to show the surface Fra. 100. Fi, 101. Emerton has described them, ?%* Oe man tb peat hel alae (Fig. 104.) Our American species appears in this egg ball; Fra. 101, the ball open yespect to have the same habit as the European to show the inside structure. : =e species, Uloborus walckenaérius. This modé of disposing of the cocoon, however, cannot be universal, for I possess a specimen, received from Dr. George Marx, which is stretched along a little twig, to which its orb was attached, at a point slightly above the cocoon string. (Fig. 105.) Hentz describes the cocoon of Uloborus mammeatus as tapering at both ends, in color whitish, with veins of brownish black, and with many small tubercles. He collected it in Alabama in dry places.! VI. The division here indicated between species habitually making a single cocoon and species habitually spinning several is, on the whole, a natural one; but there are certain facts to be noted which throw a measure of Fic. 108. Cocoon string of Uloborus in position upon the snare. uncertainty around any such generalization. For example, it has long been supposed that Argiope cophinaria spins but one cocoon; and, judging from 1 “Spiders of the United States,’ page 129, plate xix., Fig. 126. — eS ee oe an i ’ Life "= iw . - Fs 108 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. its size and the number of eggs that are found therein, one would seem to be sufficient to guarantee the continuance of the species. I have no ‘ doubt that, as a general rule, Coph- inaria makes but one cocoon, but that there are exceptions is very certain. Several years ago a clerical friend brought me two cocoons of this species, which had been spun on his premises by the same spi- der. Mrs. Mary 'Treat has discoy- ered what appears to her to be a va- riety of Argiope cophinaria, which makes four cocoons, and which she accordingly named Argiope multi- concha.! She sent me a string of yi these cocoons, of which there were four, of the general shape and about the usual size, strung within a few inches of each other, They had been spun against the wall of a kitchen in a house in Western Missouri. The spider mother was also sent, but the specimen was much dried up, and in such a condition that it could not be very satisfactorily studied. It seemed to differ in no particular from Argiope cophinaria. If it be indeed the same species, what are the pecul- iar circumstances that have caused such a remarkable variation in habit? Is it true that Cophinaria does, more frequently than has been supposed, indulge in the lux- ury of an additional egg case? Two cocoons of this lot were open- ed and found to contain young spi- ders that had hatched, but died within the egg sac. The spider- lings were not counted, but they were very numerous. During the summer of 1888 a female Cophinaria was a! discovered in the Farm- ing Ar- ers’ Market of Philadel- Fic. 105. Uloborus snare and cocoon giope. Phia upon the meat stall SANG On OE Oe of one of the butchers. She had probably been brought into the market from the country, hid- Fic. 104. Cocoon string of Uloborus; cocoons in the snare. (After Emerton.) 1“American Naturalist,” December, 1887, page 1122. MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 109 den among vegetable leaves, as the huge tarantula and the large Lateri- erade spider, Heterapoda yenatoria, are brought to our port from the West Indies in bunches of bananas and other fruit. Or, she may have floated in, as a young balloonist, from some city garden; for the species is abundant in open grounds within the city limits. Instead of brushing her down and killing her, after the usual manner of dealing with such creatures, the farmer took a fancy to preserve her, and would allow no one around his stall to inflict any injury upon her. She wove her char- acteristic web against one of the iron rods for suspending meat, chickens, game, ete., and there remained secure during the season. Some time between the 10th and 20th of August she be- gan to make a cocoon, which she enclosed within a little tent of interlacing lines, after the manner of that repre- sented at Fig. 40. About a week or ten days thereafter she made a second cocoon, placing it in a position sixteen inches above the other. Both of these co- coons I saw precisely as they were left by the spider. They were spun within tents of crossed lines, five or six inches long and four or five wide, with a thickness of between two and three inches. The lines constituting the under edges of the tent were at- tached to the post of the stall on which the orb was spun. The upper tent had its roof lines sustained and drawn out from the post by the foundation lines of the orb. (Mig. 106.) The lines composing the tents were of a greenish yellow silk, sim- ilar to that used in the construction of the cocoon cases. I remoyed the cocoons and opened them. ‘The lower one was an inch and a quarter long and seven-eighths of an inch wide; was com- posed of a soft, yellow silken plush, and inside was constructed pre- |i cisely like the ordinary egg sac of this species. It contained one hundred and twenty eggs, all of them sterile. The only peculiarity was that the stem which one usually finds at the top was missing. The second cocoon was not quite so large, one inch long and five-eighths of an inch wide, but was more perfect in shape, containing the usual stem. The eggs within this cocoon were also sterile, and the number did not exceed fifty. The number of eggs in both cases is small as compared with the usual fecundity of the species. We may probably account for the making of the second cocoon by some abnormal condition of the ovaries, which prevented the ovipositing Z aha ae rare aE 7Z ——, Fe ropes ram * Sa aE: aw ew aw Fie. 106. Double co- coons of Argiope, hung ina meat stall. 3 110 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. of all the eggs at once. The first lot, when extruded, were protected in the usual manner. Subsequently Nature compelled the mother to get rid of the remaining eggs; and, moved by the same impulse which covered the first lot, she was excited to oyerspin the second also. This species will sometimes make a cocoon, or a part of one, in con- finement, and I have observed that she will occasionally do the same in natural site. I have the branch of a bush which shows the beginning of a cocoon, being the little cup against which the eggs are spun, and also what appears to be the inner egg bag. There is nothing more, and the whole is stayed and shut in by the usual tent like spinningwork. Near by is a perfect cocoon, secured in quite the same manner. If we suppose that these two were made by the same spider, as is highly probable, we may infer that the original cocooning purpose of the mother was diverted in some manner, perhaps by alarm, which drove her from the spot. She returned to enclose the work partially done, but, moved by the urgency of motherhood, presently found a neighboring site, and finished her maternal duties. Epeira diademata habitually spins but one cocoon; but the Spanish investigator, Termeyer,! in the early part of this century, discovered and announced that she would spin as many as six cocoons when specially nourished. ‘The fact strikes me as an extraordinary one, and I have never felt quite free to fully admit it. 1 Walckenaer’s Aptéres, Vol. I., page 152. L605 sl get gel ea GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. Havina considered in detail the structure of the cocoons of Orbweavers, it is important for the sake of comparison that we should also consider some of the typical cocoons of other tribes. It will not be practicable to enter into details as fully as with the Orbweavers, nor to consider as many species in any of the remaining tribes. But I will give a few examples, under each tribe, of those species whose cocooning habits may be considered typical.! i Theridium tepidariorum is one of our best known Lineweavers. It appears to be a native of America, and has been widely distributed by im- migration throughout Europe. I judge that the course of immi- based gration has been eastward, because in Europe the species is found lum tepl- . . i pad almost exclusively in hot houses, both in England and on the continent, while in America it habitually lives in fields, forests, ravines, among rocks, around outhouses, indeed everywhere that a cobweb can be located. In short, in Europe the conditions of its life are artificial, in America natural. It is a ferocious species and an expert trapper, prey- ing upon some of the largest insects. It spins during the season from three to five ovoid cocoons, often sharply pointed at one end, varying some- what in size, but sometimes at least a third of an inch in the longest diameter. These are woven within the retitelarian snare of the creature, and sus- pended well towards the top. Blackwall’s figure of the manner in which the cocoons are suspended is erroneous, or the English spiders must differ in habit from the Ameri- can. I have never seen any such sheeted, bell shaped tent as that which this author represents as enclosing the cocoons. The cocoon is rather simple in structure, consisting of an outer case of yellowish brown material, well compacted, stiff, within which the eggs are loosely placed without any or with but little interior pad- ding. During the weaving process the cocoon is hung by a strong thread, or series of threads, to the cross lines of the snare. ‘The spider Cocoon Weaving. ‘My systematic knowledge of the other tribes is far less than of Orbweavers, and I have sometimes had difficulty in positively identifying the species whose habits I haye observed. But I hope that I have not erred in many cases; certainly not in enough to materially affect my statements and conclusions. (111) 112 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. clings to her web by one long fore leg, while with other legs she revolves her cocoon, using the hind legs, as is customary, to draw out the spinning stuff. This issues in numerous diverging filaments, which bunch up in minute loops as the abdomen descends, and are beaten down smooth by the spinnerets. Our widely distributed Latro- dectus mactans! quite resembles Tepidariorum in cocooning habit; but its ovoid cocgons are larger, being a full half inch at the longer axis, and somewhat more spheri- Fie. 107. Cocoons of Theridium tepidariorum, hung in her eg] jn shape. She makes at least snare. (About natural size.) as many as four or five cocoons. Theridium serpentinum Hentz? is one of our common Lineweaving spi- ders, whose snares are found in dimly lighted cellars and in rooms aban- } doned or rarely used. In the angle of a window or wall the Therid- mother spreads her snare of intersecting lines, and establishes aris herself at one end thereof, always well towards the top. In the course of time she succeeds in thickening her dwelling place by added threads, until it has formed a sort of shelter of lies much more closely set than those of the rest of the snare. In the neighborhood of this dwelling place and on a line therewith, or just a little above it and to one side, she spins several co- coons, in number four or five usually, but sometimes as many as eight, as shown in the figure. (Fig. 108.) They are little white, oblong or flask shaped flossy balls, about quarter of an inch in diameter, in the centre of which the eggs are depos- ited. In the delicateness and scantiness of the enveloping tissue, this cocoon resembles = . > Fic, 108. Cocoons of Theridium serpentinum in site at top of Steatoda borealis and Phol etCacaaes (Snir tee) cus phalangioides. The eggs are distinctly seen through the silken envelope. When the spiders are hatched they hang for a little while in clusters like minute swarms of = ; = 1 Lathrodectus formidabilis Walck. See also Vol. I., page 274. 2T am not positive as to the identity of this species. ee GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 113 bees upon the adjoining lines, and soon thereafter distribute themselves, as is the custom with Theridioids generally, to surrounding points, where they construct webs like the mother’s. Another Theridioid spider, whose specific name is unknown to me, spins a similar snare in like localities, and deposits therein several eggs, almost resembling those of Serpentinum, except that they are of a yellowish brown color and more spherical in shape. They have a pretty appearance as they hang amidst the crossed lines in the dusty and dusky sites which the mother frequents. Among Lineweavers making several cocoons is Argyrodes trigonum. The species belongs to a genus quite famous for its habit of invading the snares of other Argy- __ species, particular- rodes ba: ly those belonging gonum. : ‘ to its own tribe of Retitelariz, and those Orb- weavers that make com- pound snares and thus af- ford a suitable dwelling place in the labyrinth or maze of crossed lines. I haye ob- served this habit in Trigo- num, but haye more fre- quently found it in its own WW Wy) Vi ZA LL—__ YY We Lita fone ae TA Z3 the —— hy SS Seed) rN Wee a Ald alas / : WW snare. It is an awkwardly LS shaped creature, and its odd SS NGS! BZ v= appearance is increased by — = - Ve its habit of bunching its FiG. 109. Argyrodes trigonum in her snare, with three ‘ cocoons. (Natural size. legs together, and hanging op upon a few crossed lines in its snare, as represented at Fig. 109. In this position it looks not unlike a trussed fowl in a green grocer’s stall. Her cocoon is a pretty pyriform hanging basket, about one-fourth inch in length and one-eighth in thickness, composed of stiff yellowish brown silk. The upper part is a cone, rounded or tapering well to a point, at which is attached a stiff white cord, by which it is fastened into its place among the crossed lines of the snare. The lower part of the basket termi- nates in a short projection from the middle. (Fig. 110.) The mother makes several cocoons; I haye found as many as three (Fig. 109) hanging within a snare, at one time, all of which were doubtless made by the little mother. The cocoons are suspended by long, stout cords. When this hanging basket cocoon is opened the eggs are seen loosely deposited in the midst of a little puff of flossy silk. I sometimes find at the bottom of the cocoon a little hole, through which evidently the young have escaped after hatching. 114 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Ero thoracica, a spider common to Europe and America, weaves a small flossy cocoon, containing about twelve eggs, which it suspends to various objects, grass, twigs, etc, by a long thread. (See Fig. eave Sao 111.) Emerton has found this spider in New England; it is racica. 5 : . common in winter under leaves; he has also seen cocoons like those of the European Ero as above described, but has not identified them with the American species, whose web he has not seen. Ce rf) Something similar to this, but a little more complicated , in structure, is the pretty orange brown cocoon of Theridium frondeum, which is found suspended ordinarily to a stretched, stiffened cord among rocks or leaves. It appears particularly to love shady positions; at all events, I have found it most frequently among rocks on banks of streams, in ravines, or moist and secluded spots, as far west as the hills of Eastern Ohio. It is about an eighth of an inch long, but varies some- FiG.110. Cocoon What in length. e eee On opening this pretty little cocoon of Theridium frondeum, "it is found to be filled with a delicate white silken floss, in the midst of which the eggs are deposited and the young will be found after hatching. The number of eggs appears to differ a good deal. I have counted as many as twenty-five in one cocoon, but many less than this in others. The flossy padding is compacted well towards the top of the cocoon, and passes out of a round opening therein in the shape of a carded cord of straight lines of white silk, which gradually diminishes until it is compacted into the stiff white cord by which the whole is suspended. A curious arrangement is shown in the en- larged figure of a dissected cocoon (Fig. 113), which is used by the spider as a cap to the open top of her cocoon. In other words, the cocoon, instead of being a continuous piece of spinningwork gradually tapering into a point, as it appears at the first careless glance, proves to be composed of two pieces. First is the principal part or sac, which has already been referred to as having a round opening at the summit. Fitted di- rectly upon this, but easily separated from it by pulling, is a conical cap, which surrounds the lower part of the sus- pensory cord already described. This cap, by manipulation under the microscope, can be unraveled so that it is seen ol to have been formed by lapping the yellowish cocooning wi thread, of which the main sac has been woven, around and ‘r'pro thoracten around the base of the suspensory cord, after that has been slightly enlarged. spun. (See Fig. 114.) The whole cocoon forms a very beau- ee ar tiful and delicate bit of spinningwork, and shows considerable deftness in weaving on the part of its little architect. Somewhat similar to this is the cocoon of Ero variegata (Theridium Cocoon Structure GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 115 Fie, 112, Fic. 113. Fic. 116, ‘ale pit ye) Ae % errs oe Fic. 114, Fic. 112. Cocoon of Theridium frondeum, magnified. Fic. 113. The same, natural size, suspended in natural site. Fig. 114. Cocoon of Argyrodes trigonum, much enlarged, to show the structure. Fic. 115. The spiral thread on the cap and stalk. Fic. 116. Cocoons of Ero variegata, twice natural size, (After Blackwall.) 116 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THETR SPINNINGWORK, variegatum), a little spider not uncommon in England, which would arrest the attention of even an indifferent person. It is of an elegant pear shape, fotmed of a strong yellow brown silk network, and attached by ag a long elastic stem of the same material to stalks of dead grass, variegata .. ° ; : sticks, or other substances in shady places.1 It is often placed on the under side of rocks, stones, etc. The envelope is double, an inner sac being formed of soft pale brown silk, loosely woven and enclosed in a coarse covering of dark reddish brown threads, which unite and form the stalk. The diameter of the cocoon is about one-eighth inch, and the length of the stalk is from one-tenth to one-half an inch. The cocoon contains about six brown eggs. The mother is one-eighth inch long.” Theridium pallens is a small English Lineweayer, about one-tenth of an inch long, that makes a cocoon a little longer than herself, containing about twenty pale yellow eggs. It is white, of a close, fine text- Therid- yre, and somewhat pear shaped; with several conical prominences SeTLew: disposed in a circle around its greatest cireumference. (Fig. 117.) The sexes pair in May; the cocoon is formed in June, and is found on shrubs and bushes, on heaths or near woods.® A Lineweaver which I find in our fields, and which I take to be The- ridium differens (Fig. 118) makes a globular cocoon, about one-eighth inch in diameter, a little larger than herself, which she hangs within her snare of crossed lines that may often be found spun in the interspaces formed by bending down the top and edges of a leaf. . The cocoon is rather flossy in its exterior. The cocoon of the Fic. 117. Co. Same species, or one closely resembling it, I find within the con- coonofThe- cavity of a leaf, formed by pulling the pointed ends inward, as ridium pal- = 5 . : f lens. x 4, at Fig. 119. The hollow is overspun with intersecting lines (idee) Which form the spider’s snare and dwelling, and the lodging place for her egg sac. The little mother is usually found near her cocoon, which she often clasps with her legs, especially at any suspicion of danger. She is apt to lug it about from point to point within the leafy bivouac thus prepared. A similar cocoon made by a Theridioid spider which I am unable to iden- tify is represented at Fig. 120, The cocoon was a globular one, resembling in appearance the last two described, but was hidden underneath a stone within a little nest of characteristic spinningwork, but which on one side was protected by a semicircular wall of clay, mingled with silk and attached to the under surface of the stone. In this respect, the cocoon and cocoon nest resemble that of Neriene rufipes and others of this genus as described by European writers. Theridium lineatum Clerck is found among our American fauna, Emer- ton* having taken it in Massachusetts. It is common in Kurope; its cocoon 1 Cambridge. 2 Staveley, “ British Spiders,” page 156. 8 Blackwall, “Spiders of Great Britain,” page 195. 4 New England Theridide, page 16. , 2 ta GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 117 Vie. 119. ic. 120, Fie, 121. Fig. 122. Vig. 118. Snare and cocoon of Theridium differens. Fie. 119. Cocoon of Theridium differens in a leafy tent. Tic. 120. Theridioid cocoon under a stone. Fie. 121, Cocoon of Theridium linea- tum in natural site on a leaf. (After Blackwall.) Fic, 122. Theridium varians and cocoons. (After Blackwall.) 118 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. is formed in July and is round, one-fourth inch in diameter, and bluish or greenish blue in color. It is loosely covered with silk and fastened to the lower side of a leaf, the edges of which are bound together, so as to pro- tect it.! (Fig. 121.) Theridium varians pairs in June, and in July the female constructs several globular cocoons of dull white silk, of a loose texture, the largest of which measures about one-seventh of an inch in diameter. Therid- They are attached to objects situated near the upper part of the aes var snare, and contain, according to their size, from twenty to sixty ‘ spherical eggs, of a yellowish white color, not adherent among themselves.2 (Fig. 122.) Withered leaves, dried moss, and particles of indurated earth are generally disposed about the cocoons.* This habit, which, as will be seen further on, prevails largely in other families, appears to have but slight hold upon the cocooning instincts of the Lineweavers. The little bronze colored spiders belonging chiefly to the genus Eri- gone, weaye their cocoons within the balled mass of intersecting lines which form their snare and abode. I have seen numberless examples of these webs, made manifest by the morning dews along the Delaware, shining over the entire external foli- age of a large spruce tree from top- most to lowest bough. Again, they will be seen with other Theridioid webs, glittering in the slanting sun- light on myriads of bunched grass tops, timothy heads, and weed tops. Some species of Erigone make a lit- Fic. 123. Cocoon of Erigone (?) suspended between tle balled cocoon similar to those twigs of pine. eels . of Theridium first described, and similarly held within the snare. Another form of cocoon which I attrib- ute to a spider of the same genus is a minute white button shaped or double convex bag, from one-sixteenth to one-eighth inch in diameter. It is suspended at the converging points of four lines (Fig. 123), which are attached to the surrounding foliage, as in the ex- ample shown of a cocoon hung between two twigs of pine, near a Theridioid web, in which an Erigone was ensconced. Hrigone. ' Staveley, Brit. Spiders, page 140; Blackwall, Spi. Gt. B. & L., pl. xiii., Fig. 111. ? Two small round cocoons are seen within the tent like structure in the cut, but in this case, as with the figure of Theridium tepidariorum, as heretofore remarked, the artist has erred by drawing in a sheeted tent instead of a structure of open lines. ~ * Blackwall, Spiders Gt. B. & I., page 189, pl. xiv., Fig. 120, d. et. ee ae ee eS SS 2 a af ‘ — bs GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 119 Theridium zelotypum makes a flattened cocoon of soft silk, which she establishes within her pretty nest, that has heretofore been described (Vol. I., page 317) as a silken, bell shaped tent thatched with the leaves Therid- of spruce, balsam, hemlock, or other plant on which it is built. ee Within this the young are hatched, and here for a while after ‘their exode mother and young may be found dwelling together. A like habit is possessed by the English nest making spider, Theridium riparium, whose most remarkable nesting architecture is described Vol. L., page 318. The mother makes several yellowish white, round cocoons about one-eighth inch in diameter. Theridium sisyphum also shelters her reddish brown cocoons in a silken tent which hangs in her snare, and is sometimes strengthened by the intro- duction of dried leaves and other extraneous matter.? Another English spider, Theridium nervosum, also* forms a silk lined nesting tent, thatched with bits of dead leaves, flowers, or other particles, including the débris of slaughtered insects. Within this tent the mother spins a little round green cocoon, containing yellowish white eggs. The cocoon is one-eighth inch long, the spider herself being one-sixth inch. The mother is usually to be found in an inverted position, embracing her treasure and covering it with her body. It is probable that all the nest weaving species of Retitelariz place their cocoons within their nests, in which habit they substantially agree with their congeners, who suspend their cocoons upon the thickened cross lines which form the resident part of their snares. I have never been able to determine satisfactorily from observation the cocoons of our common species of Linyphia, but the Linyphia montana of Europe makes a flattened white cocoon, which it usually conceals underneath a stone, remaining with it and guarding it with the greatest care.4 Linyphia marginata, one of our most common American spiders, is also a European species.© It pairs in May, and in June the female spins one or two lenticular cocoons of white silk of a loose texture, which are at- tached to withered leaves or other objects situated near the snare. The larger of these cocoons measures half an inch in diameter and contains ’ about one hundred and forty spherical eggs of a palish yellow color, not agglutinated. ® The English Linyphia erypticolens is remarkable for the habit of car- rying her cocoon fastened by threads to her spinnerets. It is globular and of a diameter equal to the whole length of the mother, is formed in June Linyphia. 1 Staveley, British Spiders, page 152. 2 Idem, page 148. 8 See Vol. I., page 317. 4 Staveley, “British Spiders,” page 165. ® Wqual to L. montana Sund., L. resupina Walck. ® Blackwall, Spiders Gt. B. & L., page 215. SS ae 120 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. or July, is a pale brownish color, containing brown eggs. It resorts to dark and damp places, as cellars and the under surfaces of stones. It is cer- tainly remarkable to find a Line- weaving species thus approximat- ing the Citigrades, from which it - so greatly differs in other respects, in the manner of caring for the egcoon. But in this habit she is not alone among her tribe. Theridium carolinum forms in June a round white cocoon one-tenth inch in di- ameter, which she carries attached by threads to her person! A pretty little Theridioid, Steatoda maculata (Theridium maculatum Linn.), is also said to carry about its egg cocoon suspended between the legs, and only relinquishes it Fic. 124. The mother Pholeus hanging in her snare, when force is used, regaining it with cocoon held in her jaws. quickly if possible. The cocoon of Pholeus phalangioides, which is perhaps the very simplest in structure of all this tribe, and I may add of all the tribes, is simply a Ph gauzy covering which encloses the eggs, the whole being gathered olcus. * +e ae : ie into a globular mass. This is held by the spider within her jaws as she hangs in her ordinary position within her straggling web of intersecting lines. In this portage of her egg case Pholeus approaches the habit of the Citi- grades and 'Tunnel- weavers. (Fig. 124.) ~—— Seytodes thora- cica Latr. (Seytodes cameratus Hentz) has been found by Mr. Emerton, in New England, as a house spider, which he supposes has been imported from Europe. European observers note that this spider carries her cocoon under her breastplate, in which position it is not secured by silken threads, but is held by the falées and palpi. In this habit it resembles Pholeus, with lic, 125. English Pholeus phalangioides, with her cocoon. (After Blackwall.) - - : ' Staveley, “ British Spiders,” page 141. GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 121 which it is closely allied structurally. It is found in houses, upon walls, etc., In warm situations, It is described as slow and deliberate in its motions, displaying somewhat of the action of a gnat in lifting and poising its leg in the air when walking. The whole char- acter of the aranead is mild and quiet. The poison fangs are so feeble as to be of but little use in seizing its prey, which office is chiefly performed by the maxilla. When taken, Scytodes offers no resistance and attempts no flight, but, feigning death, resigns itself quietly to its fate.? This tribe embraces the singular genus Walckenaéra, some of whose species have the eyes placed upon little turret like elevations of the ceph- alothorax. Their habits have not been carefully studied, and their cocoons are little known. One European species, Walcke- naéra acuminata, makes a cocoon flat on one side, rounded on the other, about one-third inch in diameter, and composed of slightly woven white silk. It is found in autumn on the under surface of stones and Scytodes thoracica. W alck- enaera. Fic, 126. ] Fig. 127. Fie. 128. Cocoon of Agalena nevia, spun upon bark. I'iG, 126. Appearance of exterior, covered with brown sawdust. Figs. 127 and 128. Views after the outer coverings have been removed. other objects.2 Our American fauna has a number of closely related rep- resentatives of this strange genus, which are relegated by Emerton to vari- ous genera,® and it is probable that their cocoonery nearly resembles that of the above species. ET. The most common Tubeweaver in the Eastern States is probably the Speckled Agalena, Agalena neevia. Its funnel shaped nest, with its broad sheeted top spread over the grass or hedges, or stretched in mis- Tube- cellaneous sites, is one of the most familiar objects in our land- weaving ee arnt Agale- °°@Pe. Its cocoon is attached to some surface, as the leaf of a nine. tree, a rock, or the under surface of a loose bit of old bark. In this position Agalena spreads a circular patch a half inch or * See his “New England Theridiide.” eS ae 2, AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. again with a thin sheet, upon which the mother overlays a wadding of sawdust or pulverized bark gnawed from the surrounding surface. In the absence of such materials, the upholstery consists of any available fibre furnished by the particular site. The whole is then overspun with an exterior covering. It is thus one of the most elaborate of known cocoons, and apparently is as well calculated to preserve the life concealed within as any spinningwork that could be wrought by aranead spinning organs. When Agalena cannot conveniently obtain sawdust and like material for the upholstery of her cocoon, she will overspin her eggs without such pro- tection. For example, a female of this species was observed upon Uphol- the window of a chicken house, with a pretty tubular snare hung eae against the frame, and two cocoons woven upon the glass near mitted. |_° by. These were simply eggs of a pinkish hue, covered over with silken spinningwork and no upholstery added. I have also found Aga- lena’s cocoon woven upon the under side of a leaf, in which position it contained no upholstery, and, indeed, quite resem- bled the cocoon of an Epeiroid spider spun in like situation, I suppose that in this case, as also in the preceding one, the difficulty of gnawing off the tough, green fibre of the leaf and branches, or oe te tse Be (ooo one tie painted wooden frame of the window was an the mode of uniting to the obstacle which prevented the mother from pursu- opposite surface by a stalk. A A A . ing her usual habit. Perhaps, indeed, it requires the suggestion of near by and available material, like that of bark or decayed wood, to induce this additional upholstering protection of the cocoon. On the other hand, a female of this species, which I kept within a glass jar, having made her cocoon, proceeded to collect from the bottom of the jar bits of débris of various sorts, which she placed upon it in the usual position. There were only a few of these particles, not enough to be of any value for the protection of the enclosed eggs, even if there had been any exposure to danger under the circumstances. Of course, it could hardly have been expected that this mother would understand that her offspring, by reason of the situation within a glass jar, would be safe from the enemies which usually assail the eggs of the species in natural site. Sometimes the cocoon of this species, when spun upon a loose piece of bark, will have a thick stalk spun across to the opposite surface of the tree to which it is united by a circular patch of thick silk. (Fig. 129.) A like arrangement is found when the cocoon is woven up against the lower side of a stone, the exterior or under part being then carried down- ward by a stalk to the earth. This is not a common method, however, and I can think of no good reason for such a variation. GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. A.B} Agalena labyrinthea of Europe resembles in its general habits the Aga- lena nevia of America. According to Walckenaer the female makes her single cocoon in the month of August, which she encloses within Agalena 4 huge purse like web full of soil and vegetable detritus. When ISB the web is removed, the cocoon is seen to be about the size of the rinthea. : : y end of one’s thumb, and woven of a fine silken tissue enveloped by clods of earth. Next to these is another envelope of silk, and then, finally, particles of soil so strongly adhering to the cocoon that they cannot well be separated. When the cocoon is opened, it is found to be formed of a thick, tough web. On the exterior it is beautifully white and perfectly polished. It contains as high as one hundred and thirty-four eggs of a greenish yellow color.? The well known cellar spider, Tegenaria derhamii,? which is widely Fie, 180. Fie. 181. , Fic. 180. Snare of Tegenaria derhamii in a cellar window, with three cocoons suspended thereto. Fic. 181, One cocoon, natural size. distributed over both hemispheres, conceals her eggs within a flattened ball or hemisphere of soft silk, somewhere in the neighborhood of her snare. Sometimes this is suspended by threads to the snare itself (see Vol. I, page 2389, Fig. 221), or again is attached directly to it, and the envelope interwoven with the fibre of the web, so that it has much the appearance of a rounded button upon a coat. Fig. 130 Tege- naria. ' Walckenaer, Aptéres, Vol. II., page 22. * T have supposed that the Medicinal spider of Hentz, Tegenaria medicinalis, is identi- cal with this species, and have so used the name in Vol. I. Mr. Emerton, however, in a recent paper, declares Hentz’s Tegenaria medicinalis to be a Ccelotes, and separate from T. derhamii. He classifies as Coelotes medicinalis the spider that I have heretofore considered Hentz’s Tegenaria persica. See Trans. Conn. Acad., Vol. VIII., 1889-90, New Eng. Spiders of the Families Drassidee, etc. 124 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK., represents the snare and cocoon of one of these spiders. The mother was hidden within a curtained screen or tower newly spun. On the beam just above the snare hung two cocoons. They were attached above and on the sides to the beam, and in front and on the sides to the flap of the snare. ‘Their position was such that they were just above and in front of the door of the den. One of them was coyered with black particles of dust. They were about half an inch in diameter. Figs. 182 and 133 are views of the manner in which the cocoons were suspended. One often finds these cocoons woven into the texture of abandoned snares in cellars and outhouses. Fig. 130 is a sketch of such a web hanging in a window of my church cellar. The pouch like snare stretched upward to the window roof, and at the bottom, on either side of the tube or tower, three button shaped cocoons were inserted. They were still white when sketched in midwinter, although the web was ‘ \wittessss much soiled with the cellar dust ea \) and soot. I do not know that all three cocoons were made by one mother. Coelotes medicinalis (Tegena- ria persica Hentz) usually spins her cocoons on or near her snare. I have found in one snare two globular cocoons covered with bits Fic. 182. Fic. 188, Fics. 182, 183. Suspended cocoons of Tegenaria derhamii. of clay. One contained round (Natural size. mee bie arr: whitish eggs; the other had liy- ing spiderlings with white cephalothorax and greenish abdomen. Agreca brunnea’ is an English species. The sexes pair in May, and in the month of June the female constructs an elegant vase shaped cocoon of white silk, of a fine compact structure, attached by a short foot stalk to rushes, stems of grass, heath, or gorse. It measures about one- fourth inch in diameter, and contains from forty to fifty yellowish spher- ical eggs, enveloped in white silk, connected with the anterior surface of the cocoon, contiguous to the foot stalk. Greatly to the disadvantage of its appearance, the cocoon is smeared with moist soil, which when dried serves to protect it from the weather, and, as an additional security, the extremity is closed and directed downward.? In the illustration (Fig. 184) the uppermost cocoon is shown as it is first spun, the two lower cocoons as they appear when plastered. Another drawing (Fig. 135) of this beau- tiful cocoon, which has attracted the attention of all English araneologists, is taken from Rey. Pickard-Cambridge. With it is a similar cocoon of an English congener, Agroeca proxima (Fig. 136), woven like the former species upon a twig of heather.® 1 Agalena brunnea Blekw. “ Blackwall, Spid. Gt. B. & I; page 160, pl. xii., Fig. 102. * Spiders of Dorset, Vol. I., pl. ii., Fig. 7. — a GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 125 Coelotes saxatilis makes a cocoon half an inch in diameter, containing yellowish white eggs. The external case is partly plastered with Celotes earth. (Fig. 137.) Textrix lycosina has the same habit of pro- we .. tecting her cocoon, which is usually woven to the under side of extrix. ae : : a stone near her tubular hiding place. It is white, flattened, and about one-fourth inch in diameter. ! According to the Swedish naturalist Clerck? the eggs of the Water spider, Argyroneta aquatica, are round, of a saffron yellow color, contained within a globular silken cocoon, which occupies about one-fourth of the ried subaqueous maternal cell. (Fig. 138.) The female remains con- aquatica, Stantly near it, keeping her abdomen in the interior of her hab- itation, and the fore part of her body in the water. The figures of this cocoon (Figs. 189 and 140) are from Blackwall,® and represent a hemispherical or disk like object resembling cocoons made by many terres- trial Tubeweavers, especially the Clubionide. Argyroneta’s cocoon presents the appearance of having been woven against a flat, solid surface, or per- haps the silken walls of the cell. Other naturalists represent it as being swung like a hammock across the cell, somewhat in the fashion of the cocoons of various 'Tunnelweavers hereafter described. Blackwall’s description of the cocoon, its site, and preservation is as fol- lows: Argyroneta aquatica habitually passes the greater part of its life in the water, not only pursuing its prey in that liquid, but constructing be- neath its surface a drum shaped cell in which is placed its cocoon of white silk of a compact texture and lenticular form, containing from eighty to one hundred eggs of a yellow color, not agglutinated together. This is well supported in a vertical position, the open part being directed downwards by lines of silk connecting it with aquatic plants, and as it comprises a considerable quantity of atmospheric air, the spider can at all times occupy it without experiencing the least inconvenience. In swimming and diving Argyroneta assumes an inverted position, and is more or less enveloped in air confined by the cireumambient water among the hairs with which it is clothed. The supply is always more abundant on the under than on the upper part, in consequence of the greater length and density of the hairs distributed over its surface. Passing into the large and varied family of Drassids, we find a sub- stantial uniformity in the general shape and structure of their cocoons. These are usually lenticular or button shaped (plano convex) ob- es jects woven against some solid surface in the vicinity of the ras- : . . . oie tubular nest or ordinary haunts of the species. The covering is a close textured silk, as stiff as parchment. The circular piece attached to the surface is of similar composition, and the eggs are 1 Blackwall, Spid. Gt. B. & I., pl. xii, Fig. 109. 2 Aran. Svecici., page 149. ’Sp. Gt. B. & IL, pl. vili., Figs. 87 g, h. 0 i i ee _— — | 126 (After Cambridge.) daubed on the surface. (After Cuvier.) Blackwall.) show the flat bottom. Fic. 134. Cocoons of Agalena brunnea, attached to moss. Slightly enlarged. (After Blackwall.) 135. Cocoon of Agroeca brunnea. Fic. 189. Cocoon of Argyroneta aquatica, front view. Fie, 141. AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Fig, 136. Fic. 140, Fig, 142. Fie. 141. Fie, Fie, 136. Cocoon of Agreeca proxima, attached to a sprig of heather. Fie. 137. Cocoons of Ceelotes saxatilis, natural size, with particles of earth (After Blackwall.) Fia. 138. Subaqueous cocooning nest of the Water spider. Iie. 140. Side view. (After Two Drassid cocoons woven against a board. Fie. 143. Cocoon of Clubiona tranquilla (probably), woven upon bark, Fig. 142. One detached, t b ee ee es GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 127 commonly deposited inside, without any or with only a little flossy pad- ding. The exterior is frequently plastered more or less freely with mud or the detritus of decayed wood. Clubiona tranquilla makes a hemispherical or button shaped cocoon, which is attached to various surfaces, as of rocks, bark, or boards. (Fig. 143.) One female confined within a jar for observation spun her co- cgon upon a little twig placed for her convenience within the vessel. As first completed by the mother the external covering was pure white silk. But, fol- lowing her maternal instinct, she de- Via, 144. Cocoon of Clubiona tranquilla, woven on scended to the earth upon the bottom Sey a eg ot of the jar, collected pellets of mud between her mandibles, carried them. up to her cocoon, and daubed the surface over in little ridges until the whole was quite mottled with the plastered mud. (Fig. 144.) Sometimes the Drassid’s cocoon is contained within the tubular domi- cile of the mother, and this again will be overspread with a tent of deli- ‘cate texture, as in the case of the Parson spider, Prosthesima ecclesiastica (Herpyllus ecclesiasticus Hentz). (Fig. 145.) The Parson spider is a quite large species one half inch long, with a black body, marked along the thorax and dorsum of the abdomen with decided circular and oblong patches of white, to which peculiar The markings it owes its specific name. Its habits are those of the Parson Fi stage . Spider Drassids generally, although it is not as sedentary as some others, but wanders in search of prey. It is commonly found upon trees, fences, etc., near some recess or opening into which it may retreat. Like some of our common house Theridioids, it is fond of taking refuge under the projecting parts of outhouses. In winter it is found wrapped in a thick sheeted tube of silk under the bark of trees and like situations. It is active in its movements, and prowls for its prey. It makes its cocoon early in June. This is com- posed of several layers of pure white silk, between one of which particles of dust are Ss placed and quilted in with sade ED 3 ea, y: spinningwork. I have found ee aie ™" ~=6the chippings of the carpenter bee among these particles. An interesting and rather pretty little Tubeweaver, which appears to be Micaria aureata, the Herpyllus aureatus of Hentz, conceals its cocoon with- in a double tent. (Fig. 146.) The cocoon itself is a small, button shaped object, containing a few brownish yellow eggs. The example illustrated in the figure was spun within the angle of a wall, and covered over with a tube such as the spider usually spins for a dwelling place. Openings were ° f+ = were oy Se 128 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THETR SPINNINGWORK. left at either end of this tube. Above the whole, and quite encompassing it, was woven a large tent several times the size of the first tube, and composed of spinningwork whose threads were quite closely placed, but of so thin tissue that one could see through it without any difficulty. A large opening appeared at one end of this external tent, but whether it was left of purpose for a door, or, more probably, was the result of acci- dent, I could not determine. Among the Drassids which I have found in Colorado is a species of Gnaphosa, which I took under a stone on the summit of the Snowy Range. It was dwelling in a little tubular nest. This species, according to Emerton,! is found all over New England, from the White Mountains to New Haven. Professor Packard found a female with a cocoon of eggs on Gray’s Peak, Colorado, over eleven thousand feet He 1 PUMIAUIMCCTTELEAL dull a mn P poo SG \\ ae a ae ol W \ I) \ \ Nc RA Gna- phosa. SONNY) =~ ne iN eee WA a AUN \ Ml: ite AY Bi ZW) Wa P if Py RY NN Ps Ui Hp Fic, 146. Cocoon of Micaria aureata within an interior and exterior tent. high. It thus has a remarkably great geographical as well as vertical dis- tribution. The spider lives under stones and leaves. The cocoon is white and flat, with its diameter as great as, or greater than, the length of the spider. Emerton says that the female stays near her cocoon, but makes no nest. I would have expected her to make her cocoon within her cell. Some of the Drassids, like the Agalenads, protect their cocoons by com- pletely enclosing them in cases of mortar. Among these is a species sent me for determination by Mr. F. M. Webster, assistant entomolo- gist of the State of Illinois, through whose intelligent interest the remarkable facts concerning this spider have thus been made known. Mr. Webster has found these mud cocoons throughout the whole range of Illinois, a State of great longitudinal extent. T'wo balls om Routhern Illinois are larger than the others, and composed of 1 New Bog Dagettins Trans, Conn. Acad, Vol. VIIL, page 13. Mud Encased Cocoons. PLATE Il. MIMICRY OF ENVIRONMENT. TRAPDOOR SPIDERS. 1, BURROW WITH DOOR OF DRY OLIVE LEAVES, CLOSED. 2, THE SAME, OPEN. 8, 4, 5, TRAPDOOR COVERED WITH MOSS, GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. , 129 yellowish earth or clay; but balls from Central Illinois are made out of the rich black soil common to the prairies. They vary in diameter from one-half to one-fourth of an inch. (Figs. 147, 148.) From most of them a slight silken cord protrudes (Figs. 147, 148, 153, 154), by which they are often found attached to the under side of a board or stone. The cord is sometimes thickened into a cup shaped patch at the point of attachment, and is occasionally composed of several threads. When these mud balls are softened in water one is able to open them, and in some cases the mud peels off in little layers like the skin of an onion, indicating that the method of structure is to plaster a thin coating of mud upon the entire cocoon, and add successive layers, which likewise cover the whole surface before another layer is begun. It is evident that no little mechanical skill is involved in such even distribution of the mortar. In the centre of the mud ball is found a cocoon of delicate structure and pure white color (Figs. 151, 152), within which a few eggs are depos- ited. This can be lifted out of its matrix, leaving the round an concavity smooth and well defined, as shown at Figs, 149, 150. Renee The stock of the cocoon is carried at one point entirely through the mud ball, and issues at the surface in a thin cord whose use has been alluded to above. This stalk or suspensory cord is, of course, spun before the plastering begins, and is covered over gradually, an act which must require delicate manipulation. By keeping some of the cocoons in a moist condition, I was able to hatch from one, May 80th, a brood of about thirty lively young Drassid spiderlings. They apparently belong to the genus Micaria, and I therefore named the species Micaria limicune,' although with much hesitation, as it is difficult to determine species from young spiders. These mud balls in external form closely resemble the spherical mud egg nest of the wasp Eumenes, which I have often found attached to the stalks of weeds, grasses, ete., in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. (Fig. 156.) It is certainly interesting to observe that this habit of concealing the future progeny within a globular cradle of mud belongs to a spider as well as to a wasp, and to note how maternal solicitude finds expression in like forms among widely separated orders. Limicune appears to be much subject to the attacks of hymenopterous parasites. Mr. Webster found parasitic ichneumon flies in some of his boxes, which had evidently crawled out of one of the mud balls. Limiou- Some of the balls seen by him had openings in the side about See one millimetre in diameter (Fig. 148), from which evidently the ichneumon had escaped, since it contained the stiff white silken case commonly spun by the larva of this insect. I secured from one of my specimens, in the process of hatching the spiderlings, two of * Proceedings Acad, Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, 1884, page 153, yl ae Tye — a ae ee ee a a ee 4 1380 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 152 148 155 Mud plastered cocoons of Drassid spiders. Tias. 147-152. Micaria limicune. x 2. I'19s. 153-155. Unknown species from Alexandria Bay. X 2. Fic, 156. Mud nest of a wasp Eumenes. | —" = ae iy GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS, 131 these flies, which were determined by the eminent hymenopterist, Mr. Ezra T. Cresson, to be Pezomachus meabilis Cresson. I collected cocoons somewhat similar to those of Limicunze near Alex- andria Bay, New York, on the St. Lawrence River. They were wld 7 attached by very loose spinningwork to the under side of stones, rate : : ; ee but the external case, instead of being mud, was a mass of ag- Ball. glomerated particles of, old wood, bark, leaves, blossoms, shells and wings of insects, etc., which were held together by a deli- cate weft of threads. (Figs. 153, 154, 157.) Two of these balls contained whitish cocoons similar to those in the mud balls of Limicune. (Fig. 155.) Another had within it the charac- teristic cases of some hymenopterous insect, containing dried pupe. A very thin veneering of soil immediately enclosed the silken egg pouch, but otherwise no mud plaster was used. I did not succeed in hatching spiders from the specimens, and could not therefore determine that these cocoons were made by the same spider that constructs the mud balls of Illinois, but I am inclined to think they were made by the same or a closely related species. 1 This habit of protecting cocoons with an armor of mud and agglutinated rubbish of divers kinds, is widely spread, and is, no doubt, quite cosmopolitan. It is pos- _ sessed by several of the European species. ‘Teg- sonia ek enaria agrestis is found under rocks, in which cms position the mother attaches her large cocoon, gccoon of Micaria, about half an inch in diameter, formed of a triple or armored with chip- . > : . ae pings, soil, etc. 2. quadruple envelope. ‘The first are thin, white, containing a layer of sand and the débris of insects agglutinated together, followed by a third envelope of beautiful orange red, which contains a loose wad, a little compacted where the eggs are. The mother makes several cocoons, which she abandons and leayes isolated, or which she encloses under a single web, fine and transparent. In France these cocoons are found in July. and August, chiefly in woods.? The cocoon of Tegenaria emaciata, as described by Walckenaer, is formed of a round mass larger than a good sized pea. ‘This mass is composed of soil agglutinated and mingled with the detritus of the bodies of small in- sects, as beetles, ants, and others. In the midst of this mass of earth is placed the cocoon, of a beautiful orange yellow color, but not perfectly globular, having the shape of a little flask. The particles of earth which enclose this are held together by filaments of silk, but are not enveloped by white silk, as is the case with Tegenaria agrestis. The immediate envelope of the cocoon is a pellicle so compact Iie. 157. Globular 1 McCook: “A Spider that makes a Spherical Mud Daub Cocoon.” Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, 1884, page 151. 2 Walckenaer, Aptéres, Volume II., page 8. 132 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. that one can tear it. Walekenaer found, August 20th, twenty-six spider- lings perfectly developed enclosed within a cocoon. Each was about a millimetre long, of a milk white color, the eyes not very distinct. In another cocoon, found at the same period, he counted twenty-three eggs. He saw no web near the tube in the neighborhood of the cocoons. Ex- amples of the same mode of treating cocoons by the European Agroeca brunnea have already been given. While walking through the fields near the home of Mr, F. M. Camp- bell, at Hoddesdon, Hertz, England, I noticed a number of pretty, spherical nests which had been formed by mass- ing together spikelets of a species of grass. A ball about the size of a hick- ory nut, that is to say, one inch in di- ameter, was thus formed. At first sight I took this to be the work of lepidop- terous larve, but upon plucking some nests the spinningwork which bound the spikelets together appeared to be spider silk rather than that of a moth larva. One of the nests was therefore opened and proved to contain a species of Dras- sid which I took to be a Clubiona. Unfortunately, the specimens which I had preserved for further examination Fic. 158. Cocooning nest of Were lost, and I can only give this an English Drassid, woven general identification. The species, as I upon tops of grass. (From : Nature.) remembered it, seemed much like our American Clubiona pallens, or the Eng- lish Clubiona hollosericea, The drawings (Fig. 158) were made from specimens which I brought home, and upon careful ex- amination prove beyond doubt to be the home nest of a spi- der, woven upon heads of a grass somewhat resembling maize, probably Leersia oryzoides Swz., or Rice Cut-grass. When cut open, a hollow sphere of white silk is disclosed, which is the dainty cell in which the aranead lived. A veritable fairy palace! Among the British Clubionide, as described by Blackwall and Staveley, I can only find one species, Clubiona erratica, whose habits would suggest such a nest as this, The cocoon of this species is white and nearly round. The mother places it in a nest, around which she forms a guard by binding together the branches of firs or other plants in the midst of which she is placed. She remains in the nest with her young.” ‘ ! Aptéeres, Volume IT., page 14. * Staveley, British Spiders, page 110, eo el GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 133 This species, however, as described by the English authors, does not correspond with my recollection of the inhabitant of the pretty nest which I have noticed. It is possible that my memory may be at fault, Cocoon i ‘ : : Nest. and that this cocooning tent was prepared by the female of Clu- biona erratica. American Drassids, as we have seen, make simi- lar spherical nests, but I know none that thus hangs them to foliage. The substantial agreement in cocooning habit between the Drassids of America and those of Europe may further be seen by comparing the fol- lowing descriptions of English species. The female of Drassus ater con- structs a large white cell of close texture, usually in a hole in the earth or under a stone. Within this, in the month of May, she places a plano con- vex cocoon, which is attached by its flat side to the stone or other sub- stance on which the cell is formed. This cocoon is white or slightly yel- Tia. 159. Vie. 160. Fic, 161. De Geer's sketches of Clubiona cocoon nests. Fie, 159. On birch leaves. Fic. 160. Cocoon of the same. Fic, 161. Nest on an apple leaf. lowish at first, but afterwards becomes yellowish in color. The female re- mains on guard by her eggs. The cocoon of Drassus sylvestris is white, of a flattened shape, and a little less than one-third inch in diameter. It is formed in July and concealed in the silken cell in a hole in the earth under stones. The mother is usually found with her cocoons. Drassus lapidicolens conceals herself in a cell formed between, the sur- face of the earth and the under side of a stone, near which she spins some threads, forming an irregular square. In this cell, in the months of July and August, she places her cocoon, covering it with dead leaves. This, at first, is in the form of a flattened sphere, but becomes nearly round when the young are about to escape. It is white and about one-half an inch in diameter. The mother remains with her young some time after the eggs are hatched. The cocoons formed by the beautiful little Drassus nitens are about one-sixth inch in diameter, hemispherical, and white. The mother inhabits a tube which proceeds from the upper side of the cocoon." English Drassids. 1 See descriptions of Blackwall and Staveley. 18 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. I present in this connection two of the earliest published figures rep- resenting the spinningwork of spiders of this family, both of them prob- ably belonging to the genus Clubiona. They were made by that pioneer araneologist, Baron De Geer. Fig. 159! represents a leaf nest with the spider within it, woven on the imner surfaces of birch leaves. This constituted the mother’s dwelling and the egg nest of her cocoon. The mother remained with most of her body concealed within her nest, but her fore feet were held outside ready to seize whatever prey might pass by. Fig. 160 is the cocoon separated from the enclosing nest. Fig. 161 represents an apple leaf within the concave inside of which is seen a white cell spun by the female of Araneus pallidus Clereck (“Araignee tapissiere”’), apparently a species of Clubiona. It serves as a dwelling for the mother and contains also her cocoon, within which the eggs are deposited and the young hatched. The nest was sketched July 25th. It was opened and the spiderlings found within with their mother. The mother showed no fear, but stayed by her little ones closely, even during the process of tearing open the nest for examina- tion.? The Dysderads form one of the most interest- ing families of the 'Tubeweavers, and are especially distinguished by haying six instead of eight eyes, six spinnerets, and four breathing holes. In their general habits they are closely related to the Dras- sids, living in tubes or cells of silk formed under stones in cracks and crannies of walls, fence rails, old trees, and similar places. Our most common FiG, 162. Snare and nesting tube species in this geographical province is Dysdera di det bicolor.® I have found it in great numbers occu- . pying numerous interstices between the stones of an old barn in Delaware County, and in the interspaces between door jambs and window frames of the wall. Tubes of all sizes, from those of baby spiderlings to grizzled adults’, had their outlet upon the wall surface, at which points the tube widened out into a rectangular margin or flap, by which it was attached to the wall. The species is widely distributed over the adjoin- ing fields, in fences, ete., and the accompanying figure was drawn from a huge walnut tree that stood solitary in a meadow. The trunk was cleft by a longitudinal fissure twelye feet or more in length and from an inch to two inches wide. The bark was stripped off along the edges of this fissure, and within the crevice ten or twelve tubes were spun, extending De Geer’s Figures. Dysdera bicolor. * Mem. des Insect., Tom. VIL, plate xviii., Figs. 8-9. * Idem, page 268, pl. 15, Fig. 16. * Ariadne bicolor Emerton, New England Drassidee, page 38. GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 135 inward for two inches and more. ‘he silk of the tube was fine, but the flap of netted work by which it was attached to either side was of coarser fibre. (See Fig. 162.) The tubes were spun all the way up the fissure to the fork of the trunk. The spiders watch near the orifice of their tubes with the first three pairs of legs directed forward, an unusual position, as spiders usually have only the first two pairs thrust outward. The cocoon, containing twenty or thirty eggs, is placed within the inner part of the tube in July and August. Emerton! saw one in this position July 10th, and an- other under a stone with a cocoon containing thirty-four eggs. The English Dysdera hombergii spins her egg sac SEM aeiitten within her tube in June; it is an oval cell, within which are from twenty to thirty pinkish eggs loosely bound together. The cell is slightly woven, and is covered with particles of gravel or other extraneous matter. It thus appears that the cocooning habits of the genus as rep- resented in Europe are the same as those of our American species. In material sent me from San Bernardino, California, by Mr. Wright, were cocooning nests of a peculiar type made by a species of Segestria, which appears to be new, and which I have named Segestria canities. (Fig. 163.) The species was determined from young spiders found enclosed in some of the cocoons. Subsequently, I received from the same section, through Mrs. Eigenmann, two mature females, which enabled me to confirm my previous determination, and thus to identify the cocoons which are here described. The species is shown at Fig. 163, and a view of the face at Fig. 164.? The mother Segestria spins a series of flattened disks, which are over- laid one upon another like tiles upon a roof, and are bound by silken threads somewhat after the fashion of Epeira labyrin- thea’s cocoons. his series of cocoons is sometimes three = inches or more in length. The examples sent me were covered (apparently intentionally) with leaves, from the plant upon which the string had been suspended, resem- bling the leayes of spruce or hemlock. Along the entire Fro. 164, View ofeyes length of one side of the cocoon string the mother ee of Segestria had spun a silken tube, within which she dwelt. The manner in which the string is suspended-is represented in Fig. 165. It hangs within a maze of intersecting cross lines like the Segestria canities. ' Notes, Hentz’s Spiders U.S., page 22. 2 The spider is about three-eighths inch long; the cephalothorax brown, the abdomen brownish yellow covered thickly with white hairs, which also strongly mark the cephalo- thorax, suggesting its specific name. The legs are yellow, with brown rings at the joints and a similar ring in the middle of the tibia. 1386 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Fig, 167. FIG. 168, Tra. 166. FG. 165. Cocoon string of Segestria canities, with domicile tube alongside. Via, 166. The same, side view, and cocoons covered with leaves. Ita. 167. Cocoons of wall loving Dictyna within a sewed leaf. (Natural size.) I'r@, 168. The same, snare and cocoons on inside of leaf. iid ills GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 137 . webs of Lineweavers; is attached above to a strong thread, and is stayed and balanced by various guy les along the entire length. On opening the several cocoons of one of these strings I found (in one of twelve co- coons) the first seven contained only the first moults or shells of the escaped spiders; the next three, young spiders in successive degrees of advanced growth; and the last two, eggs alone. The exterior case of the cocoons is a light straw color or creamy white. It is made of two saucer shaped pieces well woven together at the edges, and is about three-eighths of an inch in diameter. Fig. 166 gives a side view of a cocoon string, showing the way in which the cocoons overlap one another. Dictyna usually makes several cocoons, small flattened globes of pure white, about one-eighth inch diameter, which are placed within the snare, usually grouped near one of circular doors on which the web lines converge. (See Vol. I., page 349.) When she spins her web along a brick wall or like surface, the cocoons are fastened to the wall, arranged along the angle or clustered together loosely. When the spider makes her snare within a leaf, as she frequently does, the cocoons are placed upon the leaf, protected, of course, by the enclosing cross lines. The mother is found near her cocoons, though apparently not exercising any special vigil upon them. She simply lays her eggs in the position most convenient to herself. The edges of the leaf are sometimes drawn well together (Fig. 167) and sewed in the prevailing aranead style; but more frequently the edges of the leaves are simply bent over by silken lashings as in Fig. 168. This cut is drawn from a sketch made on the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Dictyna. He Of the typical cocoons of the Territelarise we may speak with some positiveness; but the number of species whose cocoons are known is small. However, it is highly probable that the variety of form and method of suspension and care is not great, and we may per- haps conclude that we possess a good knowledge of the general cocooning habit of the tribe. Mr. Enock determined the position in which the mother Atypus piceus spins her cocoon. In a tube ten inches long and from a half to five- eighths inch in diameter he found that about six and a half inches below the surface the tunnel widened into a sort of pouch. On opening this he saw the mother’s cocoon suspended in a beautiful hammock of silk one inch long, the flat ends of which were about three-sixteenths of an inch wide, and were attached to the top and bottom of the pouch.! This description entirely corresponds with that previously recorded by Terri- telariz. 1 Life History of Atypus piceus, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., 1885, page 394. —— Oe —— 138 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK,. . M. Eugene Simon! and by Mr, Pickard-Cambridge.? Mr. Simon has made a drawing of the cocoon as fourd by him in natural site, which I reproduce from the paper just quoted. The earth is therein shown dug away to disclose the burrow, and the projecting tube is seen as laid along the surface. (See Fig. 169.) Instead of the ham- mock which Enock describes, Mr. Simon says that a number of threads are used to suspend the cocoon in the throat of the enlargement of the burrow. Mr. Enock found the male of Aty- pus piceus in the tubular nest of the female October 15th, and again Octo- ber 20th, but the fertilization must. have occurred earlier, for the same writer, on August Ist and again on September 1st, found the cocoons con- taining eggs, and during the months of September and October the young were already found hatched. Accord- ing to this observer, the number of eggs in the cocoon of Atypus piceus was usually over a hundred. On sey- eral occasions he counted the number of young living with a single female, the sum always exceeding one hun- dred, and sometimes as high as one hundred and fifty-seven.? Blackwall, however, states that the mother Aty- pus deposits between thirty and forty eggs,* but in view of the particular and definite statements of Mr. Enock Fre, 169. ‘The cocoon of Atypus piceus, suspend- we must conclude that this is a mis- ed within her tunnel. (After Simon.) take. Abbot’s Atypus of Florida no doubt protects her egg sac in the same manner as Atypus piceus, since, according to Abbot’s note, as re- corded by Baron Walckenaer,® and which I have read in the original manuscript, the young are found, like the offspring of Lycosids, domiciled on the back of the mother after they are hatched.® Atypus’ Cocoon. Abbot’s Atypus. ‘ Annals of the Entomological Society of France, fifth series, Tom. III., 1874, page 114 and pl. 4. * Spiders of Dorset, page xxxiii., Introduction. 5 Op. cit., page 392. * Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland, page 15. * Hist. Nat. des Insectes, Aptéres, Vol. I., page 248. ® McCook, “Nesting Habits of the American Purseweb Spider,” Proceed. Acad, Nat. Sci., Phila., 1888, page 213. GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS, 1389 That accomplished French arachnologist, M. Eugene Simon, has recently added largely to our knowledge of this interesting tribe. A visit to South America enabled him to make personal studies of trapdoor nests, eeu and these have happily found expression in admirably drawn Spiders, Plates, some of whose figures I haye ventured to redraw for these pages. Rhytidicolus structor is a common species in Venezuela, particularly upon the slopes of compact and sandy ground. Its burrow is the most complex that Simon observed. It is composed of three successive spacious chambers, communicating one with another by straight openings, which close by a hinged door. The first chamber is largely dilated in the form of a pear, but quite contracted at the two extremities. (See Fig. 176.) The second chamber is more or less cylindrical, and termi- nates in a cul de sac. The third chamber communicates with the sec- ond, not by its extremity, but upon the side, which is dilated and oval, like the first, and rounded at the bot- tom. The walls of the entire burrow are perfectly built, very smooth, and draped with a white tissue, light, transparent, and adhering. The three doors are almost alike. They are thick, cut like a stopple upon the edge, and penetrate within the opening, which is itself slightly widened and a little prolonged beyond the surface. They are semicircular, and cut in a straight line on the side of the hinge. Their superior faces are rough, like at gate P 2 Fic. 170. Section in the earth, showing trapdoor the adjoining soil, even with the in- _ nest of the female Rhytidicolus structor. (After Simon.) Fic, 171. Outline of first chamber of side doors ; sometimes at an ex ternal Rhytidicolus structor, to show location of cocoon. opening the doors are a little swollen, and very unequal, but always slightly concave on the internal doors. The internal faces of the doors are convex, and have a silk drapery like that of the walls. On the edge of the bevel are small holes for the attachment of the claws when the trap is to be held down, and these are more distinct on the entrance door. This swings naturally from within to the out- side. The second door opens, on the contrary, from the outside inwardly in such manner that in the first chamber the two doors show the inter- nal faces equally smooth. ‘The arrangement of these doors is shown in the figure. The female deposits her eggs in the first chamber; they are not agglu- tinated, and are enveloped in a cocoon of white, opaque tissue, much longer “? ye i el siial ¢ 140 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. than large, and are suspended obliquely, like a hammock, between the op- posite walls, as shown in the outline sketch, Fig, 171. Among the Venezuelan Avicularidee Simon discovered and describes an interesting species, which he names Psalistops melanophygia. It is a com- mon species in the neighborhood of Caracas, particularly in the Burrow forest of Catuche. It digs a burrow in the ground six or seven and ee inches in depth, garnished toward the top with a silken lining Sheree slightly adherent. The burrow is quite straight in the upper tops. part, from which proceeds a simple branch, straight and quite long, cutting the main entrance at an acute angle, and mount- ing near to the surface of the earth. (See Fig. 172.) Below the point at which this side branch enters, the main burrow is much enlarged and more or less curved towards the bottom. From this point also it is destitute of a silken lining. The opening to the burrow is with- out a trapdoor. It is slightly elevated above the surface, where it is always gar- nished by a collarette of dry leaves or any other sort of débris retained within the threads. The eggs, which were ob- served on the 12th of January, are not agglutinated. They are enveloped in a simple cocoon of cottony tissue, white ahd opaque; are placed near the bottom of the burrow, and suspended from one of the walls by a very short pedicle or stalk. (See Fig. 172.) A large female ‘Tarantula, probably Eurypelma hentzii, or a closely related. species, was sent to me from the West Be Indies, and arrived at the Academy dur- Fic. 172. The burrow of Psalistops melano- ing a prolonged absence. She died be- eae on Aa Be oe suspended at fore my return, and was preserved in spirits; but afforded me an opportunity, which I had long desired, of determining the egg cocoon made by this family of the Theraphosoide. While cleaning out the box in which she had been sent I observed a piece of spinningwork within, which proved to be an abandoned cocoon. When inflated it showed a hollow spheroid composed of thick silken cloth, somewhat soiled on the outside, but within clean and white. It measured two inches along the epee axis and one and one-fourth inch along the shorter one. It Tarantula Cocoon. * Simon, Arachnides de Venezuela, page 197, plate 3, Fig. 1. a er t=. i i ge ee a hn ll i eee | ms y ow er’ .?, GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 141 was empty of young, whose first moults, however, were within the cocoon, as were also a few unhatched eggs, which are yellowish spheres three mil- limeters in diameter. Three small openings in the case showed where the spiderlings had escaped. Both cocoon and eggs are shown natural size in the accompanying figure. (Fig. 178. The interior of this cocoon was without any flossy lining or padding, resembling thus the egg sac of the Lycoside generally. A curious flap overlapped the cocoon at one side, whose use I could not conjecture, unless it may have served to attach the object to the mother’s body, or suspend it within her burrow; or perhaps it was simply a remnant of material which had remained after the eggs were rolled up within the silken rug upon which they are proba- bly deposited after the man- ner which I have shown to exist in the genus Lycosa,! The janitor who received the box containing this spi- der and placed it in my room was at the time new in his position, and did not understand the importance of observing all the Mode of . ial Cnriviin: particulars in the habits of living creatures sent to the Acad- emy. He therefore failed to make any notes, but told me, when questioned, that he believed the cocoon was attached to the lower part of the spider’s body when Fic. 173, Cocoon and eggs of the Tarantula (Mygale). it arrived. No doubt this ss 7th is a correct observation, and we may assume with some degree of certainty that the large egg sac of the Theraposids is carried by the mother, lashed to the spinnerets at the apex of the abdomen, precisely as in the case of Lycosids, whose well known habit is familiar to every frequenter of our fields. This cocoon is exhibited in my collection of aranead architecture de- posited in the Philadelphia Academy, and is the only one, as far as I have been able to learn, exhibited in any similar institution. A second specimen in my possession is similar to this, except that the silken sac is ' See Proceedings Academy Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1884, page 188, my note on “How Lycosa fabricates her round Cocoon,” 142 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. of much more delicate tissue, it probably having been made in confine- ment. Termeyer speaks of cocoons of the Mygalide of South America (“Aranea avicularia”) even greater than the above. They are three inches long by one wide, and are placed in the fissures on trunks of trees. ‘They contain thousands of eggs. This extraordinary size of the cocoon had made the inhabitants, who do not observe carefully, imagine that this spider would take the cocoon of “the bombice moth, del Guyayo (Janus, Linn.),” and, having destroyed or eaten the chrysalis, would place her own eggs therein, and then artificially close the hole by which she had pene- trated it. One of these cocoons weighs as much as six cocoons of the silk worm before they are washed, and as much as three or four after having been washed.! In San Domingo, according to Palissot de Beauvois, Mygale blondii is found in the fields, where it prepares a hole in which it awaits its prey. It does not confine itself to this manner of providing its food, but issues forth eyening and morning, climbs up trees, and, penetrating into the nests of small birds, sucks their eggs or the blood of their little ones. ‘The female’s cocoon is the size of a pigeon egg.” Walckenaer describes the cocoon of Mygale avicularia as composed of three silken enyelopes, of which the middle one is thinner, and does not contain a silken padding. ‘The female places her cocoon near her tubular dwelling, and watches it assiduously. M. Moreau de Joannés, as quoted by Baron Walckenaer, says that the female of this species in Cayenne envelopes, in a cocoon of white silk, her eggs, to the number of eighteen hundred or two thousand. He observes that the red ants eat the little Mygalide when they issue from the cocoon. M. Guérin had in his collection a cocoon of this Mygale which was covered over with a multitude of very small parasitic Cynips. This cocoon was flat- tened, rounded, and about three inches in diameter. It was opened in the presence of Walckenaer, and the young spiders were found enclosed therein.* Madame Merian, who first recorded a report that the Theraphosoide prey upon small birds, must have observed the cocoon of these spiders, as it seems to me. She indeed speaks of them as having their domicile in a large round nest resembling the cocoon of a caterpillar; but the plate to which she refers is a fairly accurate figure of a female tarantula with a large oval cocoon attached to her abdomen, in the way usual to Lycosids.4 I haye the opinion that the egg cocoon of the spider was mistaken by Mademoiselle Merian or her informants for a ‘“ domicile.” Size. Mygale avicularia x 0 Communications Essex Institute, Vol. V., 1866-67, page 61. “Researches and Experi- ments upon Silk from Spiders and upon their Reproductions, by Raymond Maria de Ter- meyer.” Translated from the Italian, and revised by Burt G. Wilder. * Walckenaer, Aptéres, Vol. II., page 211. 5 Aptéres, I., 218. * Desertation sur la Generation et les Transformations des Insects de Surinam. Marie Sibillee Merian. A la Haye, MDCCOXXVI. Fig. 18 and explication. ee Sl GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 148 At all events we may consider it fairly well assured that, in her cocoon- ing habits, the female Tarantula throughout most, or perhaps all, species, closely resembles the Lycoside, and the resemblance probably ex- tends to all the Territelariz. In other words, the Theraphosid cocoon is, first, round or ovoid; second, is carried about with the mother, attached to her body, or kept under her care; and, third, the young for a period longer or shorter remain with their mother. The affinity between these two great groups of araneads is also marked in their nesting habits; both burrow into the ground a cylindrical tunnel or shaft, within which they domicile, sometimes lining it more or less completely with silk. Summary ? IV. Passing now into the group of Wandering spiders, we reach the co- coonery of the Citigrades, and here find little variety in structure, with scarcely an exception, The cocoons of this tribe are round balls without any interior furnishing, which are carried by the moth- er within her jaws, as in the case of Dol- omedes, or lashed to the spinnerets, as’ with the Lycosids and most other species. Al — (Fig. 174.) The manner in which the co- SS coon is made has been quite fully de- Fic. 174. Lycosa carrying her round cocoon scribed by myself, 1 lashed to her spinnerets, While walking in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I found under a stone a female Lycosa (probably L. riparia Hentz), which I placed in a jar on dry earth. For two days the spider remained on the surface Lycosa’s pearly inactive. The earth was then moistened, whereupon Mode of ; : sen Tae ; tana: (May 2d) she immediately began digging, continuing until she ing. had made a cavity about one inch in depth and height. The top was then carefully overlaid with a tolerably closely woven sheet of white spinningwork, so that the spider was entirely shut in. This cover she fortunately made against the glass side of the jar, and the move- ments of the inmate were thus exposed to view. Shortly after the cave was covered the spider was seen working upon a circular cushion of white silk, about three-fourths of an inch in diameter, which was spun upwards in a nearly perpendicular position against the earthen wall of the cave. The cushion looked so much like the work of Agalena nevia, and the whole operations of the Lycosa were so like those of that spider when cocooning, that I was momentarily possessed with the thought that I had mistaken the identity altogether, and again examined her carefully, only to be sure that she was indeed a Lycosid. 1“ How Lycosa fabricates her round cocoon.” Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1884, page 138. — i at ns 144 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. After an absence of a half hour I returned to find that in the interval the spider had oviposited upon the central part of the cushion, and was then engaged in covering the hemispherical egg mass with a silken envelope, working like a mason spreading mortar with a trowel. Unluckily, at this stage of work I had to leave for an imperative en- gagement, and did not see my spider again for an hour and a half, when : I was delighted to find a round silken ball dangling from the co ae apex of her abdomen, held fast by short threads to the spin- nerets. The cushion, however, had disappeared. It is not dif- ficult to explain the intervening process. Within this circular cushion the eggs are deposited, after which act the spider proceeds to pull the edges of the cushion together until the whole is rolled ‘around the egg mass, after the fashion of a schoolboy putting a leathern covering on a yarn ball. ‘This done, the mother goes over the exterior of the ball, and spreads upon it an outer layer of spinningwork, which is woven in the same manner as the Fic. 175. The cocooning burrow of Lycosa saccata, made underneath a stone. The walls of mingled silk and soil. This figure shows the nest as exposed when the stone was removed. Fic. 176. The stone under which the burrow of Fig. 175 was made. The under part of the stone is shown turned upward. original cushion. ‘Thereupon she attaches it to her spinnerets, where it is varried until the young are hatched. I had often wondered how the round egg ball of the Lycosid was put together, and the mechanical ingenuity and simplicity of the method were now apparent. The period consumed in the whole act of cocooning was less than four hours, and the act of ovi- positing took less than half an hour. Shortly after the egg sac was fin- ished the mother cut her way out of the silken cover woven over her little cavern. She had evidently thus secluded herself for the purpose of spinning her cocoon. This was in accord with a firmly fixed habit of the Lycosids to exclude themselves, before making their cocoons, in a burrow or cave which they form in the ground. This is often made under a stone and is protected on the sides by a plastered wall of mud, and above against the stone by a piece of spinningwork which thus forms an upholstered roof to this pretty, cavernous home. An approach to the cave is:cut, which often debouches among the grasses, clumps of clover, mosses, or wild flow- GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 4s Fie. 177. Leaf woven cocoon nest of Dolomedes sexpunctatus. 146 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. ers, that give a touch of natural beauty to the gateway. One of these Lycosid cocooning caves is shown at Figs. 175 and 176. It was made be- neath a stone, and when that was lifted up the spider, Lycosa saccata, showed within as at Fig. 175. The roof of her den was broken off by lifting and is shown in inverted position at Fig. 176. The use of this special cocooning den is common with Lycosids; but some species, and probably all at times, live within the home burrow while carrying their cocoons. This is the habit of Lycosa arenicola, which may often be seen on her turret with her egg ball at her spinnerets. (See Vol. I., page 314, Fig. 289.) There is no flossy wadding within the cocoon case of Lycosids, as is common with Orbweaving spiders. Indeed, such a provision for the com- fort and safety of the brood appears wholly unnecessary in the case of younglings whose egg life is so brief, and of a mother who carries her young about with her, and thus gives them the advantage of her personal protection and care. The Orbweaving mother generally dies within a few days after ovipositing. Personal protection of her offspring is therefore im- possible, and the period of development is often greatly prolonged. Nature has taught her to provide for them the necessary covering of a warm, flossy, silken blanket beneath which they may outlive the changes of weather. In the case of Dolomedes, the cocoon is carried by the mother until shortly before the period of hatching, when it is generally deposited within a pretty nest composed of leaves drawn together and lashed at the edges into the form of a tent. (See Fig. 177; also Vol. L., Fig. 339.) Within this a mass of in- tersecting lines is spun, upon which the cocoon is hung. After hatching the spiderlings occupy the temporary home thus provid- = ed for them, and hang in clusters or individuals upon the intersecting lines. Dolomedes differs from Lycosa in the mode of deporting her cocoon, suspending it beneath the abdomen and sternum, so that it is surrounded by the legs. (Fig. 178.) When walking, the mother Dolomede must - straighten out her legs as much as possible, and carry her body high. (Figs. 178, 179.) The. cocooning habits of the English Dolomedes mira- bilis differ in no particular from those of our American species. She car- ries her cocoon, which is large, globular, and of a dull yellowish color, attached to her body during all her hunting expeditions, until the time approaches for the hatching of the eggs. She then weaves a sheet of close, fine silk upon grasses or the branches of bushes, forming a dome, of which these supply the rafters. Fig. 178. Dolomedes sexpunctatus carrying her cocoon. eee. = = GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 147 Among the Citigrades, Pucetia aurora has a special interest, both from its appearance and structure and from the peculiarity of its cocooning habit. This spider was received in collections sent me by Mr. W. G. Wright, of San Bernardino, California. Numerous specimens of young and old were subsequently sent by Mrs. Eigenmann and others from the same locality. The genus Pucetia belongs to the family Oxyopoid of the Citigrade spiders, to which it is doubtless relegated in spite of certain analogies with the Satigrades on the one hand and the Laterigrades (Philodromine) on the other.1_ Mr. Wright describes the specimens sent me as jumping spiders; and Hentz, who describes several species under the generic name of Oxyopes, says that Oxyopes salticus leaps with more force than Attus. This family is arboreal in habit; the spiders are found on plants, with their legs extended, thus practicing Tetragnatha’s form of mimicry, and thence spring- ing upon their prey. The female’s cocoon is usually conical, surrounded with points, placed in a tent made between leaves drawn together and lashed, and is sometimes of a pale greenish color. Oxyopes viridens will make a cocoon suspended mid- way by threads attached to these ex- ternal prominences, and this she will watch constantly from a neighboring site. Hentz also thought that the mother of« this species carries its Fia, 179. English Dolomedes mirabilis carrying . her cocoon. (After Blackwall.) young like a Lycosa.? Pucetia aurora appears to be a new species.* The body length is four- teen millimetres; the legs are long and tapering, except among the young, The body is yellow and pale yellow; the cephalothorax striped longitudi- nally with bright red streaks; the abdomen marked above with red streaks; the sternum is red; the legs are yellow, with red rings at he joints. These red streaks upon the yellow background suggested the specific name of “aurora.” The cocoon nests, according to Mr. Wright, are uniformly placed upon bushes of Erigonum corymbosum. They are hung from three to four feet above the ground, and, being upon the topmost twigs of the plant, are easily seen from a distance. The cocoons, received by me in consider- able number, are straw colored spheres five-eighths of an inch in diameter. They are covered externally with various pointed rugosities, from which numerous lines extend to the adjoining corymb of the plant upon which Pucetia aurora. !'Thorell, On European Spiders, page 196. * Spiders of the United States, page 48. , I I pag pag Cd * Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1883, page 276, “Notes on two new California Spiders.” 148 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. all the specimens sent are attached. (Fig. 180.) The retitelarian snare which surrounds the whole doubtless serves as a temporary home for the young spiders. The cocoon has no suture, and the spiderlings escape by cutting the case, which is thick and closely woven. No flossy padding was found inside of the case. (Fig. 181.) The cocoon thus resembles that made by Cit- igrades generally. A fine, large species of Ctenus from Central America, sent to me by Mr. Samuel H. Scudder, carried its cocoon. This was a large object, one inch and a quarter long, constructed in the ordinary manner of Lycosid cocoons, but differ- ing somewhat in shape, being globular instead of hemispherical. The mother carried it for some time after she came to me, and then fasteried it by threads, in hammock fashion, to the side of the box wherein she was confined. Shortly thereafter a large brood of spiderlings appeared, spread themselves over my lab- oratory table, covering the books and other objects thereon with a sheet of fine spinningwork. They finally built upward a huge bridge like structure, a sort of aranead Hiffel Tower, which touched the ceiling above the table, and at another point diverged to the laboratory window. Some further account of this brood, with a figure of their bridge at a certain stage, will be found in the subsequent chapter on Cocoon Life and Babyhood. V. Fic. 180. Duplex cocoons of Pucetia aurora, woven Among Saltigrades the cocoons close- among the blossoms of Erigonum corymbosum. . ly resemble those of many of the genus Epeira. They are spun against some surface, as that of a rock or tree, the eggs being overlaid by a thick blanket of white spinningwork. Over this again is stretched a tent or cell of lighter structure, although still of close and somewhat adhesive texture, but not so thick as to pre- vent the cocoon from being seen through it. The eggs are heaped in a hemispherical mass, and are of a pinkish or light rose color. In the case of Phidippus morsitans the cocoon is from one-half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter. ‘The spider dwells within her cell, and.of course close Rs ee CCU CU CU — _ . GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 149 by her cocoon. The outer covering of the eggs is quite thick, very white, and apparently a little viscid; at least, it is quite adhesive. The exterior tent has something of the same qual- ity. (Fig. 182.) I sometimes find the cocoon of Saltigrades enclosed within the nesting cell and spun up within a rolled leaf, as shown at Fig. 183, a beau- tiful example of aranead sewing. Fig. 184 shows the leaf opened up, disclos- ing the tubular nest, and again the mass of eggs much enlarged and dis- played against the egg case thrown back, the egg case, of course, being within the cell. One of the most elaborate cocoon nests woven by a Saltigrade spider is that made by Phidippus opifex of California.! The examples both of nests and spiders in my possession were sent me by Mr. W. G. Wright, of San Bernardino, California. The cocoon nest is externally an egg shaped mass of white spinningwork, sometimes three inches long by two and a half inches wide, but often less, as in Fig. 185, which is drawn natural size. The outer part consists of a mass of fine silken lines crossing in all directions and lashed to twigs of sage bush, within which it is enclosed. This maze surrounds a sack or cell of thickly woven sheeted silk, irregu- larly oval in shape, two inches long by one inch in width, and also at- tached to the surrounding twigs. At the bottom this cell or tent is pierced by a circular opening which serves the spider as the door of her domicile. Like others of her genus Opifex lives and hibernates within this silken tent. Against an inner side of the tent she spins a lenticular cocoon (of double convex shape), consisting of thick white silk, within which the eggs are placed. When the cocoons sent me reached Philadelphia many young spiders had escaped and occu- pied the package box. They were about one-eighth’ inch long, resem- bling the mother, but less heavily Fic. 182, Cocoon tent and cocoon of Phidippus coated with gray. The spider her- morsitans spun upon a rock. ers ~ : self is a large example, five-eighths of an inch in body length, stout, the legs of moderate thickness, the whole animal covered closely with grayish white hairs, the skin beneath which is Fic. 181. Cocoon of Pucetia aurora, opened to show structure, ‘The spider and its habits were originally noticed by me in Proceedings Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, 1883, page 276, —— =F 150 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. ‘ Fic, 186. Fia. 185. Typical Saltigrade Cocoons. Fic. 188. Sewed leaf tent of a Saltigrade spider. Fic. 184. Leaf opened to show the silken cell and the egg mass (enlarged) in the open cocoon. Fic. 185. Cocoon nest of Phidippus opifex. (Natural size.) Fic. 186. Fac simile of a figure of an Attus cocoon nest, by Baron De Geer. GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 151 black. I named the species Attus opifex, but according to Professor Peck- ham it belongs to the genus Phidippus.! I present in this connection a fac simile drawing of perhaps the earliest sketch of a Saltigrade cocooning nest. July 26th, 1745, Baron De Geer found among the needle like leaves of a pine tree a large, oval cocoon nest of white silk, which was woven around the branch and interlaced with the leaves. (Fig. 186.) The spider was inside along with her little ones, who were present in great number. In the middle of the cocoon nest, at the side, was a door, at which the spider stayed on guard; but generally she was within the tent with her little ones, preferring the back or middle part thereof, near the supporting branch. De Geer found at the entrance detritus of flies and other insects which had been devoured by the mother, such as the legs, wings, etc. The spiderlings accompanied the mother, and appeared to live on good terms with her. They were about a line long, but dtherwise quite resem- bled the mother, having black bodies and brown legs. They moved with great vivacity and appeared to be nourished, in cormmon with their mother, by the prey captured by the mother. The species appears to be Dendry- phantes hastatus Clerck.? ¥I. Among Laterigrades a very general habit is to spin a plano convex cocoon of tough silk fibre, which is attached to some surface. Sometimes a light shelter tent is spun over this, and the spider will be found dwelling within. (See Vol. I, page 347, Fig. 338.) Thomisus cristatus Clerck, of Europe (Xysticus audax Koch), secludes her- self in the leaves and stretches some isolated threads around her, and there sometimes she sus- pends herself. In this retreat the female lays her eggs in a flat cocoon, one-fourth inch in diame- ter, the tissue of which is swollen by the eggs, and presents rounded eminences. The spider places a herself upon the cocoon and does not abandon it “ when touched. The cocoon contains one hundred eggs of yellowish white color.* The eggs of Philodromus are usually enclosed within a cell which is hung among the leaves or stretched between twigs. (Hig. 187.) The egg sac is surrounded by a slight silken tent, wherein the mother dwells. An example of Philodromus mollitor, in my collection, is woven in the angles Fic. 187. Cocooning tents of Philodromus mollitor. 1“North American Spiders of the Family Attidee, Phidippus opifex McCook.” Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci. Vol. II., 1888, page 20. 2 De Geer, pages 286, 287. 8 Walckenaer, Aptéres, Vol. I., page 523. 4 This example was sent me by Dr. Geo. Marx as the cocoon of this species. _— es? oe oe 152 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. of forked twigs and are composed of very white stiff silk, the stiffness prob- ably being caused by the tightness with which the lines were spun. (Fig. 187.) Misumena yatia is well known among the Laterigrade spiders by its remarkable mimicry of the colors of flowers upon which it lurks for prey. A fine example of its cocoon was brought to my notice by a lady who had transported a specimen from the Wyoming Valley to her home in Phila- delphia. Her attention had been arrested by the remarkable resemblance of the creature to the bright golden yellow Coreopsis flower on which she discoy- ered it. The spider was, placed in her bedroom chamber about the 28th of August, and during the first week in September it wove the cocoon repre- sented at Fig, 188, in a corner of the dressing bureau, just where a mirror is fixed in the woodwork. The cocoon consists of a flossy mass, something | after the fashion of that Hy. of Epeira, which covers = over the eggs. A tent of close white spinningwork encloses this, having at the bottom a circular opening one-eighth inch in diameter, through which the spider passed to and fro. A thicker band of silk, of the most beautiful whiteness, look- ing like spun glass, passes across the centre of the enclosing tent, joined at FiG. 188. Cocoon and tent of the Laterigrade, Misumena vatia, one end to the mirror woven upon a ladies’ dressing bureau. 2 : and at the other to the cabinet work, The tent and cocoon are partly woven upon the glass of the mirror. The tent is about two inches long and one and a half inch wide, and the cocoon, which is somewhat irregular in shape, is about three-fourths of an inch in diameter. A few separate lines are stretched across the entire spinningwork, and attached on either side of the angle or corner which contains the cocoon. A few days after finishing this work of maternal industry the mother died. According to Hentz! this species attaches its cocoon to the under side of a leaf, and remains near it. : There is evidently a good deal of variety among the cocoons of Lateri- grades. Many of them consist of two stiff, paper like pieces, viz., first, a oo WZ ( al 1 Spiders U.%., page 78, on Thomisus fartus. ———— rl or which is but dimly illuminated, would seem to be less decided transition than in the case of many other genera. Nevertheless, the facts at present within possession of araneologists appear to indicate that the Tubeweavers have secured no permanent representatives among our cave fauna, this position being wholly occupied by members of the Retitelarize. We have thus presented the curious fact that the species which by natural tendency appear to be best adapted to survive cavern conditions have been thor- oughly eliminated or excluded. am oP etl ait Ate We 46 OMAPTER VI. COMPARATIVE COCOONING INDUSTRIES. In this chapter I propose to review the cocooning industry of spiders as given in the last two chapters. In order to compare those methods of spinning the cocoon which characterize the genera of the several Tribes, I shall first describe in detail the manner in which Argiope cophinaria constructs her cocoon. ; No single point, in my study of aranead spinningwork, has been a subject of more prolonged attention, and the cause of greater disappoint- ment, than the mode practiced by the mother spider in overspinning and protecting her eggs. I strongly desired to see and describe the entire process on the part of at least one species, and, if possible, of several species. To this end I have year after year sought the natural sites at the cocooning time, and have kept watch, day and night, personally and by proxy, over numbers of gravid females confined within various boxes, jars, and other objects. I have tried to make the artificial conditions as favorable and natural as possible. Notwithstanding all the patience and ingenuity expended upon the observations, I am compelled to confess that the secretiveness of the female spider has been a fair match for my curiosity. It is true that I have made many observations of the process of cocoon making at various points of the same, ranging all along from the first stages to the last. Yet I have never had the opportunity to see the entire process in any one species or genus, and, indeed, there are one or two points of the process which I have never seen in any species of any family. Nevertheless, I have observed nearly all the stages of construc- tion in the case of Argiope cophinaria, and am therefore able to describe methods of spinningwork which, if they have heretofore been observed, have at least never been made known. The description of this industry will form the first section of the present chapter. Thereafter will be in- troduced some conclusions which a comparative view of cocooning indus- try has suggested to my mind. I. I observed one of my Argiopes, which I will distinguish as Prima for convenience’ sake, shortly after she had left her snare upon an ampelopsis vine, crawling along stems under leaves with that uneasy demeanor which commonly indicates that the crisis of maternity is near. I placed her in (159) — ee ee eee 160 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. a trying box, and sat up with her tntil a late hour at night. During a considerable portion of the evening she moved back and forth in the box, spinning lines from one side to the oth- er, and finally settled in one corner as though to rest. Thereupon I retired. Next morning at 5.35 o’clock I visited the box, and found that the eggs had just been laid, and enclosed within their first thin silk- en pouch. A rectangular patch of yellowish white silk was swung to the cross lines spun nibh asin eau the night before. Immediately beneath this Tinian ovipositing.. The spider is bee WaS & tuft of brownish silk, that enclosed a neath the mass of newly laid eggswhich tiny silken dish three-eighths of an inch in she has just begun to overspin. . % « : diameter, which rested against the top piece, with its concavity downwards. Against this dish Prima had oviposited her eggs, forcing them upward evidently as she hung in position Argiope )}eneath. At the time of my observation this was the position cophi- of affairs. The eggs were in a hemispherical mass, and hung naria. s . . . downward, with no enclosure except the white silken pouch which is the first covering the Orbweaver usually places upon the eggs. (Fig. 192.) The mother remained for a few minutes beneath her eggs, and then began spinning the brown covering. Her back was downwards, and her feet curved upwards, holding to the supporting lines or to the The edges of the top piece. Gradually moving herself around in a tig horizontal plane, she spun the threads upward against the top part of the egg mass, attaching threads to the overhanging edges of the flossy tuft already described. This action and position are repre- sented by Fig. 193. At six o’clock and eight minutes she rested for a few moments, and at that time her work presented the appear- ance represented at Fig. 198. Unfortunately, she was much hampered by having lost two legs, which happened to be the most important for her present purpose, as one of them was the hind leg used in spinning, and the other the first leg, which is the guide, if I may so say, of the spider’s motion, being continually used to . feel the way as she progresses, and pilot ™ sae nies ete Ae eae her into the proper course. Thus mutilated, — shown drawing out the silk, and the bunch Prima probably was twice as long accom- % 1°°PS i# shown against the cocoon. plishing her task as she otherwise would have been, since she only had one leg with which to draw out and pack the silk as it issued from the spinnerets. Nevertheless, she managed affairs very handsomely. - on Se —— = COMPARATIVE COCOONING INDUSTRIES. 161 During this and the earlier part of her weaying it seemed to me that the silk escaped from the posterior pair of spinnerets alone. It came out as white silk with a little yellowish cast in it, bearing a pretty hoe es gloss. The spinnerets were widely flared, and the silk issued in ind Leg. : several filaments. The hind leg was thrown upward as the spider moved and seized these filaments with the foot, apparently using all the spines from the claws upward to the tarsal joint, and even part of the metatarsus. The thread was carried away from the abdomen rather slowly toward the cocoon, (Figs. 194 and 195.1) At the same moment, also, the abdomen approached the cocoon without touching it. Between the spinnerets and the spider’s foot the silken filaments were stretched taut (Fig. 196), and after the first gentle motion of approximating the cocoon the abdomen was swung in the opposité direction; that is, away Fias. 194, 195, The action of Argiope in drawing out silk with the spinning legs. The alternation of the legs appears by comparing the figures. from the foot, so that the intervening stream of silken threads was drawn out to a considerable distance, sometimes as far as three-quarters of an inch. In the meantime that portion of the outspun threads between the spider’s foot and the point at which the line was attached to the cocoon, of course, relaxed and doubled up into a curled loop of several strings; . and in this condition it was when the leg finally touched the Laying ¢ocoon. (See Fig. 196.) With a quick movement the thread eae was slipped off the leg and pushed into the mass of spinning- work already accumulated. It at once adhered, though no viscid material appeared to be intermingled therewith, and added its flossy loops to the mass that had been spun before. The position of the leg and spin- nerets during this action is represented at Fig. 197. 1 These two figures were made from a second spider with full complement of legs. 162 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. At occasional intervals the spinnerets were laid against the cocoon and held 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 were continually employed to beat out and drawing the ray of threads. ; : down and pack the cocooning material, after the fashion of the long spinnerets of Agalena nevia 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- ures, and were 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 discharge of the silk and Equaliz- the application of it to the cocoon that the surface was kept siete even and regular. I cannot positively say upon what principle this was accomplished, but I was made aware of the fact that the aranead continually changed her course as she moyed around the co- coon, describing a complicated series of convolu- tions. This was shown strikingly in the following way: In order to make exact drawings of the va- rious attitudes of the spider while spinning, I drew a number of outlines of the cocoon at various stages upon blank paper, and waited to insert the various parts, as the legs, palps, spinnerets, etc., in proper } sequence as the spider would from time to time re- F'6. 197. Manner of forming and appear at the same point. My idea was that on boise pte one round I would sketch one leg, on another the next leg, and so on, supposing that Prima would appear substantially at or near the same place a number of times during her numerous rounds, and thus I would have many opportunities to catch her in the same attitude. Packing. _s "7. COMPARATIVE COCOONING INDUSTRIES. 163 I was, however, made painfully conscious of the fact that she very rarely presented the same attitude consecutively. As she made her rounds } she would almost invariably appear at a different point each Wind- time, now above, now below, now at the middle, and anon te oe emerging from beneath and coming back upon her course. (Figs. * 198, 199.) It thus became a matter of much greater difficulty to secure good drawings than I had calculated upon, although I eventually satisfied myself. But in the meantime it appeared that by this peculiar mode of progress the spider equalized the distribution of spinning material upon her cocoon, and prevented any part of it from growing dispropor- tionately to other parts. The method was not unlike that of a person winding a ball of silk or wool from a skein of thread. One cannot but recognize in this action a manifest purpose, however directed or originated, to build up her cocoon mass symmetrically, and cover all parts thereof equally. While thus engaged in spinning, the feet Fic. 198. Fie. 199. Equalizing the output of thread. FiG. 198. Position below the cocoon, Fic. 199. Position above on next round. were extended upwards, grasping the shoulder of the flossy mass or the edges of the supporting top piece. As the mass increased, the legs, of course, were stretched out further, but at no time was there any difficulty in enclosing the entire structure within the long legs of the animal. Brief rests were taken at long intervals of time, but the periods were very short, three or four minutes as a rule, rarely more. The spinning continued without intermission, sometimes more slowly and again more rapidly. At seven o’clock and eight minutes the cocoon appeared to be completed, as far as its general shape and size were concerned, but the spider continued working on it until ten o’clock and fifteen minutes, when I was compelled to cease my observations. During the last three hours the spinnerets were more frequently squeezed against the cocoon, as though to pack the mass and fasten the threads more closely. The filaments now, instead of being bent upon the surface Brief Rests. es ne 164 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. in the form of flossy loops of curled thread, seemed to be laid down as straight lines. As a consequence the surface after spinning did not show the flossy appearance, for example, of a bit of cotton wool, but rather the smooth and wound sewing thread. Not that the co- x aN coon thread was wrapped quite as closely Fi. 200. Fre, 201. as the spool, but in a general way it pre- Fics. 200, 201. Hpeira strix enclosing her eggs sented that appearance. This effect was within silk floss. (After Emerton.) promoted by the use made of the leg, which was laid flat along the cocoon, and the last two joints pressed against it, thus serving to compact the threads. When I returned at twelve o’clock and ten minutes, work upon the cocoon had ceased, and the spider was putting in the finishing lines of the maze of interlacing threads within which the cocoon of this species is ordinarily suspended. I was somewhat surprised, however, to find that no change had occurred in the exterior appearance and character of the mass since I had left it. I had supposed that some kind of a varnish would be laid wpon the surface, having the idea that perhaps some modification or degree of the material which composes the viscid beading of the snare would be used to cover in the interspaces of the silk on the exterior, thus making it partly weatherproof. But Prima’s cocoon showed only the glossy white silken surface with a little tinge of yellow, and no trace of anything but the original silk as it had issued from the spinnerets. This was in sharp contrast with a cocoon in the trying box just above, which had been made by another Argiope two days before, but whose making I was not able to see. I had watched it late into the night, and in the morning when I came to look at it the cocoon was entirely finished and the spider engaged in weaving around it its protection of netted lines, But the surface of the cocoon had been treated in the ordinary way, and pre- sented the customary yellowish brown tint, had the hard, dry, parchment like feeling, and gave out the crackling sound which is almost invariable in cocoons of this species. I have little doubt that it is treated in some pe- culiar way, immediately after comple- tion, in order to produce this effect, but Fie. 202, Female Theridium tepidariorum finishing A a cocoon. Other cocoons hanging in the nest, as yet the method is unknown to me. The spider Prima probably began to make her cocoon shortly before five o'clock of the morning, and must have continued weaving at least until half past ten. She was therefore engaged five hours, at the least, as COMPARATIVE COCOONING INDUSTRIES. 165 in work. But as her mutilation prevented her from making the ordinary speed in spinning, this cannot be taken as a fair test of the time which an able bodied spider would require for the same work. In See Fe point of fact, I think that half the time, or from two hours Weaving. to two and a half, is the period commonly taken by the fe- male Argiope cophinaria to construct her beautiful and intricate cocoon. I had the opportunity, since making the above detailed observa- tions, to see other Argiopes spinning their cocoons. The process is always the same, except that those spiders which (unlike Prima) have both their hind legs, use them alternately in drawing out and packing the spinning stuff. ¥ Ty, Without entering into details as fully as with Argiope, we may state generally the methods of cocoon construction practiced by other species and tribes. This will give sufficient material for comparison. The same mode of weaving is used by Epeira and all other Orbweavers whose habit in this regard is known to me. Mr. Emerton! gives a brief description of the manner in which Epeira strix weaves her cocoon. She touches her spinnerets as in Fig. 200, drawing them away at a short distance, and at the same time pressing upwards with the hind feet, as in Fig. 201. Then she moves the abdomen a little sidewise and attaches the bands of threads so as to form a loop. She keeps making these loops, turning at the same time, so as to form a rounded bunch of them. Of the Lineweavers, I have seen heridium tepidariorum engaged in overspinning her eggs. Fig. 202 represents this spider in the act of put- ting the finishing touches upon the outer case of one cocoon, while two others are hanging within the intersecting lines of her snare, from one of which a little brood of spiderlings has already escaped. The cocoon was suspended by a stout thread to the thickened mass near the top of the web, upon which the mother held with one long fore leg while she clasped and revolved her cocoon with the other legs. The spinning ma- terial was drawn out and laid on in loops as described at length of Argiope. The process of making a cocoon, as practiced by the Speckled Agalena, was observed in the case of a female confined within a glass jar. A leaf was laid against the inner side of the vessel as a suitable object Epeira. Theridium pees! ,. upon which to place the cocoon should the mother be inclined Gencae if use it. She presently availed herself of the opportunity, and wove upon the leaf a cocoon of the ordinary sort. I did not observe the whole process, but saw the finishing. The silken rug had “Habits and Structure,” page 101. See ee Tr. S:hCUemSt””C~” —_——" oa ee ei i Ab 166 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. first been spun upon the leaf, within which the egg mass was oviposited. Over that the external blanket was woven, and when my observation began the mother was engaged upon this. The method of proceeding did not differ from that of other species and tribes in like work. The spider grasped the margins of the cocoons with the claws of her fore feet, which she continually moved around the margin as she spun. The third pair of legs, and occasionally one of the fourth, were also used for grasping the cocoon and moving the spider’s body. The remaining fourth leg, and sometimes both the hind legs, were used for drawing out the spinning threads. As the spider thus swung around her cocoon, heavy filaments of silk were extruded from all the spinnerets, which were opened up and somewhat elevated. The long jointed third pair, particularly, was constantly lifted up and dropped, as though beating in the silken tis- sue, after the manner described in the case of Argiope cophinaria when making her silken shield. (Vol. I., Chapter VI., page 100.) We may confidently assert that the Territelarizee form no exception, for I have fully observed their mode of spinning the material which cor- responds with the silken cocoon. The silken rug on which our great Tarantula rests, the tube of the Purseweb spider, etc., are almost certainly woven precisely as is the - ———— cocoon of those species; and, if so, Fic, 208. Agalena nevia engaged in covering her eggs; the Tunnelweavers spin their co- use of the long spinnerets. . coons as do other tribes. Turning to the Wanderers, we have in the case of the Lycosids an ex- ample, to which I have heretofore referred (Vol. II, page 144), of the man- ner in which Lycosa fabricates her round cocoon. She first weaves a circular patch, which she afterwards forms into a hol- low sphere surrounding her eggs. The mode of equalizing the spinning thread is as follows: The feet clasped the circumference of the cushion, and the body of the animal was slowly revolved. The abdomen, greatly reduced in size by the extrusion of the eggs, was lifted up, thus drawing out short loops of silk from the extended spinnerets, which, when the abdomen was dropped again, contracted and left a flossy curl of silk at YM = N N > N Yi Yi Lycosa. COMPARATIVE COCOONING INDUSTRIES. 167 the point of attachment. The abdomen was also swayed from one side to another, the filaments from the spinnerets following the motion as the spider turned; and thus an even thickness of silk was laid upon the eggs. The same behavior marked the spinning of the silken rug or cushion in the middle of which the eggs had been deposited, It will thus be seen that the entire process of forming a cocoon, as wrought by Lycosa, resem- bles in every particular the mode practiced by 'lubeweavers and substan- tially by Orbweavers. So also is it with the Saltigrades. I have observed Phidippus rufus spinning its cocoon, and she proceeds after the same general method. A Salti- grade mother is represeuted at Fig. 205, as sketched in the act of cocoon making. The diverging linés of silken spinning stuff are there seen proceeding from the spinnerets, while the abdomen is lifted up at a considerable incline, and the feet clasp the borders of the cocoon, As this Phidippus revolved she alternately dropped and elevated the abdomen, while the silken loops thus formed curled down into the mass already spun and were further beaten in by the spinnerets and legs. It thus appears from personal observation of typi- cal species in all the tribes, with the exception of the Laterigrades, that the manner of outputting the spinning stuff while weaving cocoons is prac- tically the same. The only difference observable is confined to the use of the spinnerets in beating Fic. 204. Phidippus rufus spin down the outspun threads, these organs being ee eS more freely used for this purpose among the Tubeweayers and Tunnel- weayers, who possess long pairs of superior spinnerets, than among others. Salti- grades. WUE. Proceeding now to a comparative study of the cocooning industry of spiders, we observe, first, in view of the preceding sections of General : pees eininning this chapter, that the general method of spinning the cocoon, Method, 28 it has been observed in representative species of all but one of the tribes, is substantially the same. 1. That method consists in drawing out thickened lines from the spin- nerets while the body is slowly: revolved around the area to be occupied by the cocoon; or, as in Theridium, the cocoon is revolved upon a sus- pensory line. The loops thus drawn out are about the length of one-half the distance between the surface points to which the cocoon is attached and the point to which the spinnerets are raised by the elevation of the abdomen. As the spinnerets drop after their elevation, the thread relaxes, curls, and thus a soft loop of curled thread is left upon the growing cocoon mass. In some cases this is beaten down by the feet and spinner- ets, or spread over by them as a plasterer spreads mortar, until the cocoon oil iad, a ee 168 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. case is quite hard. In others, it is left in the flossy condition in which it is originally spun. 2. While the general method of spinning out the material, as above described, is that which prevails among all Tribes, the composition of the . cocoon, or general plan of architecture, may be properly sep- veaee) arated into three distinct modes. In the first the eggs are made Cocoons. the centre of operations, being first laid upon a circular patch, covered by a mass of continuous floss, and thereafter usually enclosed within a seamless case of thickened spinningwork. The protec- tion to the eggs is thus a single and unbroken covering. ‘This method prevails among Orbweayvers and Lineweayers. : In the second method the cocoon covering is spun in two parts. There is first woven a sheet to receive the eggs, and after the eggs have been overspun and swathed a second and similar sheet is made as an outer covering. This method is the prevalent one among Tubeweavyers, Salti- grades, and Laterigrades. Cocoons classified under the second mode may be subdivided into two well defined groups, viz., first, those in which the covering consists of pure silk ; and, second, those in which the silken covering is strengthened or padded by bits of gnawed bark, sawdust, and various light chippage, daubs or pellets of mud, and sometimes by an entire coating of clay. This mode of providing an armor of extraneous material is most preva- lent with Tubeweavers, although it occasionally appears among Orbweay- ers. Sometimes the armor or upholstery is itself covered over with an exterior silken case, as with Agalena nevia; but again it forms the outer casing or plaster, as with Micaria limicunee and Clubiona tranquilla. The third special mode is that which prevails, one may say almost universally, among the Citigrades, and which is probably practiced by the Tunnelweayers also. It consists in spinning a single sheet, within which the eggs are deposited, which is subsequently pulled over the egg mass, and pinched by the jaws into a globular covering, the selvage of which is united with sufficient firmness to adhere until the spiders are ready to leave the cocoon, when the seam yields sufficiently to allow the escape of the inmates. 3. A third point of comparison is as to the disposition of the cocoon by suspension or attachment. We may divide the cocoons of all tribes broadly into two classes, (I.) hanging cocoons and (II.) fixed cocoons. The hanging cocoons may be subdivided into those (1) which are suspended within the snare and (2) those which are suspended or attached outside of or near the snare. The latter class may again be divided into (a) those which are suspended with external pro- tection and (b) those which are suspended without external protection. Of spiders that hang their cocoons within the snare, the Orbweavers have a number of representatives, as especially Epeira labyrinthea, Cyclosa Dispo- sition. > ———- ti COMPARATIVE COCOONING INDUSTRIES. 169 caudata, Epeira bifurca, Uloborus plumipes, Epeira basilica. Among Lineweavers may be found most of the genus Theridium, as T. tepida- riorum and T. studiosum, Steatoda borealis, the various species of Erigone and Argyrodes. The Tubeweavers have numerous representatives, as it is a quite general habit for the species of this tribe to deposit their cocoons within the tubular portion of their snare, which forms also a nest. Among the Territelarie Atypus has the same habit, so also have the South American species described by M. Simon, and the immense creatures known as the Mygalidwe appear also to nurse their cocoons within their burrows. This is the custom of our well known ‘Trapdoor spider, Cteniza californica. Among the snareless Wandering spi- ders, Citigrades, Saltigrades, and Laterigrades, of course, there are no rep- resentatives of this group. Spiders that hang their cocoons outside their snares are largely repre- sented among Orbweavers. Indeed, this may be said to be a general habit, as most of such genera as Epeira, Argiope, Zilla, Acrosoma, ‘Tet- ragnatha, Nephila, Meta, and Hyptiotes spin their cocoons sep- arately from their snares. The habit prevails also among Line- weavers, as is illustrated by the habit of Theridium frondeum in swinging her pretty little orange colored cocoon to the under sides of leaves and the surfaces of rocks. Among Tubeweavers, Segestria canities of California suspends her string of clustered cocoons outside her nest, although she does subsequently spin a tubular cell alongside the cocoon string, and there dwells while completing the process of cocoon making and while the young are being reared. ‘Tegenaria medicinalis also suspends her co- coon most frequently to some object, as a log, or beam, or branch, out- side of her snare, although sometimes she hangs it to the lower portion of the sheeted pouch itself, or even interweaves it within the fibres of the sheet. Among Citigrades, the Southern species, Pucetia aurora, and all the known species of the genus Dolomedes swing their cocoons not, indeed, outside their snares, since they are Wandering spiders, but in special nests prepared for the purpose. The spiders which attach their cocoons to fixed surfaces, instead of swinging them among interlacing lines or suspending them with- in their snares, are numerous and have representatives among nearly all tribes. Such is the habit among Orbweavers, in most of the genera, as Epeira, Zilla, Gasteracantha, Nephila, ete. Among Lineweavers, species that dispose of their cocoons in this way appear to be rare, although such a European species as Theridium denti- culatum has this habit.1 Among Tubeweavers, the great mass of spiders of all or nearly all the genera fasten their cocoons to various surfaces. These plano convex objects may be seen in the autumn, for the most Within Snares. Outside Snares. Fixed Cocoons. 1 Staveley, “British Spiders,” page 147. — — = OO 170 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. part, attached to the under side of stones or spun within rugosities of the bark of trees. They have often bright colors, and are found covered with mud. Among Saltigrades and Laterigrades, all species appear to have the habit of thus disposing of their cocoons. IV. 4. A fourth point of comparison is the method of protecting cocoons. When we come to consider the modes of protecting cocoons, we find much variety, and the various methods well represented among all Protec- ‘Tribes, modified by differences in habit characteristic of the ag groups represented. The chief modes of protection are, first, by Tinan, lines, within which the cocoons are spun and which form an interlacing barrier of threads around them. This mode has many representatives among Orbweavers and Lineweavers; is occasionally repre- sented among Tubeweavers, as with Dictyna and Segestria; occasionally among the Citigrades, as Dolomedes and Pucetia; but is unknown among Saltigrades and Laterigrades. The second mode of protection is by leaves, which are drawn over the cocoons. ‘This is either done by attaching the cocoon to a single leaf and then curling the edges thereof around it, or by forming a sort aes of bower of several leaves united at the points and edges, and spinning within this cavity a maze of interlacing lines, within which the cocoon is hung. This method of protection is well represented among Orbweavers. Among Lineweavyers it is seen in our Theridium dif- ferens, and in certain European species of Theridium, as T. nervosum, T. riparium, and T. lineatum, Among Tubeweavers it largely prevails, Aga- lena, at least, practicing this method. Dolomedes represents the Citigrades, making a beautiful bower, within which her cocoon is hung. The Salti- grades frequently thus protect their cocoons; and among Laterigrades, Thomisus, Sparassus, and Philodromus. The third method of protection is by silken tents and tubes. This is sparingly practiced among Orbweavers. Among Lineweavers, as far as I know, it is only used when the silken tent is enclosed within an aed and Cuter covering of leaves. Among Tubeweavers it has a wide use, Tubes, Herpyllus, Ariadne, Drassus, Clubiona, and others of like spin- ning habit practicing it probably without exception. I know of no Citigrades that thus protect their cocoons, unless we consider the burrow and home as a cocoon tent or den, and it certainly does serve that end. But among the Saltigrades the habit is general, Phidippus, Attus, Syna- gales, Synemosina, and all known genera protecting their cocoons with an outer silken cell, within which the mother dwells. Among the Lateri- grades, Thomisus and Sparassus have the same habit. The fourth method of protection is by an armor of extraneous ma- Se : : od COMPARATIVE COCOONING INDUSTRIES. rel terial, such as insect débris, plant chippage, sawdust, sand, and mud. Among Orbweavers that practice this method of armoring their cocoons are Epeira cinerea and Cyclosa caudata. I know no American representative among Lineweavers, but there are no doubt such, as some English species have the habit. Among Tubeweay- ers the habit is most common. The cocoons of Agalena are frequently found upholstered with sawdust and scrapings from bark, or bits of chip- page plucked from surrounding vegetation. Clubonia frequently plasters over with mud her beautiful white cocoon. Micaria limicunz completely encloses her little egg sac within a thick ball of mud. Others of this family make a spherical ball, composed of miscellaneous débris, within the heart of which the cocoon is protected. The habit appears to have secured no lodging among the Citigrades and Saltigrades, but is practiced to a limited extent by some Laterigrades. A fifth mode of protection is suspension within the snare. Some Orb- weavers have this habit, as the Labyrinth spider, the Tailed spider, and others. Many Lineweavers in the genera Theridium, Argyrodes, 5. Sus- ete,, thus protect their cocoons. Indeed, it is the well nigh uni- pension versal method in this tribe. Among Tubeweavers the custom in Snares. F fost j ‘ prevails, that is, if we consider the tubular dwelling cell as a portion of the snare. The same remark applies to the Territelariz, as Atypus, Cteniza, and the large Mygalide, who protect their cocoons within their tubular dens, as do the Saltigrades also. The Citigrades and Lateri- grades, of course, have no such habit, as they are not snare making tribes, although they make a cell or den to contain and shelter their cocoons. The sixth method of protecting the cocoons is by sentry, that is to say, by watching on or near the cocoon—an action to which the term “ brood- ing” has sometimes been applied. Of this method, the Orb- atone _ Weavers have representatives among the genus Epeira, as, for example, our American Epeira cinerea and several European species, to which may probably be added Cyclosa and Uloborus and others of like habit. Nearly all Lineweavers may be considered as_ practicing this method. At all events, their cocoons are swung within their snares and the mothers are frequently found embracing them and vigorously re- sist any effort to deprive them of the treasure. Among Tubeweavers, many genera keep faithful watch on their cocoons, as Agalena, Herpyllus, and many of the Drassids. ‘The Tunnelweavers, who retain their cocoons within their burrows, may be regarded as keeping sentry upon them, and the habit is quite general among Saltigrades and Laterigrades. The seventh mode of protection is by portage, that is, by carrying the cocoons within the jaws or attached to the spinnerets. I know no rep- resentative of this habit among Orbweavers. Among Lineweavers the habit is universal with Pholeus, who carries her cocoon beneath her jaws. At least one European species of Linyphia and one of Theridium have 4. By Ar- morage. i, ‘ - ee ee eee ee , UTZ AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. the habit of deporting their cocoons, like a Lycosid, tied to her spinner- ets. No Tubeweavers are known to carry their cocoons. Among Citigrades the habit is universal with Lycosids, and prevails with Dolo- 7. By medes until about the time when the eggs are ready to hatch, satiate when she discards the cocoon and deposits it within a prepared of Stones, Lest. Ctenus probably resembles Dolomedes in this peculiarity. The Territelariz appear to carry their cocoons, although not to the same extent as the Lycosids, owing to marked difference in mode of living. None of the Saltigrades or Laterigrades are recorded as deporting their egg sacs, except Heterapoda venatoria, who does so occasionally. The eighth method of protection is sheltering cocoons beneath stones, bark, ete. This is in use among all the tribes, with the probable exception of the Tunnelweayers. The ninth and last mode of protecting the cocoon is by simple suspen- sory lines. This seems to be the simplest form of protection, and is doubtless effective against such enemies as would be apt to find 9. By the eggs if placed upon a flat surface, but who would not venture a se to assault them if compelled to creep along a fragile thread. Tinese Among Orbweavers few species are known, but there are some European representatives of this habit. Cyrtarachne may be considered as thus providing for her cocoon. Among Lineweavers there are a number of representatives, our most conspicuous American one being Theridium frondeum. Of the Tubeweavers, Tegenaria medicinalis, at least occasionally, thus disposes of her cocoons; and among European species are Agalena brunnea and others that hang their flask like egg sac from heather and other plants by means of a foot stalk. The other tribes, as far as I know, do not swing their cocoons free in this manner. The accompanying table will show at one view the comparative preva- lence of these various modes of protection among the tribes, as far as my observations and notes permit. It will be seen from this view that all the modes of protection, with the exception of portage, prevail among Orbweavers and Tubeweavers; that all the methods are represented among Lineweavers, although some of them appear to be faintly developed and sparsely represented therein. V. 5. A fifth basis of comparison is the form of cocoons. The greatest va- riety obtains among Orbweavers. Round cocoons, hemispherical or plano convex, pyriform, or stalked cocoons, with various modifications, as illustrated in the accompanying group, are the forms that commonly prevail among American Orbweayers. A comparison with the cocoonery of European and exotic Orbweavers, as far as they are known, shows that there is a substantial likeness between them and the American spider fauna. Cocoon Forms. 173 COMPARATIVE COCOONING INDUSTRIES. | at) Loe ‘olgg | “auyoereyt4D) Sat. Sh kee ey OSE Sem ras gino im a re wn Merete Cyt tee Be ah Cee en te ey ha ia “RIIRUaDa, “TaAMIpLey.T, “ead ay ‘(vioues “(sorods Auvutr) Sueut pu) (‘etaues Aueut) “eroues JSOT | ‘Satoads yso]y | 1702) 20 (| Ae ee Ruales y erqddury © “earod _ ‘sapouropoq, *(A[peuorsvo90) | H ergdAury | *(ATTeMOISRIID0) *snuo}) (ATqeqoad) : “UMIPLOY,L, | ‘epodezjory | ~ “°° 5 7 > "sptsood’y | seloeds [[V¥} ~~~ °° °° {SOO |OU A a ao ee es ‘snssviqy “eryd Aury / BsopAQ *(soweds Auvur) | (‘aqn} ouoYy *(g) snuay9— | ‘OUpRLLY — “EPOFeO}S, | ees = spisrmoyy | up) = “eZpyyy |) = Sepetopoq, | ‘sotoads [[¥ ssnyAdiayy = “tUMIpLIeqy, Raed sy (areawou ' | -oqny, Aueyy "BpO}B}g “smt0qol | | eu soy sopoLsary eons (-q@oTemeds uz) | (‘[[eo eutoy uy) | eit ego ‘sotoads [TV “BEISADIS “TUMTpLIoy,L, “etd ¥ } “BUOIqNI, » “SnSSBI(y . BIIVOT] | inal *(Apysys) | } BLIBUIS TL, “wsopAQ NSHOTUOT [7] ees RS ar Mas est ee men a eas nuapesy | “MILA L ~eatad gy, } } “(Soo | “SHUOIPOTLY | “e19es [[V ‘(punoas = -ads qe) snd ‘aya ‘suqpAdatoyy *snoysAX ‘snddipryg tepun sya) | -Ayy “eztua1) “VERO | PW, “SHSIULOY,L, ‘snqy Vy vsood'T “aqny owoy Uy ‘snsseaqy. “UMN ploy, | pared gy | | ‘snumorpoyrgg *(ATyemorse000) | | ‘nosh | Brouesd 1011310 | | SUSTULOGL | ‘Su y ‘sopomojog. ‘(g) BUgTRSy “WMIpoyy “eatod gy “BION © vuAqouy | “sopo.sa.y -odors1y SiON hE OR ae aol) Men eg Se el ‘sopauto[ocy Prat at ah is BLISIBG j “UMIpMoyL, “eatad sy : ae sf | “SHCVUOILIVS “SACVUDYILID | -SHaAVAMTANNOS,_ “SUAAVAMAIAT, | *SHAAVAMANIT | ‘suaavatauQ “SHQVUSINALVT soury Acosuadsns Ag * “a ‘souoys Yywoueg * Soul] Surpuno.imns Ag * *‘suadldg {0 SHdIayT, SQOLLVA GHL dO VHUANGY) IVOIdAT, SNONV SNOOOOD) SNILOMLONT JO SAGOJT LNATVARYT SNIMOHS AIAV I, Fig. 211. Fia. 212. Fig, 213. Fic. 214. Fig. 215. ‘ - LINEWEAVERS. Fig. 216. Fig, 217. Fic, 218. FiG. 219. Fie. 220. Fic. 221. Fig. 222, = 5 TUBEWEAVERS. iG, 225. Fic. 226. Fia. 227. TUNNELWEAVERS. a Fic, 228. Fic. 230. ba LATERIGRADES. SALTIGRADE. Crrigrapr. Comparative map of aranead cocoon forms. ta # < COMPARATIVE COCOONING INDUSTRIES. 175 Next to Orbweavers, the Lineweavers exhibit the greatest variety of form. A round or ovoid cocoon is the prevalent form, but the pyri- form is well represented in this tribe. Among Tubeweavyers the almost universal form of cocoon is the plano conyex or hemispherical. This re- sults from the quite general habit of attaching the egg sac to the surface of some object. In some cases, however, Tubeweavers suspend within their nets a double conyex cocoon; and, again, hang to the foliage or other surfaces a pyriform cocoon, as in the case of the European Agreeca brunnea. Among Tunnelweavers there is apparently but one form, as is indicated by the cocoonery of the few species known, This cocoon is a round ball and is in every respect like, or at least closely resembles, that of Citigrades. The Citigrades also have apparently one form, a globular silken case within which the eggs are enclosed with little or no padding. In numer- ous species of Lycosa, Dolomedes, Ctenus, etc., this form prevails. Among Saltigrades, also, there is apparently but one form, a hemispherical or plano convex cocoon, attached to some surface, the case being enclosed within a soft, flossy, or thick netted covering of spinningwork. Among Laterigrades there is greater diversity than among the last three mentioned Tribes. But, for the most part, the cocoons consist of stiff hemispherical cases attached to surfaces of rocks and trees; occasionally, however, as in the case of Philodromus and some species of Thomisus, the cocoon is a double con- vex covering hung between leaves or twigs. It is thus observed that the greatest variety and complexity of cocoons, as to form and structure, are to be found among the Sedentary tribes. The very greatest is in the Orbweavers, where the variety of form is iach Aah remarkable. Next in order are Lineweavers, although it is pos- plexity. ‘ible that, if a wider study of this tribe were made, they might be found to approach more nearly the Orbweavers in this re- spect than we are justified at present in asserting. The Tubeweavers follow in order. The Territelariee are classed ordinarily with Sedentary spiders, and many of the species fully justify this classification, since, like Atypus, they persistently dwell within their tubes. But they have also many of the characteristics of the Wanderers, and therefore we find their cocoons approaching those of Citigrades in simplicity of form. In the comparative chart printed upon the opposite page I have tried to show at one view the typical forms of cocoons known to be made by representative genera of the va- rious tribes. The following is the explanation of the chart: Cocoontnc Forms or Orsweay- prs: Figs. 205, 206, Epeira; 207, 208, Argiope ; 209, 210, Cyrtarachne ; 211, Epeira labyrinthea ; 212, Epeira bifurea; 218, Tetragnatha; 214, Uloborus; 215, Cyclosa caudata. LinzwEavers: 216, Argyrodes trigonum; 217, Theridium frondeum; 218, Steatoda and Theridium; 219, Theridium; 220, 221, Theridium; 222, Pholeus. Tusrwravers: 223, 224, Agalena, Drassids ; 225, Segestria ; 226, Micaria limicune; 227, Tegenaria. TuNNELWEAVERS: 228, Mygalide, Eury- pelma; 229, Atypus; 230, Nemesia. Larrricraprs: 231, Thomisus, XNysticus, and many genera; 232, Heterapoda and others. Sauricraprs: 233, Attus, Phidippus, and all genera. Crriarapes: 234, Lycosa, Dolomedes, and all known genera. ii RO hg 176 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. The greatest general simplicity of structure appears among the cocoons of the Territelarie, Citigrades, and Saltigrades, and the Laterigrades nearly approach them in this combination of simplicity and uniformity. stoi It may be said that the tribe which shows the greatest simplicity plicity, 22d uniformity of cocoon structure is the Citigrades. The in- ference may therefore be drawn, that the greatest general sim- plicity of structure exists among the cocoons of those spiders which have them most closely under their personal care. It is manifest that in the case of Lycosa and other genera that attach their egg sacs to their spin- nerets and carry them about until their young are hatched, there is less necessity for complex cocoonery to protect the enclosed eggs than in the case of Orbweaving spiders, like Epeira or Argiope, who hang their cocoons in the shubbery and leave them to the watch care of Nature alone. While this deduction is justified in the general view of the subject, it must be allowed that there are some exceptions which cannot well be explained. For example, the two cocoons which have absolutely the simplest structure are made by members of the Retitelarie, as Pholeus phalangioides and Steatoda borealis. The egg bags of the latter species consist of a mere pinch of silk of such sparse weft that the eggs are plainly seen through them. Pholeus, who carries her cocoon underneath her jaws, while she hangs continually upon her snare, holds her eggs together by little more than a netted bag of scant spin- ningwork. One who examines, even casually, these various forms will see that they are determined substantially by the fact that the eggs, as they are extruded, naturally form a spherical or hemispherical mass, according as they hang free or are oviposited against some surface. Around this mass the protecting spinning stuff is woven, and then the external case. The addition of a foot stalk, more or less pronounced, ap- pears to be determined by the act of suspending the cocoon during the weaving thereof, and the subsequent covering in and thickening of the suspensory cord so that the texture corresponds with the remainder of the outer case. , The little conical or pointed processes which characterize several cocoons, as those of Tetragnatha and Uloborus, probably originated in the same way, namely, by the attachment of suspensory or broken threads to various points of the external surface, the points of attachment being thickened into little puffs or rolls or points of spinning stuff. The introduction of extraneous material as an additional protection and the encasing of the silken sack in mud, as with Micaria limicune, is a habit to be accounted for altogether outside of the above; but the fact that these mud protected cocoons preserve the general form of the spin- ningwork which encloses the eggs, is undoubtedly determined by the same causes that regulate the shapes of all other cocoons. Excep- tions. Origin of Forms. eS lt(“‘“ i i i ik le al COMPARATIVE COCOONING INDUSTRIES. iPr Vi. 6. A sixth basis of comparison is the multiplex cocoonery of certain species. The general habit among spiders is to make but a single cocoon at a time, and most females probably limit their maternal duty So to the production of one egg sac. But there are numerous ex- coons. &Pptions, which have been noted. Among Orbweavers the Laby- rinth spider, the Tailed spider, the Basilica spider, and some others habitually produce several cocoons. These are not made contempo- raneously, but are spun consecutively, with intervals of several days be- tween each cocoon, so that the younglings will be hatched from the first brood while the last is yet freshly laid. It is to be noted, also, that even those spiders that ordinarily limit themselves to one cocoon, as Argiope, under certain conditions, which are not fully understood, produce two or more cocoons. Epeira, when specially nourished, is said to produce several. The fecundity of the spider may therefore be said to be subject to variation, and the disposition to multi- ply cocoons is dependent, more or less, upon the fecundity. Among the Retitelarize numerous species are found spinning several cocoons, the most familiar example being Theridium tepidariorum and Latrodectus. The Tubeweavers also have some remarkable representatives of multiplex cocoonery, as, for example, certain species of Dictyna and Segestria. The cocooning habits of the Territelaris are so little known that one cannot speak positively, but it is probable that no Tunnelweaver makes more than one cocoon. ; Among the Wandering spiders the single cocoonery which characterizes the Tunnelweavers is the rule. I know no Saltigrade and no Laterigrade that produces more than one cocoon, although of the former Staveley says that Epiblemum scenicum makes one or two, and of the latter that Philo- dromus czespiticolis deposits two flattened cocoons in a large nest.1 Among Citigrades I know no species except Pucetia aurora; this spider produces at least two cocoons, that are concealed within a little nest of crossed lines, very much after the fashion of that constructed by Dolomedes. No doubt, however, a wider knowledge will compel us to include other species in this group. This summary of facts points to these conclusions: First, that the three Tribes which are by especial eminence Sedentary possess the greatest number of species that make more than one cocoon. Second, that the three Tribes that are conspicuously Wanderers make but one cocoon, with rare exceptions. Third, that the Tunnelweavers, whose habits sometimes approach one group and sometimes another, but in the matter of cocoonery resemble the Citigrades, as regards multiplex cocoonery are to be classed with the Wanderers, apparently limiting themselves to a single egg sac. and 86. 7 1 “Brit, Spiders,” pages 5 ee, Ee . OHAPTER GL. MATERNAL INSTINCTS : MOTHERHOOD. In the chapters immediately preceding I have described the various devices and forms of spinning industry prompted by maternal instinct for preserving offspring. Apart from this—the mere industrial or archi- tectural expression of motherhood—there are some facts in the natural history of the maternal habit which may perhaps best be considered in a separate chapter. Such, for example, are the motives which regulate the choice of a cocoon site; the methods of ovipositing; the measure of ma- ternal purpose as taken from the complexity, isolation, or vigil of the cocoon; the causes regulating the number of cocoons and eggs; the motive controlling the armoring and mud plastering of cocoons; brooding the egg nest; the degree of and conditions limiting the maternal anxiety for the eggs; and the intensity and intelligence of the maternal sentiment. These are points of the greatest interest to all naturalists, and are well worthy of a far more extended and philosophic treatment than I feel com- petent to give. But it may be permitted me at least to open the way. IF The sites which spiders choose for their cocoons are, of course, largely determined by their habitat. The cocoons will always be found near by the locality in which the mothers haye lived. Although some of them do occasionally move from their native centres, the migration is, as a rule, extremely limited; and Orbweavers, in- deed all Sedentary spiders, may be considered as practically spending their lives within the narrow compass of the spot where they chance to pitch their first snare. The favorite sites of Orbweavers are bushes, low trees, grass, weeds, the angles of walls in the neighborhood of houses and outhouses, and like situations which afford them facilities for hanging their snares. They are frequently exposed to the full blaze of sunlight; some species appear to love the most open exposures in woodlands; others, again, shun the sun- light and are found in woods and forests, in obscure corners, hollow trees, clumps of underbrush, and even, as in the case of Meta, in caves. They hang their nets along the banks of streams, in glens and ravines, on the seaside, on the lowest plains and prairies, and on the tops of the highest mountains, as far up at least as the timber line extends. I have (178) Cocoon Sites. MATERNAL INSTINCTS: MOTHERHOOD. 179 taken them on the highest railing of the dome of St. Peter’s in Rome; have seen their round webs swinging against the cliffs of Mosquito Mount- ain Pass in Colorado, more than ten thousand feet high; have found them upon the mountains of Scotland; and captured the British Epeira umbra- tica from snares spun against the basaltic columns of Fingal’s Cave. Their fixed positions are, of course, determined by their ability to obtain food therefrom; and, as their food is insects, the limit of insect life must also be the limit of spider life. For, although spiders Food : : Limits, 2° frequently at the mercy of the winds and are carried great distances when they are young, during the aeronautic stage, they cannot long sustain themselves and propagate their species if they chance to fall upon positions where it is difficult or impossible to obtain generous supplies of insect food. In seeking a spot upon which to place their cocoons, most Orbweavers go a little distance from their snares and construct the cocoon against the outer surface of a bush or tree, rock or wall, or cover it up within a leaf. As a rule, the disposition to find a secluded spot is quite manifest, but there are many exceptions. Other species deposit their cocoons within their webs, stringing them along one of the radii of the orb, as in the case of Uloborus, Epeira caudata, and Epeira bifurea; or suspend them within a maze of crossed lines which overhangs the orb, as in the case of the Labyrinth spider. Others, again, as with Argiope, will frequently swing their cocoons within a specially prepared mass of crossed and netted lines, which are hung to branches or boughs, leaves, or blades of grass. What is said of Orbweavers as to cocooning site is substantially true of the other Tribes, with, of course, such variations as are required by essential differences of habit and structure. For example, those Seden- tary spiders, as the Lineweavers, which suspend their snares in positions quite like those of Orbweavers, also follow closely that Tribe in the gen- eral principle of selection for cocoon sites. In other words, they ‘hang their cocoons in some part of their snare, or somewhere near, hidden be- neath a convenient cover, or in a neighboring retreat. So also many Tubeweavers, and the Tunnelweayers even more persist- ently, attach their cocoons to some part of their web, or weave one of their characteristic tubes around the egg case when it is once spun. In these cases the cocoon site is pretty sure to be identical with the dwelling place and snare. — Among Wanderers the home site has less influence upon the cocoon site. As these animals pursue their prey over a more or less extended range of territory, the site of the cocoon is dependent on the place where the hour of maternity may overtake the females. Wherever they happen to be, the Saltigrades and Laterigrades will spin a tubular tent, enclose within it their cocoon, and there remain Cocoon Secreting. W ander- ers. es a eee ——————=. Or 180 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. until the young are hatched. However, it must be said that, with Salti- grades at least, there is a tendency before cocooning to prepare a perma- nent dwelling tent, to which, when the proper time approaches, the mother will resort to deposit her eggs. Lycosids also strongly incline to spin and burrow a cocooning house after their kind. But inasmuch as they deport their cocoons, they are apt to move about from site to site with their egg bags dangling at their tails, stalking prey and bivouacking in any con- venient refuge. : Wt, I infer that female spiders habitually prefer the night or early morn- ing hours for cocooning. At least I have never been able to observe any : species laying eggs, although I have frequently and quite per- redikl sistently watched, both in artificial and natural sites, with a view Cocoon- : : Prue Siete ing. to such observation. I am satisfied that it is within the power of the female to control the maternal function and compel Na- ture to await her pleasure for a considerable length of time. IT cannot otherwise well account for some experiences with my captives. Moreover, I have spent many days during the last fourteen or fifteen years in wan- dering among haunts of spiders, north, south, east, and west, in our own country and Europe, but have never once surprised a female in the act of ovipositing. his leads me to the con- clusion that spiders must commonly choose the night or early morning as the time for laying their eggs. Others, however, have been more : fortunate ; and, judging from their ac- Fia. 235. Fia. 236. : . * Fic. 285. Section views of abdomen, to show loca- counts, and reasoning, from the varl- tion of eggs. Te. 236. Same, with eggs removed. og stages at which I have partially (From alcoholic specimen.) ; observed the process, by putting the pieces of observation together, we obtain a tolerably accurate idea of the mother spider’s mode of procedure. Just before cocooning, the eggs will be found massed within the centre of the abdomen, the ovaries being so greatly distended as to compress and somewhat displace the surrounding and adjacent organs. (Figs. 2385 and 236.) They are in this state gelatinous bodies, but have a spherical shape even in their soft condition. They are still jelly like objects when ex- truded from the ovaries along the vulval hook or ovipositor, and do not harden until shortly after they are laid. When the mother is prepared to drop her eggs, and has satisfied herself as to locality, the next step is to prepare either a little sheet, or dish shaped dish, or a flossy tuft of spinningwork, against which the eggs are posited. I believe that this is most frequently done upwards in the case of females Le Cae ae 1a 53D ‘see ate 98, ae “9 SS ss S Se el, MATERNAL INSTINCTS: MOTHERHOOD. 181 who swing their cocoons free, as Argiope and Theridium; that is to say, the spider hangs with her back downward while ovipositing. But in many cases of females that have cocooned for me in boxes, the eggs must have been placed in the reverse position, since the cocoon was attached to the bottom of the box. Of course, the species that fasten their cocoons to yarious surfaces, as do many manifestly been placed upwards, as, for ex- ample, those spun on the under surface of stones, fallen logs, ete. Others, again, have been laid while the spider was in a vertical position, as when cocooning upon loose bark of trees and similar vertical sites. The bodily attitude appears to make little or no difference as to the facility with which the female can deposit her eggs. Whether directing them upward (with the dorsum towards the earth), or directing them downward (with the dorsum towards the sky), or depositing them against a vertical surface, with the head downward or upward, as the case may be, the mother is able to empty the ovaries with equal comfort and ease. Mr. Emerton has observed several species in the act of ovipositing, and his brief notes upon the manner thereof are as follows:! Epeira strix first spins a rounded bunch of loose threads, into the middle of which she discharges her eggs, as shown in Fig. 287. The eggs, which are little drops of jelly, are held up by the loose threads until the spider has time to spin for them a covering of strong silk. It is to be regretted that the description here is so indefinite, as the term ‘“ coy- ering of strong silk” may imply either the flossy boll which is invari- ably found to surround the egg mass of Epeira, or the smooth textured silken bag which immediately encloses the eggs and against which the flossy blanketing is laid. When a cocoon of Epeira strix and others of similar habit is cut open, this silken encasement is invariably seen, and it presents the appearance of having been the original substance against which the eggs were directly laid. The same author has been fortunate enough to observe the mode of positing eggs with two other tribes. The female Drassus (Fig. 238), spins a little web Fra, ier Baan eee in seta of drop- across her nest and drops the eggs upon : ; it. They are soft, and mixed with liquid, and are discharged in one or two drops, like jelly. They quickly suck up the liquid, and become dry on the surface, sometimes adhering slowly Ovipos- iting. ' Habits and Structure, page 101. 182 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. together. After the eggs are laid, the spider covers them with silk, draw- ing the threads over from one side to the other, fastening them to the edges of the web below. When the covering is complete, she bites off the threads that hold the cocoon to the nest, and finishes off the edges with her jaws. Phidippus galathea (Attus mystaceus Hentz) spins, before laying her eggs, a thick nest of white silk, usually on the under side of a stone. In this she thickens a circular patch on the side next the stone, and ote discharges her eggs upward against it. (Fig. 239.) They adhere, Ane te and are subsequently covered with white silk, after the manner common to Saltigrades. Mr. Emerton had a female of this species that deposited her eggs in confinement; he records that, ‘instead of completing the cocoon properly, she ate the eggs immediately after laying them,”! a breach of maternal fidelity which I believe to be rare among araneads, even when cocooning in the unnatural conditions of a forced imprisonment. The eggs are deposited in a mass, cylindrical, conical, or hemispherical, individuals of which are usually fastened together by a glutinous sub- stance, but sometimes are deposited loose, so that they roll about nsdn in the hand when the cocoon envelope is cut. We are indebted ae to Menge for the following interesting observation: After all the eggs are deposited the spider rests for a season, when she commences to draw threads over the eggs, as if desirous of covering them up; but it soon becomes clear that something else is to follow. After a while she returns to the cocoon and discharges a cs ue rants re ta clear liquid over the eggs, which is absorbed laying eggs within a silken cell. (After by them without in any way interfering with meta the web. This causes the eggs to swell to such an extent that they could no longer be contained within the animal. Menge thinks that this fluid proceeds from the semen pockets, which at this period are very much enlarged, and becomes mixed with the male semen, so that in reality the fructification of the eggs is completed by the female. he mother now appears very much exhausted. She lays down for a while on the eggs, and, finally, com- mences to spin them over, entirely covering them.? Mr. Moggridge had the opportunity to observe the eggs laid by a specimen of our Cteniza californica, which was sent to him from America and kept for a while in captivity. The eggs were deposited in several clusters, at various times, upon the under surface of a gauze fastened upon the mouth of the box in which she was imprisoned, The first of these groups was laid See the night, between Fructifi- cation. Cteniza’s Eggs. 1 Struatin, and Habits, pages 99, 100. * Menge, “Preussische Spinnen.” The author adds “that it takes patience and perseyer- ance to observe the spider during this entire process, and he had only succeeded twice.” MATERNAL INSTINCTS: MOTHERHOOD. Fig. 240. A, Cteniza californica; B, her trapdoor nest; C, group of eggs, natural size; D, same, magnified; BH, a second group, magnified; F, the same, largely magni- fied. (After Moggridge,) 183 184. AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. the 12th and 13th of July, in a cluster shaped like a raspberry. The eges were grayish white or pale brown, and varied in shape from globose to oblong. All were very small, the largest one half a line in its greatest length. A fortnight later, July 27th, another cluster of eggs was laid, this time between the hours of 5 and 8 P. M. When the lamp was brought in at the latter hour, Mr. Mogeridge perceived what he took to be a drop of water hanging from the gauze covering, above and rather in front of the spider’s door, the position occupied by the clusters of eggs previously described. On closer inspection this proved to be a drop of pellucid, colorless liquid, in which some thirty eggs floated. One egg was laid on the gauze at some distance from the main group, and several were also attached to the inside of the tin box. At midnight he found that the drop had coagulated and contracted, and by the following morning the mass was quite dry and resembled the former group, only that it was not quite so convex. Some of the eggs forming these clusters were much larger than in the preceding one, and one measured as much as a line in length by half a line in breadth. Between the above date and the end of November, when the spider died, eggs were laid on seven distinct occasions, namely, on July 81st, August 11th, 15th, and 31st (when he found the eggs floating on a drop of liquid, having been deposited on the gauze between two and _half-past four in the afternoon), September 9th (twenty-three eggs laid on the earth near the entrance to the nest), September 19th (about thirty eggs on the gauze), November 4th (about thirty eggs on the gauze). Thus, between July 13th and November 4th, this spider laid nine clusters of eggs, all but one of which were placed on the same part of the gauze cover, above and a little in front of the door, apd the total number of eggs deposited cannot have been less than two hundred and fifty.1 Of course, it is difficult to account for the peculiarities of this female in oviposition, for there is little doubt that this manner of laying eggs in disconnected groups, at extended intervals of time, is quite foreign to the usual habit of the species. During the long journey from her native home she may have experienced a shock resulting in a morbid condition of the ovaries. Undoubtedly, like her congeners, of whom Mr. Eugene Simon gives an account (see Chapter V.), Cteniza californica lays her eggs in one mass, and suspends them within her burrow. But the above facts at least show the power of the female to control the function of ovipositing, and indicate that there are certain irregularities in that function, more or less under the control of the female, which may give a clue to the habitual production by certain species of several cocoons, and the occasional multi- plication of cocoons by other species. * Moggridge, “Trapdoor Spiders,” Supplement, page 203 sq. MATERNAL INSTINCTS: MOTHERHOOD. 185 WH When the eggs are laid the spider mother proceeds to spin the outer envelope by which they are protected, and within which the progeny, when hatched, may find a comfortable home until sufficiently matured to begin life for themselves. This external structure differs, among various species, in shape, size, interior arrangement, and more or less in the character of construction. The details of these points have appeared in the preceding chapters, and they form some of the most interesting features in the life habits of araneads. The cocoon may be described in general terms as consisting of a silken sheet or sac surround- ing the eggs, a padding of greater or less compactness above that, and a case of a more or less compact texture surrounding the whole. The shape of the cocoon appears to have no special relation to the maternal instinct, but is probably regulated by the habits of the particular species and the character of the cocoon site chosen. It has already been seen that the forms, although at first view they seem to be quite varied, may, by analysis, be reduced to the round or hemispherical. In other words, the eggs, as they drop from the spider’s ovaries, naturally assume a more or less rounded form when the cocoon swings free; and when ex- truded against a fixed surface as naturally form into a hemispherical mass. This is simply the result of the law of equilibrium. As the maternal care is directed solely to covering up and protecting the eggs, the shape of the egg mass inevitably regulates the shape of the spinningwork woven around it. It thus would seem that the maternal purpose is shown in the fact of enclosing the eggs within the cocoon, and not in the external shape which that cocoon assumes. However, a measure, of maternal interest and intelligence is undoubt- edly found in the architectural details of the cocoon. I have shown (Chap- _ ters IV. and V.) that these have a tolerably wide range; that aaah oes some cocoons.are extremely simple in their structure, and others Structure (uite complex. To what degree are these differences regulated by maternal affection and intelligence? This question cannot be considered wholly from the standpoint of the cocoon structure itself, for other elements enter into consideration, as the natural environment chosen for a cocoon site, or the artificial environment prepared for it. That is to say, a cocoon may be quite simple in its structure, having little spinning- work to directly enclose the egg mass, but, as in the case of Dolomedes, have a supplementary protection of a leafy tent, and an associated en- closure of intersecting lines, which add materially to the protection of the eggs. Of course, in thinking upon the degree of intelligence and affection exhibited by such a mother, the external protection must be an important factor, What is the relation between the simplicity or complexity of a cocoon’s Shape of Cocoon. er re ee ee NN a a ee jh) gg 186 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. construction, and the amount of care which the mother gives it? ‘There is much difference in the extent of elaboration of cocoons. The simplest construction of which I have any knowledge is that of our com- Complex- mon cellar spider, Pholeus phalangioides, which surrounds its nt i ng a little cluster of agglutinated eggs with the barest filament of Gare, silk through which the eggs are entirely visible. This rude co- coon the mother holds underneath her jaws, and there carries it until the spiderlings are ready to hatch out, when they take their place upon the straggling lines at the top of the maternal snare. Steatoda bore- alis spins a cocoon scarcely more elaborate than the above; she hangs it within her snare of crossed lines and stays near it. The cocoons of Lycosa and Dolomedes are also carried about by the mothers until they are hatched or nearly ready to hatch. These cocoons are rather simple in structure, consisting of a patch of spinningwork rolled up into a ball, without any internal padding or protection whatever. The cocoons of many Tube- weayers, the Drassids, for example, and the cocoons of Laterigrade spiders are simple parchment like textures, spun against a surface, and are also free from any internal padding or external protection. These spiders are in the habit of watching their cocoons, remaining near them until the little ones are hatched. Thus far it might be said that there is some reason for the conclusion that lack of complexity in the structure of a cocoon is supplemented by additional vigilance on the part of the mother in watching the cocoon. Let us see how it is among Orbweavers. The most complex cocoons are found among these spiders. That of Argiope, for example, ee exhibits remarkable regard for the protection of eggs and young, rb- F 5 ; ; : ; weavers, Py its tough external case, its thick lined padding of brown silk, which nearly surrounds the egg mass, and the sac which con- tains it. Argiope, as far as known, never watches her cocoon. The same is true of most species of the genus Epeira, whose cocoons are frequently enclosed within a tent of sheeted spinningwork or of closely laid lines, and are themselves composed of several layers of spinningwork of various textures. Most spiders of this genus give their cocoons no care after they have made them. ‘There are, however, exceptions. Epeira cine- rea, for example, not only encloses her eggs in a well furnished cocoon, but adds to it scrapings from the bark of trees or the dry wood surface upon which the cocoon may be fastened. Yet, according to Mrs. Mary Treat, this spider is extremely watchful of its cocoon. Cyclosa caudata provides the ordinary enswathment for her eggs, and adds to that an exterior armor of the disjecta membra of in- sects captured by her. Yet these cocoons are hung within her snare, and during the cocooning season she is found constantly clinging to the end of her cocoon string. However, that this contiguity is an actual vigil is not proved. Cocoon Vigils. MATERNAL INSTINCTS: MOTHERHOOD. 187 The Speckled Agalena makes a cocoon which equals in its complexity the most carefully prepared of the Orbweavers. It not only surrounds its eggs with several swathings of silken material, but adds a mattress of saw- dust or bark chippings scraped from surrounding objects. Yet, according to Mrs. Treat, a spider mother of this species kept watch over her cocoon long after the frosts of winter had fallen, it being preserved in a suffi- ciently protected spot.! Mr. Emerton attributes to this spider the habit of remaining near her cocoon until she dies.” Nevertheless, my own nu- merous observations compel me to believe that this species gives an example of complexity associated with isolation of cocoon. The interesting California spider, Segestria canities, spins a string of ten or a dozen cocoons, which it suspends in the midst of a thick maze of crossed lines, forming a strong protection, yet she keeps her home in a silken tube spun along one side of the cocoon string. Tegenaria agrestis of Europe makes a well protected and cushioned cocoon for her young, yet she watches it carefully. The cocoons of all known Saltigrades are all protected underneath a thick exterior tent and by a stout case, but the mothers remain near, within the cell, although, according to Professor Peckham,® underneath an extra covering. Such examples as Segestria and the Saltigrades cannot positively be cited as - eases of cocoon vigil, but at all events the mother’s domicile includes the cocoon within its premises. The above facts appear to indicate, first, that cocoons which are least carefully protected by spinning industry have a supplementary defense in the personal care of the mother; on the other hand, second, that cocoons which are abandoned as soon as made, and are entirely without maternal sentry, are protected by elaborate structures ; but, third, in some cases the complex structure and the maternal vigil exist together. The In- ference. as Orbweavers differ among themselves as to the number of cocoons spun by females. Certain species, as the Tailed and Labyrinth spiders, habitu- ally spin several cocoons; others, again, as most Epeiras, ordi- Multifold narily spin but one. This habit must be subject to some va- Cocoon- -_. |. : - : wie riations, the reasons for which are not clear. Epeira apoclisa, according to Lister, lays three and even four cocoons in the period of a little more than two months. Termeyer makes the statement that Epeira diademata, when well fed, will make six cocoons. Several years ago a ministerial acquaintance, Rey. P. L. Jones, brought me two cocoons of the Basket Argiope, both of which, he affirmed, had 1“My Garden Pets,” page 18. 2 New England Drassidie, page 200, (86). ’ Letter to the author. 188 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. been made by a single mother. It struck him as a strange circumstance, and he reported the fact to me. Only recently Mrs. Mary Treat has pub- lished a description of what she considers a variety of this spider, Argiope multiconcha,! which habitually makes as many as four and sometimes five cocoons. I have one of these strings, which was made in a kitchen where a great cooking stove was in almost constant use to supply the demands of a large family. It contains four cocoons, which were hung close to each other, and precisely in the manner of those of Basket Argiope, which they exactly resemble. The habitat of this spider, as far as now known, is Missouri. The animal itself differs very little from Cophi- _ Argiope yaria. Unfortunately, the one specimen that I have seen was so page much dried up that it could not be figured, nor could any dis- tinctive features be readily traced; but it seems to differ in no essential respect from Cophinaria. Thus, the interesting question emerges, what are the conditions controlling this function in this spider? It can hardly be quantity of food, as with Termeyer’s Diademata. If it be qual- ity, upon what meat does this aranead feed, that she should so excel her congeners in cocooning industry? | Fic. 251. The tent and assembly of young spiders beneath a leaf of Jack-in-the-pulpit, on the grounds of Ogontz Seminary. Ee oes a : e ’ ’ 220 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. while on the windward side it was quite swept away. ‘To quote the moral- izing sentiment of the journalist, “their frail house was more ragged than good resolutions after a week’s wear!” ‘The spiderlings remained snugged underneath their leaf as when first seen. On the afternoon of May 27th the little fellows had “outgrown their clothes, and hung them on the line, while they looked very smart in their ... new clothes, over which no one had toiled. Their change of gar- Shedding vents had led to no change of habits,” for they were snugged to- First ; Coats. gether in a ball as when first observed. In other words, the spiderlings had undergone a moult, and their white casts of skins clung to the lines upon which the moult had been effected. This is usual among young spiders. Mrs. Treat has even obseryed the shed skins of baby Turret spiders! clinging to lines stretched across the top of the mother’s abdomen, upon which the younglings had unfrocked themselves. May 29th, 9 A.M. The colonists were still closely snugged. They had grown some, and had thrown out a few cables to support their tent, which ‘ was then quite rickety. At five o’clock in the evening they were eet in the same condition. May 30th, 5 P. M. A few individuals were found spinning webs on an adjoining tree, but the majority were “ wandering in the wilderness of life, and could not be found.” 'T'wenty- one still clung to the old home. * * * May 81st, at 2 P.M., only five spiderlings could be found. “These wandered about in a forlorn way like pilgrims preparing to seek a shrine beyond the known country.” June Ist, at 3 P. M., not one of the colony was to be found. The frag- ments of the web and “the old clothes” were all that were left. About a rod beyond the site of this colony Miss Skinner found a new ball of spider- lings, apparently quite recently made; I quote the conclusion of her journal, which relates to this second colony: “June 2d. Something has happened to them, I know not what! Not a trace is to be found. So perish great nations!” Two of the young ladies of the seminary made sketches of the colony two or three days after the first observation. At that time the enclosing pavilion had been Blown away, nothing remaining but ‘a few straggling lines. I have restored the pavilion from my own sketch, presenting it thus as when first seen. (Fig. 251.) There is nothing to show how many of the two Ogontz colonies may have survived. It is not unlikely that a few scattered into the surrounding foliage and might have been found quietly ensconced beneath leaves or any other sheltered position, but the proba- bility is that most, if not all, of them perished. Such is certainly the fate of multitudes of young Orbweavyers.? * I reserve for the chapter on General Habits (under Moulting) the history of a brood of Epeiras hatched upon a honeysuckle arbor in my manse yard, whose fortunes I followed with particular interest. . ade sities ree ey COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 221 One of the young ladies in the natural history class of the school wrote and published in the ‘Ogontz Mosaic” a versified account of the above colony, which I yenture to add, as a pleasant description of and happy comment upon the incident. It may at least serve to brighten for a mo- ment the dullness of these pages eof details, and show that one may find a gleam of poetic fancy even in the babyhood of despised Arachne’s ehildren. THE CHILDREN OF THE SPIDER WEB. Unper a Jack-in-the-pulpit’s care, Where the shadows are deep, and the sunlight rare Tenderly kisses the maiden hair, A loving mother made her nest, And neyer did rest Till flossy blankets and silken sheet Enclosed her eggs in a safe retreat. The brood was safe, but the mother dead, For loye’s last act spent life’s last thread, And the fair cocoon was left to swing Till winter’s snow dissolved in spring. The air was warm and the sunshine soft; To and fro the breezes tossed The tiny hammock of shining threads, Of shimmering, silvery spider webs. Far from the sounds of war and strife Were the spider babies wooed to life. On one bright day they all awoke, Their prison doors they burst and broke ; And, peeping through the barriers white, Discovered a wonderful world of light. With glad surprise they looked around, Then a daring one, with a single bound, Went dancing down on a tiny thread, Making his own little spider web. Graceful and airy, A real fairy, He entered this new found land of glory. The days went by, and the babies grew. — Were their pleasures many, their sorrows few? Or within the silken canopy Was there acted out a tragedy? * * * * * * Shall we e’er know the source Of that wonderful force By which the good little mother wove Her babies’ cradle with threads of love ? Why the eggs are laid by the little wife? Tlow the sunlight laughs them into life ? Where the shadows are deep, and the sunshine rare Tenderly kisses the maiden hair, Beneath the Jack-in-the-pulpit rest The mysteries of the spider’s nest. CC ———— 222 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. About the middle of May, the same spring, I watched the egress of a whole colony of the young of Epeira insularis from a cocoon which I had hung upon an ampelopsis vine outside my study window. They Tendency moved with great celerity and soon were widely scattered over bar the vine. All mounted upwards, not a single one descending be- * low the site of the cocoon; which habit, as I have observed, is quite common to all species. A few days thereafter their tiny filaments could be traced stretched from leaf to leaf over a large surface of the vine, as high as ten and a half feet from the ground. But not a single web was afterwards formed during the whole summer and autumn, and, as far as I know, every individual perished. Those who are familiar with like facts will readily perceive the necessity for the immense fecundity of fe- male spiders in the production of eggs. Only under favorable circum- stances can considerable numbers of any single colony reach maturity. My observations on colonies of Epeira labyrinthea and Epeira triara- Mortality nea show that twenty, thirty, or fifty may survive for a short Saal period, and construct in the same vicinity their little orbicular lings. snares. But these, too, soon perish under the combined assaults of their natural enemies and unfavorable weather. It is probable, indeed I believe that it is quite certain, when cocoons are located in spe- cially favored spots, and the young inhabitants issue forth under specially favored circumstances, that the majority of them pass beyond the period of babyhood and attain middle growth, and reach in goodly proportion mature life; but these examples must be comparatively rare. VI. My observations of the habits of spiderlings immediately after egress are confirmed by such brief notes as other observers have made in natural site. Emerton says (speaking apparently from observation) that Other Ob- . may 5 servers, @ brood of young Epeiras may often be seen living in a common web, and looking like a ball of wool in the top of a bush; while below them, connected by threads to their roost, are the skins left at their second moult, and further down, also connected by threads, the cocoon.! I have often seen the young of Theridium tepidariorum, and of the long legged cellar spider, Pholeus phalangioides, hanging in these cottony clus- ters at the top of the maternal snare, the mother herself suspended beneath. The Orbweavers thus appear to agree in this habit with these Lineweavers. Wilder also has a brief reference in the same direction to the young of Nephila plumipes, which, he says, even after leaving the cocoon, are more or less gregarious, always keeping in companies, and preserving good order while moving.” 1 Structure and Habits, page 110. * Proceed. Amer. Acad. Arts and Sciences, VII., 1865, page 56. COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 223 Fic. 252. Assembly of young spiders, just after escape from cocoon, balled beneath a rose bush leaf. ; 224 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. The young of Epeira diademata, as observed in Europe,! have a like habit. In the spring, when the spiders are newly hatched, almost as soon as they’ leave the eggs they spin a small irregular mass of English almost invisible lines, in the middle of which they cluster to- ga dean gether, forming themselves into a ball about the size of a cherry stone.? This hangs apparently in midair, and an obseryer ap- proaching it to discover its nature touches some one of the slender lines by which it is suspended, or some twig near enough to communicate mo- tion to them. In an instant a hundred living atoms begin to disperse, the solid little ball seeming for a moment to be turning into smoke, so minute are the animals, so rapid are their motions, and so invisible the means of their dispersion. After a few seconds, if the disturbance be not repeated, the little creatures begin to subside again into a cluster, which is not at once restored to its former small size, since a thousand legs, how- ever minute, require a little time for the necessary curling, packing, and ‘settling by which this animate sphere of snugging spiderlings is formed. _A series of careful observations, made and communicated to me by Mrs. Treat, confirm the above records and furnish some interesting details. Females of Epeira harrison *® were brought from New Hamp- The | shire to Vineland in October, and there made their cocoons in Side the same month. ‘These the mothers fastened to the ceiling after the fashion of the Domicile spider, and as long as life lasted manifested an unvarying love and care for the future offspring. As soon as a cocoon was completed the mother addressed herself to protecting it from insect foes and frost. For this purpose she scraped weather beaten boards with her mandibles, and made little pellets of the gray chippings, with which she covered the cocoon, which thus resembled somewhat a nat- ural inequality in the wood. The younglings did not leave the cocoon until the following spring. When they first came out they moved about six inches distant and formed a compact mass like a miniature swarm of bees, in which con- dition they remained a day or two, Finally, the mass broke up and formed four groups, in which they remained another day. Then they separated, and the united spinning labors of the entire brood made a thick web five or six inches in length and breadth. Herein they left their first baby clothes strung thickly along the innumerable lines. 'There- after they began to disperse, scattering everywhere around the house, each spinning a perfect little orb not much larger than a silver dollar. At this stage the observer began to look upon her spiderling emigrants with dismay. Several hundred must have emerged from each cocoon; and, 1 Staveley, British Spiders, page 239. , i ’ ] f=) * There must be a mistake here as to size; the clusters of Diademata would surely be much larger. * Epeira cinerea Emerton. COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 225 besides, a number of half grown specimens brought from New England with the colony, would be mothers in the fall. Thus, with the actual and prospective issue, an aranead inyasion seemed imminent, carrying therewith the prospect that house, vineyard, and grounds would be en- swathed and shrouded in cobwebs. Mrs. Eigenmann has informed me of like behavior on the part of the young of Epeira gemma, at San Diego, California. A number of females had been placed, about the 1st of November, in tin cans, where California they deposited their large tawny brown cocoons, The cans with fe their enclosed. cocoons were placed aside, and when opened Feb- ruary 5th following, an interval of three months, they contained numbers of little yellow spiders, marked with a black spot posteriorly on the abdomen. One can was put out of doors and opened. In a few hours a silken ladder of delicate lines had been made from the tip upward eighteen inches to the buds and flowers of Encelia californica growing in the garden, At the top the ladder was attached to a bud which was bent downward, and between it and the stem of the plant some filmy spider weaving served as a scaffold. Upon this the spiderlings had as- sembled in three separate bunches, somewhat triangular in outline, which suggested to the observer tiny bunches of very prolific grapes. Mrs. Eigen- mann reinclosed the spiders within the tin, in order to ship them to me, but in the act many escaped. The rest arrived safely, and immediately upon the opening of the can issued forth and began to spin their delicate filaments. VII. The brood fraternity of spiderlings, in connection with their rapidly developed tendency to spin themselves away from the home centre, leads : to the accidental formation of objects that curiously resemble Bridge ridges, canopies, and tents. When they begin to move they and Tent drag after them fine filaments of silk. A hundred spiderling Making, 8g after them fine filaments of silk. undred spiderlings, more or less, passing from point to point and back and forth by single bridge lines, and keeping close together, will not be long in laying out a series of lines and ribbons that suggest miniature roadway trestles and cables of a wire bridge. One of the most curious miniatures of this sort which I have known was once made in my library. A package of cocoons of Zilla x-notata, sent to me from California by Mrs. Eigenmann, was laid upon a long table. One morning, upon entering the room, I found that the spiders had hatched and issued from the openings in the lid of the package, a large cylindrical fruit can. From the summit of this can, as from a bridge pier, the spiderlings had strung their lines to books and paper boxes laid upon the table, and thus formed a series of piers and abut- ments. They had already woven a sheeted way several inches wide, that eee ee | ~~ 226 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. stretched above the middle of the table for five feet. ‘Thence it spread upward, in diverging threads, to the window curtain, on which many of the wee adventurers hung. (Fig. 253.) I kept the bridge for several days, during which time the roadway received many additional strings, and some of the baby bridge builders spun delicate little cobwebs along the edges and among the trusses of their bridge, and, separating them- selves from their fellows, set up housekeeping for themselves. Another example shows that precisely the same habit exists among Baby RoD BribseIuildg Zi i I Fig. 258. Bridge of spinningwork laid by a brood of Epeiroid spiderlings. spiders widely separated in structure. A large specimen of Ctenus was sent to me by Prof. 8. M. Scudder, who had received it from a Young = friend. The animal had come from Central America, and had y liis brought her cocoon with her. This was a large conical object * nearly an inch in diameter, constructed like the ordinary Lyco- sid cocoon. The mother with her egg bag was placed in a box, and after a few days, tired of lugging her cradle, hung it to the side of the box in a hammock of loosely meshed lines. It was not long before an immense host of little Ctenids, several hundreds in number, issued from the cocoon, crawled out of an opening in the cover of the box, and distributed them- selves over a large study table in my room at the Academy of Natural Sciences. — SS sr eS rrmU rmCmUmUr LA ~ ——— COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 227 On opening the door one morning I was surprised to find every object upon the table—books, manuscript, pamphlets, bottles, inkstand—including the box in which the mother spider was contained, literally covy- ee, ered with a mass of sheeted spinningwork, which lay over the saa tops of the objects on the table like a thin silken cloth. It Tower. Showed the inequalities of those objects, thus presenting a good miniature model of the immense cantonment of a modern tray- eling circus company, This remarkable structure concentrated upon the tallest object on the table, a large box standing at one corner. ‘lo this Fig, 254, Bridge lines, canopies, and turret spun by a brood of young Citigrade spiders (Ctenus). point, evidently, the migrating brood had drifted, and here a strange sight was presented. Favored by the breeze, one adventurous spider had ap- parently found its output line borne upward until it caught upon the ceil- ing. Up it mounted, and in a little while was followed by others, each spiderling dragging after it a similar thread, until at last a tower like structure was formed, the base of which is represented in the drawing, Fig. 254, reaching entirely to the ceiling of the room, a distance of eight or ten feet. At several places along this were lines which issued towards 228 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. the window and other parts of *the room, marking points where little ad- venturers, following their inherent tendency, had departed from their “ Biffel Tower” of spinning threads, and dispersed into other parts of the building. VIII. A valuable account of life within the cocoon of a mother Argiope is given by Frederick Pollock, Esq. The cocoon, which resembles substan- tially that of Argiope argyraspis, contained from six hundred to Argiope one thousand bright yellow eggs glued together in the shape of ARE a bean. The egg shells burst at the end of the fourth week. Tike, The spiders at that time were helpless and nearly transparent. At the end of the fifth week they cast off their first skin and became quite lively and active. Their color at this time was a bright yellow, with darkish legs. Their bodies were about the size of an ordi- nary pin head. Three or four dark spots gradually developed down each side of the abdomen. At about the end of the seventh week the spider- lings emerged through a small hole probably gnawed by them. After departure from their cocoon their habits, as reported by Mr. Pol- lock, agree with those of young Epeiroids as heretofore described. ‘They club harmoniously together, hanging closely packed in a ball, upheld by numerous lines attached to adjacent objects. This community life con- tinues for ten days or a fortnight, the spiders occasionally separating them- selves from their snugged or balled estate, but always reverting to it. Dur- ing this time they eat nothing. At the close of a fortnight this friendly condition ceases. ‘The indi- viduals of the brood scatter abroad, and each individual makes a round web about the size of a penny. Mr. Pollock conjectures that on account of the extreme weakness of these webs few insects are held by them, and that in consequence hundreds of spiderlings at this precarious period of their existence perish from starvation or other causes. He thinks that not more than one or two out of the entire brood survive. In this estimate of mortality he is doubtless correct as Mortality fay as certain seasons are concerned. A heavy storm will destroy First Webs. Amon “ne C hee & a whole brood. The presence of some skillful enemy will work Young. %® similar destruction, but under favorable circumstances quite a number of the brood will survive. The contingencies, however, are uncertain, and the life of baby spiders during the first few weeks of their existence hangs by an even weaker thread than that which they spin. Their little webs are strong enough to hold microscopic insects, the only kind that spiderlings could prey upon at their time of life. 1 Qn the History and Habits of Epeira aurelia, Annals and Magazine of Natural His- tory, page 459. COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 229 When young Aurelia begins to construct snares it also begins to feed, to grow, and become darker. Mr. Pollock thinks that in a month or two from that time, according to the food it gets, the spiderling changes its skin. The females have nine changes after leaving the cocoon. From the first to the eighth moult these changes take place pretty regularly, under favorable circumstances, at periods in- creasing gradually from about fifteen to twenty-five days. For about two days preceding each change the spider seems to eat nothing, and remains motionless. The operation of getting out of the old skin isa strange looking per- formance, and is thus effected: The spider is fastened firmly, by a thread from the spinnerets, close to the under side of the web; the ie I legs are all gathered together, and appear to be fixed to a spot oulting. : ; : close by; the body hangs downwards, the skin begins to split at the sides, and the spider, by a succession of powerful efforts, lasting about an hour, gradually draws its legs out of the old skin. When fairly freed, its former attitude is reversed, for it hangs with the end of its abdomen uppermost and its legs dangling loosely down; they are now quite soft, flexible, and semitransparent, the abdomen slender, and the spider feeble and exhausted. It can scarcely crawl or exert itself in any way. It remains stationary for about an hour, then turns its legs up, and climbs by its attaching line to the web, where it remains motionless for some forty-eight hours, after which it resumes its usual habits. Should it at any time whilst young lose a limb or part of one, nothing appears to occur towards its reproduction until at least one subsequent change of skin has taken place; the new leg is not much more Lost than half the length of the corresponding perfect part, and is Pea: of a somewhat lighter color. These stunted limbs Mr, Pollock thought of little use to the spider; and he could not notice that there was any reproduction of limbs lost after the seventh change of skin. The moults take place regularly from the first (after leaving the co- coon) till the eighth. Then the spider is adult, and begins making cocoons, the first in a month’s time, and others at periods within Moulting Periods. Begin- from about fifteen to twenty-five days apart. About a week ning to : a F ee Cocoon, “ter the fifth cocoon has been made the spider changes its skin for the last time, rests from its egg laying for about thirty days, makes five more cocoons at intervals of from fifteen to twenty-five days, and dies a week or so after making its last one. The spots on the sides of the abdomens of young Aurelias gradually disappear, and give place to handsome markings of regular transverse bands across the abdomen of silver and orange alternating with black, a silver thorax, and transverse stripes of brown and black on the legs.' 1 Ann, and Mag. Nat. Hist., 1865, pages 460, 461. i i _ 230 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. TESS Naturalists have at various times recorded descriptions of “ gregarious spiders,” which have attracted especial interest by their singularity. Dar- win mentions a “gregarious Epeira” found in great numbers Grega- near St. Fe Bajada, the capital of one of the provinces of La rious f : ; ipidpre Plata. The spiders were large, of a black color, with ruby marks : on their backs, and were all of one size, so that they ‘could not Darwin. , have been a few old individuals with their families.”! The ver- tical webs were separated from each other by a space of about two feet, but were all attached to certain common lines of great length, that extend- ed to all parts of the community. In this manner the tops of some large bushes were encompassed by the united nets. These gregarious habits in so typical a genus as Epeira seemed to the distinguished author to “ pre- sent a singular case among insects which are so bloodthirsty and solitary that even the sexes attack each other.” In point of fact Mr. Darwin had only come across a brood of Epeiroids, who, for some reason of en- vironment, as protection from the wind, freedom from enemies, or abun- dance of food, or from sluggishness of nature, had kept within a com- paratively limited space after egress from the cocoon. It is therefore not allowable to speak of this colony as a “community,” in the ordinary sense of the word as applied to such social insects as ants, termites, bees, and wasps. Don Felix de Azara had the same misconception, if indeed it be one. Although the family of spiders, he says, is for the most part regarded as of solitary habit, there is one in Paraguay which lives in a com- Spider munity to the number of more than a hundred individuals. mmu- * . ‘ aire Each spider builds a nest larger than a hat, and suspends it aloft Azara. %t the canopy of a high tree or the ridge piece of a roof, in such a manner as to be a little sheltered from above. From this a great number of threads issue in all directions, into every available part. The lines, in fact, are fifty or sixty feet long, white and thick. They are traversed by other threads of great fineness, upon which are entangled winged ants and other insects, which serve as food for the community of spiders, each individual of which eats what itself had trapped. These spi- ders all die in autumn, but leave in their nest eggs which are hatched out the ensuing spring.” In both the above cases the facts are undoubtedly recorded correctly; but the inference from them can scarcely be justified. Darwin, who briefly refers to the account of Azara, appears to be quite right in thinking the Spaniard’s “community” to be of the same species as his own, although Walckenaer gives in a note the opinion that the ' Voyage of Beagle, Vol. IIL, Zoology. * Voyages dans L’Amérique Meridionale. Par Don Felix de Azara. Tome Premier, page 212, 1806. Walckenaer’s French edition. 4 COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 231 y aH aaa! Si . ie a (Sp BS . Paes aunt HS Za Be He HH \ [J Waal Maar ae : VSS, aly SS: \ SY P< S| as: ! 4 A MAIR i] it Th] { ue \ As Pe) = —— = rudimentary nest is shown in the angles, and the orientation of the froe Via. 255. A colony of young Epeira triaranea upon a lattice screen. The radius illustrated. | | Zou AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. spinningwork indicated a Lineweayer—Theridium, perhaps. Darwin, how- ever, saw no “central nest” in which the eggs were laid; and here I think he misreads Azara, who appears to me to mean that every orbweb has a cocoon or string of cocoons attached to it, pre- cisely as is the case with Cyclosa caudata, or hung in the retitelarian labyrinth aboye the orb, as is the case with the Labyrinth spider. That Darwin saw no cocoons is not strange, for his observation was made in spring (“May-June”), and as the colony was evidently a spring brood, doubtless immature, the pairing had not begun, and the eggs would not have been deposited until autumn, which in fact was the time when Azara saw them. The two accounts do not, therefore, contradict, but confirm each other. All the details of these two narratives—the number of the brood, the uniformity of the size, the distance by which the individual webs were separated, the straggling uniting threads, which were probably simply incidental to the Orbweavers’ habitual behavior, and not an essen- tial part of the snare—seem to me to justify the conclusion that these were not “communities,” but simply accidental assemblages of individuals, each one of which still maintained its solitary habit. Nevertheless, one should express this opinion with some reservation in view of the possibili- ties of Nature. The opinion here expressed is largely based on studies of broods both in_ artificial sites and afield. I have often found small groups of the Laby- rinth spider, which have been spoken of as “colonies,” occupy- ing one bush, and presenting an appearance in kind the same as, but greatly less in degree, than the broods described by Azara and Darwin. I have seen snares of young Triaraneas hung along the strips of a latticed chicken house, in great numbers and close contiguity, more than forty of such webs appearing within a space of fifteen feet. Another similar colony appeared in the latticed screen of a cottage kitchen at Asbury Park, a section of which is given at Fig. 255. The rudimentary nests appear in the angles; and the tendency of the species, at the begin- ning of life, to preserve the characteristic open sector and free radius at the top of the orb, is well shown, as also the disposition to vary the loca- tion of the nest to right or left, according to convenience or whim. An old stone barn in the vicinity of Philadelphia has at times pre- sented to me an appearance most interesting and beautiful, by reason of the immense number of orbwebs spread over one of the gables. Darwin. Spider Colonies. sacl Placing the face close to the wall so as to get the right reflec- Barn: tion of light, I saw the whole surface of the building, from foun- dation to roof, covered with orbs as closely set as space would well allow. Along the cornice of the roof they were especially massed in manner not at all unlike the “community” of Azara. As the morning light played upon the beaded spirals and white strands, or flashed in rain- bow colors from gathered dewdrops, the whole showed a natural decoration COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 233 Fic. 256. A colony of Orbweaving spiders, formed on lines spun between boat houses extending into an inlet of the sea. 234 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. quite beyond the power of human art. These orbs were not all of one dimension, although multitudes did agree in size, but they were nearly all of two species, Epeira strix and Epeira triaranea, principally the former. They were undoubtedly composed of several broods of these ara- Acci- neads, of an equal age, who had, under favorable circumstances, pane been distributed in the same vicinity.! I may here again refer blage. (see Vol. I., page 64) to the numerous colonies of Epeira sclo- petaria which domicile within a limited area upon the surfaces of the boat houses at Atlantic City and Cape May, as another example of accidental rather than gregarious assemblage. These colonies spin their orbs between the outer walls, above the Inlet waters and hang the snares to foundation lines ten and fifteen feet long. (Fig. 256.) My notes show several ob- servations of this kind: At the summit of a tall branch- ing weed had been woven a large orbweb, which, probably after it had been abandoned, was occupied by a group of young Epeiroids, Furrow spi- ders. These little settlers, with a fine acquisitiveness that sug- gested the once famous Amer- ican theory of “squatter sov- ereignty,” had seized upon the araneal commons, and every one appropriating to itself a corner or segment of the ter- ritory, had woven a small orb- web, These snares were pitched between the radii, which in Ii. 257. Young Orbweayers nested on an adult snare. places were cut away, and which made excellent founda- tion lines. (Fig. 257.) This certainly seemed a canny operation, and might have been held to savor of economy did not one know the prodigality of spiders in the matter of their spinningwork. This use of large abandoned webs I have elsewhere seen afield and also around houses, once in a hotel outbuilding, once in a broken window of a ‘IT have observed the same phenomenon at the Fish House of the historic club in the “State of Schuylkill,” on the banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 235 tannery. (Fig. 258.) I had never raised the thought of a “community ” to Account for these groupings, for I knew that the species represented therein had the solitary habit characteristic of Orbweavers. Another example fell under my observation, which more closely resem- bled those cited by Darwin and Azara. I once found on the slopes of Brush Mountain, Pennsylvania, just above the banks of the Juniata River, a large colony of the young of Uloborus plumipes. Their pretty horizontal webs were spread over the tops of a clump of low laurel bushes covering an area ten or twelve feet in diameter. It needed only increased size and more vigorous spinningwork to establish a close correspondence between the appearance of this brood’s en- ‘ampment and the ‘‘ community ” of La Plata. A case somewhat similar to this is recorded by Vinson as observed in the African island of Réunion.! In the great net of the Epeiroids, stretched between trees of Panda- nus, one might count the inmates living in colony (en famille), and in real harmony. ‘There were found spiders of all ages and sizes; there were Nephila nigra and N. inaurata, messmates so hearty; and there came the Linyphize to estab- lish themselves upon these huge snares in order to glean the petty prey. It is Vinson’s opinion that these little aranead parasites sought the protection of the large Orb- Fic. 258. “Squatter sovereignty.’ A colony of young weavers by suspending themselves pt pas Pa Me eee WIR thereto in innumerable quantities, in order to avoid the birds and other enemies. Probably the “ seeking” consists in the simple and natural fact that the young were bred in the neighborhood of the webs, and continued where they were hatched, avail- ing themselves of the spare spaces in the webs of their gigantic kindred, precisely as the little Furrow spiders of our figures. (Figs. 257, 258.) The Linyphias, however, apparently presented a case of real nest parasitism. X. Thus far our observations upon the habits of young spiders have been chiefly confined to the broods of Orbweayers. We turn now to consider ' Araneides des Isles de la Réunion, ete., pages xix., xxi. 236 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK, the habits of the younglings of other tribes. We shall find that, in propor- tion as the general habits of the species approach one another, there is a likeness in the behavior of the young, Between Lineweavers Young = and Orbweayers there is little difference. Their cocoons are com- Bea monly suspended within the intersecting lines that constitute the ’ regular snare. The little ones issue from the cocoon and arrange themselves in fluffy masses, following the tendency, which has already been noted, to climb as far towards the top as they can. Here they remain for a little while undisturbed by the mother and, as far as I know, unre- garded by her. Soon they spin themselves away to various convenient sites in the neighborhood, and establish housekeeping for themselves. Thus, in the case of those spiders which weave several cocoons, one brood after another will appear and disappear. Pholeus phalangioides, the “daddy longlegs” or cellar spider of our province, carries her bundle of eggs in her jaws until the little ones are ready to hatch, when she abandons them and they take their place, in accordance with the custom of other Lineweavers, at the top of the home snare. It will thus be seen that the young Lineweavers reared within the limits of the maternal snare have precisely the same habit as Orbweavers, like Epeira labyrinthea, that deposit their cocoons near their orbs within a supplemental snare of retitelarian lines. The young of Agalena nevia remain within the cocoon until they are lively little creatures covered AOE bearer Mantes with black hairs, apparently well able to skirmish Saltigrades, Bpiblemum scen- for themselves. ‘They then issue forth, and may be a a bark. (After found in great multitudes upon a dewy morning hanging beneath little sheeted webs spun upon the grass, leaves, upon the roadside, and even within the furrows of newly plowed fields. They are pretty little snares when thus covered with the beaded drops of morning dew, forming beautiful ob- jects for study under a common pocket lens. Tegenaria medicinalis presents little difference from Agalena in the gen- eral habit of the young. They leave the egg nest, rapidly disperse, and spread themselves into the neighborhood and immediately construct their characteristic webs. : The tendency of young spiders of the Wandering tribes to form colo- nies is not very decided, as, of course, the manner in which the young- lings are reared within the mother’s nest until they are able to set up housekeeping for themselves precludes such special habits as we find in the assemblages of Orbweavers and Lineweavers. But when the young Saltigrades have abandoned the maternal cell, groups of them may be seen underneath a bit of bark occupying their own tiny cells, which lie Agalena. COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 237 close to each other, forming thus a miniature colony. One of these settle- ments I have redrawn from Mr. Otto Herman's description of the Hun- garian spider fauna.! Bl. The disposition of some young spiders to settle in colonies in the neighborhood of their maternal origin may well be seen in the case of the Medicinal spider. For example, in my church cellar several cies windows have been left undisturbed, by my directions, in order that the various species inhabiting them might have free op- portunity to multiply and build in a natural way. On one window, which is represented in the accompanying cut (Fig. 260), an interesting spectacle is presented to the observer. The opening for the window is a deep one, the wall being four feet in thickness. The glass opens into an area exca- vated from the embankment outside, and through which light falls, dimly illuminating the window space. The’ whole place is occupied by spiders of several species. In the forefront may be seen the web of intersecting lines spun by Theridium serpentinum. The mother has disappeared, but her eight co- coons of flossy white silk still (in midwinter) hang in the midst of the maze of crossed lines, almost as spotless as when spun, appearing to have little capacity to gather the dust and muck of the cellar. Just beyond, and almost filling the capacious opening, the long cables of Theridium tepidariorum are stretched. Here the mother had her home, and she has left a dozen of her pear shaped, yellowish brown egg bags within the meshes of the snare. Beneath this a species of Linyphia has stretched her sheet like web, and as late as Christmas (1889) was found hanging beneath it, apparently patiently waiting to pick up such chance prey as the late season might bring her. Small snares of young individuals of the two species of Theridium above mentioned are woven at various points in the intervals. In a few the proprietors may be seen hanging back down- ward; from others the spinners have disappeared into various crevices and rugosities of the rough plastered window. Further on we reach the glass window frames close against the area. In either corner, and occupying the angle for a considerable distance on either side, are stretched the triangular shaped webs of Tegenaria medicinalis. Some of them are quite large. All are covered with cellar dust and soot. Some of them look broken and aban- doned. In others, if one follows the snare to the angle and runs his fin- ger into the turret, he will find still living the sombre colored spider that wove the web. These webs and towers are or were the snares and homes Medicinal Spider. 1 Wohnungscolonie yon Hpiblemum scenicum unter Rinden. Magyarorszig Pok-fadija (Hungarian Spider Fauna), Vol. L, irta Herman Otto, pl. iii., Pig. 64. 238 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD, 239 of the adult species, both male and female. Between these larger webs, occupying the angles and spread along the window frames, one sees many smaller webs. ‘They occupy the angles where the intersecting frames of the sash cross one another. ‘hey are built just underneath the frames, They are stretched from the top of the frame to the surface of the glass, and some of them are woven upon the glass itself. They are small as compared with the webs of the adults, and they are of a bright bluish or lead colored silk, which has not been defiled by dust. I counted on this window as many as one hundred and six of these little tents, and in the neighborhood many spiderlings may be found. But many more have disappeared. Whither have they gone? Alas, A Camp there can be no doubt that many of them have fallen victims se of that fratricidal strife which is sure to appear when the young ‘of any brood of spiderlings have once set up housekeeping for themselves. Others, doubtless, have gone to satisfy the appetite of their own mothers, who, when once their broodlings have left the maternal care, make no distinction between their own and another mother’s offspring, but eat all indiscriminately that fall within their maws, while on still others alien species have preyed. The window presents an interesting object as it is thus depicted, and the carefully made photograph, which has assisted the artist’s study, accu- rately presents to the reader what may be seen by the student who takes his stand with the author and looks into this window. Elsewhere through- out the cellar the same phenomenon is presented. On another window I counted fifty-three of these youngling snares spread in like positions; but the one here figured is the most interesting object, and presents the largest exhibit I have seen of youthful spider industry intermingled on a natural site with the webs of adults and of other species. The Swedish naturalist Clerck saw many little Argyronetas swimming in the month of July,’ which indicates that they are hatched be! about that time, and appeared greatly to enjoy themselves in Spiders. sporting through the element which forms the environment of their home. The instinct of swimming is as fully developed in these little ones at the very outset of life as in their parents. According to De Lignac,? when the mothers of Argyroneta aquatica are about to oviposit they construct a new silken bell or renew that which : they have already made. ‘The eggs are enclosed therein, and Swim- when hatched one may see issuing from the beautiful balloon, ming Eix- f ‘ fale ; iia 5 i cursions. Which is shining white, a prodigious quantity of little bubbles, brilliant as quicksilver, which swim about in different. ways! These are the young water spiders. One female, obseryed and reported by this author made her cocoon on the 15th of April, and on the 3d of ' Aran. Svecici, pages 149, 150. 2 Op. cit., page 53. ee Oe 7 as — ea eee ee ee 240 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK., June following the little spiderlings issued forth. Their excursion was not simply for observation. They mounted in search of air. Many made little cells of their own upon a water plant wwii which they found in the vase; never- iat YW theless, they still continued to go into and out of the maternal mansion. Some of them threw themselves upon the corpse of a dragon fly larva, each one tugging at his own side in such a way that they tore the body as ferociously as two dogs engaged in dragging at a piece of flesh. Fig. 261. Lycosid mother, with her newly On the fifteenth day they changed hatched brood upon her back. . s their skin, and our observer saw a large number of their moults floating upon the surface of the water. After the young spiders had left the maternal cell it appeared transparent; but two days after the advent of the family a part appeared to be renewed, satiny, and opaque. When the balloon was deserted, the male, who had constructed a beautiful cell upon the surface of the water, sometimes came to visit the old apartment. hese spiders have a local attachment for the neighborhood of their cells. XII. The Lycosid mother referred to (page 143) presented a good oppor- tunity to observe the habits of her younglings. One month after her co- coon had been made, June 4th, the Spider- spider was found with the young ae hatched and massed upon her body, Hane from caput to abdomen. The empty egg sac still clung to her spinnerets, and the younglings were grouped upon the upper part of the same. The abdomens of the little spiders were of a light yellow color, the legs of a greenish brown or slate color, and the brood were tightly packed upon and around each other, the lower layers apparently holding on to the mother’s body and the upper upon those beneath it. Twenty-four hours thereafter the cocoon was dropped, and the spiderlings clung to the mother alone. An examination of Fic. 262. The site of brood of Dolo- the cocoon showed that the young had escaped {164s between a pont landing and from the thin seam or joint formed by the union of the egg cover and the circular cushion when the whole was pulled up at the circumference into globular shape. Pe ae eS ee ee eee ——— vo = -“ 7), COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 241 On June 11th, one week after the hatching of the young Lycosids, one hundred had abandoned the maternal perch and were dispersed over the inner surface of the jar and upon a series of lines stretched from side to side. About half as many more remained upon the mother’s back, but by the 18th, two days thereafter, all had dismounted. In the meantime they had inereased in size at least half, apparently without food.! One summer, at the steamboat landing of Lake Saratoga, New York, between the platform and the logs driven as piles to protect it, I observed a large nest of interlacing lines within which hung a round co- Young oon from half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter, Imme- Dee diately beneath the cocoon many young spiders were massed in seaduel ately bene: any y g@ spiders > mass colony, hanging inverted, in the usual posture, from the crossed lines of the maze. These were the little fellows who had been hatched within the swinging ege bag, and who had doubt- less issued therefrom within the last week or ten days. At least, they were so well grown that they might have been of that age. ; il the habit of Dolomedes, I i oe the habit of Dolomedes, I in- ‘ini ferred that this may have been the cocoon nest of one of the large Dolomede spiders that frequent the borders of our i American lakes and other wa- ae i i ea a HSH j ters. I captured some of the iN Nt “Al MTT young spiders, with some diffi- Fis. 263. View of Dolomede cocoon in site, and part of the culty however, for they were brood hanging to the supporting lines. old and active enough to scamper away upon the least agitation of the snare. An examination showed that they were young Dolomedes, proba- bly Dolomedes tenebrosus, a spider that attains great size under favor- able circumstances. No doubt, the mother had carried her cocoon along the shore, hiding among rocks or underneath the platform of the boat landing, until Nature prompted her to the last action characteristic of her The cocoon was so evi- | Hii dently of the Lycosid charac- i Mii ter that I was for a moment a | il HH perplexed to find it in such ous | I a position. But, remembering HA | | H H ' Proceedings Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1884, page 138, “ How Lycosa fabricates her round cocoon.” 242 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. species. ‘Thereupon she swung it within a tented maze as described and figured, and probably set herself to watch in some convenient position. She, however, had disappeared when the naturalist came upon the scene, and may have perished or returned to her life occupation of capturing insects upon the blue waters of Lake Saratoga. Fig. 262 shows the posi- tion of the snare and cocoon in site, and Fig. 263 shows the snare enlarged, with the cocoon about natural size, and the young clustered beneath. When one approaches the cocooning nest of Pucetia aurora he usually sees the mother hovering over her offspring, or starting a new sac of eggs. She makes two and sometimes three cocoons on one twig. Some- times the young ones will still be within an old cocoon while the mother is enclosing a new bundle of eggs immediately ad- joining the old one. The young were not seen upon the mother’s body by Mr. Wright, who forwarded the specimens to me from California. The mother stays close by her cocoon nest. If the spiderlings be hatched out, she will perhaps drop down a foot or more. If the first effort to capture her be not successful, she will not drop to the ground unless forced to do so. If engaged in carrying her cocoons, it requires force to separate her from them. (See Chapter V., page 147, and Fig. 180.) The young ones take alarm sooner than their mother. ‘They drop down a few inches from their perch on the maze of intersecting lines surround- ing the cocoon, or, at times, as far as two feet, each one suspended to a tiny thread, forming thus a pretty swinging fringe to the overhanging nest. In a few moments, if no further alarm be created, the younglings reas- cend by their traplines to their perch, but, if they be frightened again, will drop entirely to the ground and run into concealment. In such cases the little ones were not observed to jump, as is the habit with the mother, The young of Lycosids generally escape from their cocoons through the seam which extends around the central part. It is thinner at this point and splits nearly around the whole circumference, so that the young come out in a body. But with the Turret spider, Lycosa arenicola, the young cut a smooth, round hole in the cocoon just large enough for them to come out one by one. The first three weeks the little objects are piled all over the head and thorax of the mother, often completely blinding her. They seem ambitious to reach the highest point, and jostle and crowd one another in various efforts to be at the head of the heap. The mother patiently endures this for a time, but when her younglings become too thick over her eyes, she takes her long fore legs, which she uses as feelers or hands, reaches up and scrapes off an armful and holds them straight in front of her. Soon she gently releases them, slowly opening her arms, and they quietly take their places around the edge of the tower, where they usually remain until the mother goes below, when they all follow. Upon her reappearance they are again stationed upon her back. Pucetia aurora. Turret Spider. i | 7 a a COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 243 The young do not all leave the mother at the same time, but go out in detachments, when about three weeks old. When three or four weeks old the mother manifests a disposition to send them adrift. She is no longer quiet and patient, but frequently picks up one of her babies and throws it across the jar, yet seems to be careful not to injure it. She behaves much in the same way that the higher animals do in weaning their young. When the spiderlings leave the mother’s back they run up a tree or some neighboring plant and are lost to sight. Some linger with the mother until the cold weather begins. ‘The mother clears the ragged webs and moults from her body and looks plump and bright. She sits on the top of her tower with the remaining little ones stationed around the edge. They now seldom rest upon her, and when she goes within her burrow they all follow. Upon her reappearance a few spiderlings, it was observed, had availed themselves of the opportunity of being carried up upon her back, but they did not remain there. One of this brood was observed making a small burrow in the jar in which it was confined. The tube was less than one-fourth inch in diam- eter, and the spiderling was two days in excavating an inch below ae the surface. On the top of this burrow it built up a tiny tower uilding. : A 5 . fully half an inch high, which was made wholly of earth inter- mingled with web. In digging, the diminutive architect brought the little pellets in its mandibles, and those which it did not wish to use in the tower it let fall by the side. It did not shoot the earth to a distance as the adult Turret spider does, but stood on the top of its tower, opened its mandibles, and let the pellet drop. At the same time it threw apart its legs as if that would help it to dispose of the earth, a movement which Mrs. Treat speaks of as being very baby like. The actions of this little Turret builder showed emphatically that she had shut herself apart from the rest of the family and would not be annoyed by them, Frequently one of her brothers or sisters, meandering about, came to its little tower, and not often would one pass by without going up and looking in. ‘This always seemed to exasperate the small householder. She dropped her work, sprang from the top of her tower, and sometimes chased the fleeing brother half across the jar, then turned and went back to her work. No such disposition was manifested, as far as Mrs. 'Treat observed, as long as the younglings remained with the mother. During that period they crowd together, walk over each other, and never have any quarrels. At the end of the sixth week after birth most of the brood, if per- mitted, would abandon the maternal nest and build tubes and towers for _ themselves. ‘Two had erected their towers within two inches of ea one another, and they sat on the tops of their turrets, often facing each other and watching the tiny scavenger beetles that bred in the jar and lived on the refuse insects thrown out by the mother, _ Leaving Home. 244 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. These beetles were food for the young housekeepers, but Mrs. Treat thought that they were not to their taste as much as flies, although they dared not as yet take a living house fly, and if one came near them they quickly dodged within their burrows. If a fly were killed and laid on the tower, however, they would try to take it within, but it being impos- sible to do this with the wings and legs adhering, they made many in- genious but futile attempts to get the large carcass inside the burrow. If the wings and legs were removed from the insect, and laid upon the tower, the carcass was soon carried below and after a few hours was brought up to dry and thrown out.! In November the Tiger spiders all hermetically close their doors and keep them shut until the following April, when they again come forth, the females each with a cocoon of eggs attached to the spinner- ets. The eggs hatch in May, and the young spiders crawl upon the mother’s back, literally covering her body. After a few days they leave her, and all at once come rushing out of the burrow. For two or three months these young spiders flit about here and there over bushes and on the lower branches of trees, seemingly ambitious to get to higher places. Toward the end of July their roving lives cease, and they settle down and dig little burrows in the earth, which they do not conceal the first season. The wasps do not molest the young ones. The following spring, when a year old, they are little more than half grown, and during the summer they grow rapidly and moult several times, each time changing their appearance. By August they seem to be nearly full grown, when their enemy, the wasp, makes havoe among them. By thus tracing the life history of this spider we find it to be two years old before the first brood of young are hatched, and, if no accident befalls it, it probably lives several years.? Lycosa tigrina. XIII. Mr. Frederick Enock * determined the manner in which the young of Atypus piceus issue from the parental nest, and their subsequent behavior. October 15th he dug up five tubes, each containing a male arid female. The males were removed, and the tubes containing the impregnated females were reset in a bank at the bottom of a garden, and were kept under daily notice during the seasons following. March 28th of the next year the aerial extensions of the tubes, which dur- ing the winter had laid nearly flat upon the bank, showed signs of being repaired by the inmates. On the next day in the apex of each of the five tubes there was observed a small round hole one-sixteenth of an inch Young Atypine. * Mrs. Mary Treat, “Home Studies in Nature,” Harper’s Magazine, May, 1880. * Idem, page 712. * Trans. Ento. Soc. Lond., 1885, page 395. 2 dete ts COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 245 in diameter. The succeeding day, March 30th, was warm, and at ten o’clock morning a young Atypus was observed to emerge from one of these holes. It was shortly followed by others, until ten had left the home of their birth never more to return, A few younglings also issued from two others of the tubes. The first young Atypus that emerged walked a short distance to the foot of a grass stem, up which it crawled, leaving its silken thread as it went along. When it had climbed about an inch high an- “ Fol- other young one came out, took hold of the first line, adding its ret He thread to it; and so on, each successive youngling following the ‘leader, which, by the time the tenth one emerged, had mounted up several inches. As the leader climbed from stem to stem it bridged over the intervening space with the never ending silken cord, along which each successive spiderling followed, strengthening. it as they passed, until it became quite visible, glistening in the sun. The spiderlings above alluded to kept mounting up higher and higher, and ascended to the top of a number of pea vine sticks which had been planted in the neighborhood, and were about three feet and a half above the ground. The first adventurer, having arrived at the top of one of these sticks, walked around and around it. The others soon joined the first, and none seemed inclined to descend by the way the.party mounted. The rising wind gently swayed the sticks about, until some of the spiders were blown off into midair, but still keeping hold upon their endless silken cord until they became attached to other sticks. These they mount- ed as they did the first; but were again and finally carried off by the breeze at five o’clock afternoon, and landed upon the ground, where they hid themselves among the grass and rubbish, no doubt taking lodgings therein for the night, during which there was a sharp frost. The next morning all the small outlets of the tubes were carefully spun up, and, judging by the character of the web, Mr. Enock thought that the mothers had closed the openings to prevent the remaining mem- bers of the family leaving the parental nest until more favorable weather would permit them to do so with safety. The above behavior appears to represent accurately the ordinary habit of the spiderling Atypus immediately after exode. That is to say, it first ; seeks a position at the summit of any neighboring plants or First elevated objects, from which it is carried away by the wind ae upon an aeronautic expedition of greater or less extent. Fall- Habits. img upon the earth, it conceals itself for a little while, and then proceeds to dig in the sand or soil a tube which is extremely minute, corresponding in size to the spider digging it. As the spider- ling grows it enlarges its tube, or, removing from the one in which its child life was passed, prepares another nest better adapted to its mature condition. —_— - — ee ni ee 246 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. In these particulars the young of Atypus differ little, perhaps, I may say, not at all, from the habits of Lycosids, after they have left their mother’s back and started housekeeping for themselves. Indeed, the re- semblance has a wider range among the tribes, inasmuch as Orbweavers, Laterigrades, and Saltigrades show the same disposition to seek elevated objects immediately after exode, and thence procure dispersion by means of the wind. The mother Atypus may occasionally carry its young upon its back during residence within the parental nest, but has not been seen doing this outside of its cave. This fact is not strange, since it rarely leaves its tube at all, but spends its entire life within its silken domicile, which is for it alike home, snare, nursery, and grave. According to Mr. Enock, maturity is not reached until the Atypus is at least four years old. The young of Atypus piceus were seen by Mr. Enock, September 25th, in the same nest with the female, looking very white and moving feebly, as evidently just hatched. He found the young nested with the mother at various dates through September, October, November, and again in March and April of the year following. It is thus established that after the young leave the cocoon in August and September, they remain with their mother during the entire autumn and winter, and during the early spring until the weather is mild enough to justify their leaving the ma- ternal home and establishing nests of their own. What they feed upon during this period is not known. Much of the time, no doubt, they are in a torpid condition, requiring no food. There is not the slightest evidence that they prey upon one another. Nurture [i is possible that the mother may provide food for them, and, aoe indeed, this is highly probable. If so, these troglodyte spiders furnish a beautiful example of domesticity; and the maternal care shown by creatures so unprepossessing in personal appearance and occupants of such gloomy homes, is not excelled by that of any of the known lower animals. I might, perhaps, truthfully add that the more highly organized vertebrates scarcely exhibit a greater amount of maternal tenderness and care. The immense cocoon of Mygale, sometimes as large as a hen’s egg, is stocked with as many as two thousand eggs. In Cayenne the little My- galide, when issuing from the cocoon, are attacked and de- Young voured by red ants, and are too feeble to offer effectual resist- Taran- ; ree ial ance. Walckenaer describes the contents of a cocoon of Mygale avicularia from Cayenne, which was infested by a multitude of parasitic Cynips. Numbers of young spiders were found therein. They were about two lines long, of uniform yellowish white color, except at the eye space, which was brown. The long spinnerets showed at the apex of the abdomen. The mandibles were prominent and curved, the eyes very apparent. All the characteristics of the genus were well developed. COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 247 The inner intermediate eyes were large and of a reddish brown, The first pair of legs were longer than the fourth pair.! It is a suggestive fact in the natural history of these immense repre- sentatives of a race so destructive to insect life to find them the victims of such puny creatures as parasitic Ichneumon flies and Cynips, and to see their young devoured in multitudes as a delicate morsel by little red ants. It is thus that Dame Nature knows how to keep an equilib- rium in the thronging life of the insect world, and, moreover, to bring it about by what seems an apt and admirable stroke of justice well in accordance with ‘the eternal fitness of things.” XIV. Mr. Moggridge was fortunate enough to see the female of Nemesia me- redionalis constructing a trapdoor in captivity, after having been placed in a flower pot full of earth, in which a cylindrical hole had been made in order to forward the spider’s operations. She quickly disappeared into this hole, and during the night following made a thin web over the aperture, into which she wove any materials that came to hand. At this stage the trapdoor resembled a rudely constructed hori- zontal orbweb, attached by two or three threads to the earth at the mouth of the hole. In this web were caught bits of earth, moss, leaves, etc., which the spider had thrown into it from above. On the second night the door was nearly the normal texture and thickness, but in no case would it open completely. Mr. Moggridge believed that when a door is fastened, the few threads which serve as supports and connect it with the earth on either side, are severed. Young Trapdoor spiders, both of the cork and wafer kind, when taken from the nest of the mother, will make their own perfect little dwelling in captivity, and Moggridge observed them construct tube and door within fifteen hours. This may be favorably compared with the work of the adult Cteniza moggridgii, which the same observer saw make a perfect tube and furnish it with a movable door in a single night when confined under gauze or moist earth.” The same author has enabled us to decide that the young Nemesia proceeds in precisely the same manner as the adult when it builds a nest. While engaged at night in sketching, he detected something mov- ing at the mouth of a tiny hole just large enough to admit a quill pen, in a mass of earth near where he sat. The lamplght fell full upon it, and he soon saw that the moving object was a very small spider, which was at work in the mouth of its tube. The opening of the tube was completely uncovered, and it soon became apparent that the little aranead was intent upon remedying this deacianoy, After a few threads Making a Trapdoor. Young Builders. 1 Walckenaer, Apttres, Vol. I., pages 218, 219. Grandoor Gaiden, Supplement, page 245. bo = e oe) AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK, had been spun from side to side of the tube, he watched the spider making one or two hasty sorties, apparently spinning all the while; and finally saw her gather up an armful, as it were, of earth and lay this on the web. After this the occupant of the tube was concealed, but the observer could see from the movement of the particles of earth that they were be- ing consolidated, and that the weaving of the under surface of the door was being completed. Next morning he could lift up the door, which had the form of a small cup of silk, in which the earth lay. It was then soft and pliant, but in ten days’ time it had hardened and become a very fair specimen of a minute door of the “cork” type.1 He had watched the proceedings of young spiders when taken from the mother’s nest in the following species: Nemesia manderstjernze, Nemesia eleanora, Nemesia congener, and Nemesia moggridgii, the first three con- structing wafer doors and the last a thick beveled or cork door nest. All of these very young spiders will excavate their own tubes and bring out pellets of earth, which closely resemble those carried out from their galler- ies by ants. The young brood while still in the mother’s nest will often comprise individuals of different sizes, and, though a majority are no larger than one-fourth ‘of an inch long, some may occasionally be found that are fully twice as large. The little nests which they make in captivity vary accord- ingly in size. A large number made in captivity varied in size from two lines (one-sixth inch) to three lines (one-fourth inch) in width. These little spiders need to be kept constantly supplied with flies, which should be killed and placed near their nests. They are often so greedy that they will try to drag a house fly into their tubes, for which it is much too large, and when the door is pushed open the fly remains sticking in the entrance of the nest, with its legs up in the air. One may often feed these by approaching carefully without causing any vibra- tion, pushing the fly, placed on the end of a pencil, within reach of the spider. ? Mr. Moggridge entertains the opinion that, as a rule, the mature trap- door nest with its hinged lid is the result of many successive enlarge- ments, beginning with the diminutive tube of the baby spider, Nest De- ‘ A a ates: 5 salen: which is no bigger than a crow quill. This infantile home is ony not abandoned, but is enlarged from time to time according to the growth of the inhabitant, and becomes the abode of the full grown spider. Of course, this must require a series of months, and possibly of years, for its accomplishment, and it is not unlikely, judging from what we know of the prolonged life of some of the Territelarie of other families (for ' Moggridge, Trapdoor Spiders, page 119. * Trapdoor Spiders, Supplement, 245. COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 249 example, that of Atypus piceus, as shown by Mr. IF. Enock, and that of Eury- pelma hentzii, as I have demonstrated by several species), that the Trap- door spiders may live for several years at least. Mr. Moggridge was inclined to think, judging from the character of the nest and its sur- roundings, that some which he saw had been occupied more than a year. Evidence of enlargement of the door is not rare to meet with, though, as a rule, the new piece is woven on to the old with such neatness as more or less to obscure these. Examples were found in which the old and smaller door of Nemesia meredionalis was partially attached to the large new door which had been constructed below it. This view is borne out by the fact that a cork trapdoor may be readily separated into a number of layers of silk, with more or less of earth be- ’ tween every one. These layers decrease in size from without sie and inwards, and together form a sort of saucer in which the small Doors, Central mass of earth lies. (See Fig. 264.)! By moistening a series of the cork trapdoors of Nemesia ce- mentaria, Moggridge was able to detach, in one of medium size, from six to fourteen circular patches of silk, of which the outermost, or that which forms the lower surface of the door, was the largest, and the inner- Fic, 264. Successive layers in formation of a trapdoor. (After Moggridge.) most the smallest, thus being in- termediate in size as in position. The last and smallest appears to be the first door the spider ever made, and the consecutive layers mark successive stages in the enlargement of the nest. Baron Walckenaer found more than thirty alternate layers of silk and earth in the nest of Cteniza fodiens.? Moggridge was confirmed in his opinion that these layers mark a suc- cessive enlargement of the nest, by the additional fact that in very small doors they are few or single, and a proportion is observable between the size of the door and the number of layers of which it is composed.* In order to test whether the doors were enlarged or not, Moggridge measured the surface doors of seven double door nests, and one minute cork door, on April 30th. On the 8th of October following he measured all these nests once more and found that they all were enlarged, the aver- age rate of increase being one and seven-tenths lines in the five and one- half months which had elapsed. ‘The highest increase of the eight was from five lines across to seven and one-half lines across. In none of the 1 After Moggridge, pl. xiv., and page 193. 2 Apt., Vol. I., page 228. * Trapdoor Spiders, page 125, and table from twenty-eight specimens examined, page 150. A, ee ee a 250 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. series had the increase been less than one line in width, which was equal to an increase of one-fourth the original width of the door. We can scarcely venture from such limited premises to draw any precise conclusions. But if we suppose that during the entire course the nests increased on an average by about four lines in diameter, and assume that the rate of growth continues the same, the nest of the infant spider, whose surface door measures scarcely a line across, would still require four years to attain the dimensions of some of the largest double doors, whose surface doors measure ten lines across.1 In the nests of several females of Cteniza ariana Walck., on the island of Niros, in the Grecian Archipelago, Mr. Erber found eggs at the bottom of the tube attached by separate threads, and not placed in Grecian ¢ocoons. The young spiders when hatched were turned out from se ie the asylum of their mother’s nest, and these creatures were Species. found, scarcely two lines long, already established in nests three inches deep and furnished with perfect trapdoors, specimens of which were collected.” Costa states that the young of Nemesia meredionalis, observed by him in the neighborhood of Naples, remain in the bottom of the maternal tube. The mother herself stands at the door, holding the lid raised by means of the four anterior feet and the palpi, the curved extremi- ties of which she inserts between the rim of the tube and the door. Some- times the limbs do not ap- pear, but the spider leaves FiG. 265. The trapdoor and burrow of a young Nemesia only a chink for observa- meredionalis. Natural size. (After Moggridge.) tion. He also observed the fact that the young spiders make perfect little tubes entirely inde- pendent of the maternal nest.* XV. Most persons who consider the above facts will cordially join with Mr. Moggridge in thinking that these very small trapdoor nests, built as they are by minute spiders probably not very long hatched from the Marvels ooos, must rank among the most marvelous structures of the kind with which we are acquainted. That so young and weak a creature should be sable to excavate a tube in the earth many 1 Moggridge, Trapdoor Spiders, page 127. ? Verhand. der k. k. Zoologish-botanischer Verein in Wien, Vol, X VIII. (1868), page 905. ® Costa, Fauna del Regno di Napoli, Aracnidi (1861), page 14, tab. i., Figs. 1-4. — <_< = — os | COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. , 5 times its own length, and know how to make a perfect ‘miniature of the nests of its parents, seems to be a fa Nature. (See Fig. 265.) When we remember how difficult ct which has scarcely a parallel in a thing it is for even a trained draughtsman to reduce by eye a complicated drawing or model to a greatly diminished scale, we must own that the performance of this feat by a baby spider is so surprising as almost to exceed belief. And yet even the most complicated form of trapdoor nest, namely, that of the branched double door type, is perfectly reproduced in miniature by these tiny architects, with the upper door, the lower door, the main tube, and the branched body accurately placed.! Mr. A. R. Wallace shows that there is some reason to doubt whether birds, which are so frequently said to build by instinct, would construct the nest proper to their kind if they were sep- arated from the mother at the earliest age and reared apart from her or oth- ers of her kind. He states that birds brought up from the egg in cages do not build the proper specific nest; nor do they even sing their parent’s song without being taught.2, Whatever may be the case with birds or other highly organized animals, there is not the slightest reason to doubt that, with spiders, all forms of nests are built in the most perfect condition by the young as soon as they are able to do any work at all after being hatched from the eggs. There is no fact which I have more frequently observed and demonstrated than that all the inter- , il Hg ‘ Os We « ly, v] m4 — Fic. 266. The spinningwork commons of a brood of young Agalenas, made in confinement. esting habits of spiders, including those which would appear to require the greatest reasoning powers, or the exercise of faculties that in highly or- ganized animals would imply the po ssession of experience and cunning ' Trapdoor Spiders, page 127. See Fig. b, plate ix., page 98. * Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection. 252 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. skill, are exercised in their utmost plenitude by baby spiders fresh from their cocoons. A few additional illustrations may be here grouped to- gether, although many examples are scattered throughout these pages. A brood of Agalena neevia hatched within a fruit jar, showed in a rather curious way the tendency of young spiders to imitate the parental snare. A leaf or two and several dry twigs had been placed within the Bou ee bottle, and these formed points of support for the delicate, sheeted spinningwork which the young Agalenas were not long in spin- ning. Soon a hollow cylinder of silk was woven inside the jar, quite near the glass. Now, the habit of this spider in natural site is to pierce her sheeted snare with a circular opening, to which is attached a funnel like tube leading downwards into the grass. The limitations of our imprisoned spiderlings would not permit them to form such a structure; but, yielding to the tendency of inherent instinct, they penetrated the sheeted cylinder with circular holes, which, curiously, were placed in little groups at various points. (See Fig. 266.) Through these openings the spiderlings came and went, and, although they were continually adding to the texture of the sheeted common by the draglines which they carried after them, I never observed that the circular holes were closed. When these little Agalenas make their exode in natural site, and have the opportunity to pursue unobstructed their natural tendency, they spin a little miniature of the maternal snare, except that, as a rule, the funnel like tube is not quite as distinctly marked, and does not form so prominent a part Fic. 267. Ayoung of the web. At the period when the Agalena broodlings are Agalenanevia. issuing from their cocoons they may be seen dispersed over all manner of surrounding surfaces, upon which they have spun their peculiar snares. They hang them between blades of grass, stretch them across the surfaces of leaves, weave them within the angles of houses and walls, in all kinds of crannies and corners, upon rocks, and boards, and logs, and bits of dry wood; and I have often observed them by scores and hundreds spun during an evening over the broken clods of a recently spaded garden patch, or along the furrows of a plowed field. ‘These tiny sheeted nests, when seen of an autumn morning covered with the beaded drops of dew and glistening in the early sunlight, present a remarkably beautiful appearance. A sketch of one of these dew covered nests is given at Fig. 268. M. Lucas observed on the part of certain young ‘Trapdoor spiders, Cteniza moggridgii, a behavior somewhat resembling that of these young Agalenas, but displaying even more decidedly the specific industrial char- acteristics. Mr. Moggridge sent some of the Ctenizas by mail to M. Lucas, at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, enclosed in little, wide mouthed, cylin- drical glass bottles. The young Trapdoors, in transitu or shortly there- after, lined the bottles with silk and then proceeded to close them at the COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 253 Fra, 268. Dew covered web of a young Speckled Agalena. a = - 254 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. mouth with a door fitting accurately into a beveled lip. In the manufac- ture of these doors fragments of moss, the only material at the spiderling’s disposal, were used in place of earth.! The behavior of two of the brood of Epeira sclopetaria referred to (Vol. I., page 150), was notable as showing in its plenitude the presence of the strongest instincts immediately after egress. A small insect, while Sone hovering around the lamp, was snared in the straggling lines. A Epeira. 3 : F ; spiderling near by instantly ran to it, threw out from its wee spinnerets jets of filaments, and completely enswathed the creature precisely in the manner of an adult. Another of the brood began in a few minutes after its coming to make an orbweb. The foundations were attached to the end of one of the lines hanging to the lamp globe by dropping a thread to the table, a distance of eighteen inches; then a triangular frame was formed by uniting a point of this thread to the opposite end of the upper line; within this frame a perfect orb was spun. (See Fig. 141, page 151, Vol. I.) I observed the whole process, laying in the radii, spinning the notched zone, the foundation spirals, the beaded spirals; all was complete, and an exact likeness of a perfect adult web. Neither of these young spiders could have been more than half an hour out of the natal tent; nor had they any previous ex- perience, having been excluded from all spinningwork what- peta soever; nor had they taken food of any sort. There was no ing in a foot cannibalism within cocoon or tent before the egress of the basket. * +s : brood, as not a single dead individual remained; every egg had hatched a perfect spider, and all the brood were gone, except three living ones, who remained within the tent until the next day. Nothing could more fully demonstrate the facts that the perfect exercise Charac- of the function of spinning, and the full possession of the char- ae acteristic habit of capturing prey, are innate with the spider- Innate. ling, and dependent upon and influenced by nothing external whatsoever. These facts, indeed, I have often demonstrated in the various families and species by experiments quite as conclusive as the above. A curious deviation from the harmony which prevailed throughout this Epeira brood was shown by the spider which made the aboye mentioned web and another who chanced to straggle upon it. The intruder passed along a radius toward the hub where the Orbweaver hung awaiting prey. The latter immediately turned and seized the radius with her feet, her little frame meanwhile showing in every part the vigor and expectancy of her kind when a victim strikes the web. A series of pulls and counter pulls ensued; then the two araneads ap- 1M. H. Lucas, Bull. des Seances de la Soc. Entom. de France, No. 27, page 107, 1874. COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. 255 proached. ‘There was a sharp contact, a momentary whirl of confused legs, a retreat by the maker of the orb, who dropped from her snare quite to the table, where she lay in the characteristic mimicry of death. This behavior—conscious feigning or unconscious paralysis, as the case may be—is shown by the youngest spiders when they are touched upon their webs, or handled when off them. Like the aeronautic habit, swinging by dropthread and foot basket (Fig. 268), snare weaving, and enswathing the prey, it also springs into being as a_per- fectly developed instinct. The intruder upon the snare followed the owner a little way towards the confines of her abandoned domain, then returned to the hub, and de- liberately settled herself in the natural attitude, as much at home as though she had herself spun the orb. The little exile meanwhile recovered from her paralysis and climbed over to the standard of the lamp, where I left her. The actions of these two spiders showed the most determined hostility, and I have no doubt that, had either gained the mastery, the other would have been fed upon. On the contrary, those of the brood hanging upon the commons swung cheek by jowl without the slightest demonstration of a cannibal propensity. I believe that the ordinary brood fraternity is broken with the spinning of the first snare, at whose construction the natural solitary and ferocious character of the creature, and all its wonder- ful instincts, heretofore dominant, are vivified and spring into active exer- cise. Possibly the little chappies are as much surprised as their human observer to find themselves possessed of such strange powers. Feigning Death Innate. "ss OR APT HE ae THE AERONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT. Many accounts have been published, more or less valuable, of what are popularly known as “flying spiders.” As the natural habits of familiar a animals have come to be better understood, this popular phrase Ph hr aed has yielded to the more accurate one, “ballooning spiders.” How- ever called, the habit referred to has been and remains interest- ing and attractive to the ordinary scientific observer. The fact that an animal which has none of the natural provisions for progress through the air granted to winged creatures, should, nevertheless, be able to over- come gravity, mount into the atmosphere, and accomplish aerial jour- neys, sometimes of immense distances, is certainly well suited to capti- vate the imagination, awaken curiosity, and stimulate research. This interest is quickened by the fact that the mode by which the spider aeronaut reaches these results bears a marked likeness to the artificial means by which man has himself solved the problem of aerial naviga- tion. The thought that the invention of Mongolfier’s mind possesses this striking analogue in the natural history of an inferior creature, strikes into a profounder depth than curious wonderment, and touches the prob- lem of a Supreme Mind over Nature. a I have studied the aeronautic habit of spiders from representatives of the Orbweavers, Tubeweavers, Citigrades, Laterigrades, and Saltigrades, and have not been able to note any difference in the mode of flight as practiced by all. It is probable that the young of most spiders, and many of the small species of all the great groups, are more or less addicted to such mode of motion. Certainly the habit is very strongly fixed in Orb- weavers. Epeiroid spiderlings just out of the cocoon lift themselves into the air and sail away, precisely in the manner hereafter described. In- deed, the infant aranead, when separated from its fellows and exposed to a strong puff of air, seems instinctively to throw out its spinnerets and send forth jets of silken filament, just as a human baby sets in motion its feet and hands. As the jets almost instantly acquire sufficient buoyancy to counter- balance the spider’s weight, the creature becomes an aeronaut, nolens yolens, and one can see how readily the deliberate habit of ballooning (256) THE AERONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT. 257 could have been formed and fixed by heredity. The largest Orbweaver that I ever saw taking flight was a partly grown Domicile spider about the size of a marrowfat pea, say one-fourth inch long. After having floated over a field and above a hedge row, it crossed a road and anchored upon the top of a young tree. It never attained a height of over twenty feet, but moved quite as fast as I could run. Young and small spiders fly rapidly, their motion depending, of course, upon the state of. the breeze, although they do not appear to undertake their aerial voyage when the wind is strong. How- aire ever, even when the air seems quite still to the observer, the little aeronauts find a sufficient current in the height to which they immediately ascend to bear them along with a good degree of speed. Indeed, I have been surprised at the velocity of their progress in the midst of what might be called a dead calm. Spider ballooning is not limited to a special period of the year, but may be practiced at any time. In point of fact, however, the seasons when it most prevails are the spring or early summer, and the autumn after the young have been hatched. The fall of the year is more especially the season for “ flying spiders,” and Oc- tober the month most favored. But in early November also the balloonists are abroad, particularly during the Indian summer, or when a series of cool days is succeeded by a warm day. Seasons and Con- ditions. II. The following studies! were made during October, in fields adjacent to Philadelphia and in the adjoining Delaware County. The days were warm and bright, with a soft wind from the west, or a gentle breeze blowing, but not steadily from any quarter. Stooping low and glancing along the meadow, the eye caught the sheen of myriads of fine silken filaments glistening in the sunlight. The tops of grass spires and the bushy heads of tall weeds were netted together by innumerable threads, and ‘from many points of the same filaments were streaming out at various lengths into the air. Numerous small spiders, chiefly Orbweavers, especially the young of Tetragnatha extensa, were rising from these plants and sailing over the field. The finest exhibition of the aeronautic flight was seen along a post and rail fence which divided the meadow, and the description of this may be considered as covering the like behavior among all balloon- Eleva- —_ ists scattered over the fields. The tops of the fence posts were pies * the favorite ascension points, and upon these clusters of young Lycosids were gathered, sometimes eight or ten in a group. The purpose in choosing these elevated spots is quite apparent, the currents of " Proceedings Academy Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1877, page 308, sq. ee ee ‘ ™ ee ee er ae 258 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. air being stronger there than close to the surface of the earth, and conse- quently affording much better facility for flight. The presence of a delib- erate and wise volition seems evident from the fact that the Lycosids are eround spiders, and not found habitually in such positions as the above. They had certainly mounted to the top of the fence with the settled pur- pose of taking advantage of the stronger breeze and better “ send off” which the superior height afforded. At least, it was easily determined that such an advantage did ensue from elevation. I selected some of the lower stalks of grass from which silken streamers were fluttering quite lazily. Close up to the stalk or blade I saw the spider placed back downward clasping the thread with its claws. Sometimes a thickened conical or flattened piece of silk marked this end of the line. When these grass stalks were broken off and lifted into the air the streamers fluttered out briskly and were soon snapped off, carrying the young araneads away with them. ‘These experiments showed that the act of ascension is aided by eleva- tion, both in these cases and in those where the spider mounts directly from the perch, The young Lycosids had generally chosen the yery tops of fence posts as points of ascent, and fortunately this site suited the observer’s convenience as Aq much as the spider’s, and I could there- FiG. 270. Attitude of aeronautie spider just fore notice with comparative ease the ss aa methods of the miniature balloonists. The spider’s first action was to turn its face in the direction from which the wind was blowing. Then the abdomen was elevated to an angle of about forty-five degrees, and at the same time the eight legs sway were stiffened, thus pushing the body upward. In order to per- Flight mit this movement the claws were brought in somewhat, but not beneath the body, so that when the legs were stiffened the body stood high above the surface. From the spinnerets at the apex of the abdomen a single thread or ray of threads was exuded, and rapidly drawn out by the breeze until, by reason of its delicacy, it was lost to sight. Four, five, even six or more feet of the lines would at times be in view. Gradually the legs were inclined in the direction of the breeze, and the joints straightened out. The foremost pair of legs sank almost to the THE ABRRONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT. 259 level of the post; and these especially, but indeed all the legs and the entire attitude of the creature, presented the appearance of an animal resisting with utmost force and tension of muscles the effort of some su- perior power to snatch it away. Suddenly and simultaneously the eight claws were unloosened, and the spider mounted with a sharp bound into the air, and went careering away across the meadow, at a rate more or less rapid according to the velocity of the wind. The utmost care was used to determine whether in this upward bound the volition of the spider had any further agency than the simple unclasping of the feet from the post. Owing to the extreme difficulty of such an observation, I cannot speak with absolute confidence, but was able to satisfy my own mind that the aeronauts always vaulted upward and clear of the post at the moment of releasing their hold. I can hardly be mistaken in the belief that this was so in many cases, at least. A similar action was frequently observed during the preliminary and tentative movements in which the spiderlings indulged prior to the final flight. Something was noticed among them not unlike the frol- icsome pranks of kittens or lambs. One would rush up to an- Spider- other, who thereupon would immediately change position, either lings. by running or quickly vaulting to another part of the post. At times a leap would be made quite away from the post, but the buoyancy of the thread which had been exuded being insufficient to over- come the weight of the animal, instead of rising into the air, the creature returned to thé post or struck upon the adjoining rail. In these and sim- ilar movements I was able to detect distinctly the vaulting action of the spider, and the eye, being thus familiarized with the movement, was less liable to be deceived in the more difficult observation of the quick spring at the time of the aerial flight. The posts and parts of railings adjoining were covered with threads adhering to the wood and streaming out into the air. These were the result in part of the feints at flight just referred to, but were A der partly owing to another cause. The spiders, previous to flight or vaulting, attached themselves to the post in the manner com- mon to most of their order. The apex of the abdomen was thrust down upon the surface, and the liquid silk at the same time exuded from the spinnerets was thus caused ‘to adhere thereto. As the creature moved away the thread was run out into line, and gave the spider a firm attachment. It is a question whether this anchorage is always made previous to flight, and whether the thread is cut immediately before the ascent. The obser- vations made all pointed to an affirmative answer, but the matter was not positively settled. The attempt was made to follow some of the aeronauts beyond the point of ascent. The difficulty in getting the minute objects in position Vaulting. Frolic- -_ a 260 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. relative to the sun favorable for such observation, the motion of the air which carried them upward, as well as the rapidity of flight, frustrated many attempts. A position was finally taken beside one of the side posts of the sliding “bars,” which being opened gave a point of observation with the back to the sun, the eye upon the object, and a fair opportunity to follow it without the delay of leaping over a high fence, which before had been between the observer and the course of the aeronaut sailing before the wind, Fortune favored patience, and at last a spider took flight in a line which was a little higher than the face. Following the aranead at a moderate run, with the eye held closely upon it, I observed that the position of the body was soon reversed; that is, the head was turned in the direction toward which the wind was blow- ing, instead of the point from which it | blew, as before the ascent. Thus the long thread which streamed out above the aero- naut inclined forward, and at the top was in advance of its head. I also observed that the legs were spread out, and that they had been united at the feet by deli- cate filaments of silk. The action by which the spinningwork was accomplished was not noticed, owing to the smallness of the creature, the’ rapidity of its move- ments, and the difficulty of such an excep- tional mode of observation.’ But the fact was noted. The reason naturally suggested Fie. 271. Fic. 272. for it is the increased buoyancy resulting Fro. 271, Attitude of ballooning spider just from the increased surface thus offered to andine botreute base the Tepistemes) Of) the ait, provided, “ct course, any reason be required beyond the animal’s need of some sort of foothold while afloat. Mr. Emerton,! in the course of some accurate observations of ballooning spiders, says that the most of them while afloat hung by their spinnerets only, and drew their legs close against their bodies, a posture which I have also sometimes ob- served, The spider whose behavior I am now describing was followed for a dis- tance of eighty feet, when it gradually settled downward upon the meadow. Before, or rather during, this ascent a small, white, flossy ball of silk was seen accumulating at the mouth, which, with the peculiar motion of the fore feet, palps, and mandibles, at once suggested the drawing in of a thread. This behavior is not infrequent with spiders under other cireum- stances; indeed, it may nearly always be observed when webs are being — ' “lying Spiders,’ American Naturalist, 1872, pages 168-9. THE ABRONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT. 261 cleared away, and during ascent upon a dropped dragline after a spider has thrown herself from her snare. But it became especially interesting at that moment, for at once it suggested an act of volition on the part age of the Lycosid, by which, in a measure at least, it might control canoer its descent. Evidently the shortening of the overhanging thread operated like the furling of sails upon a vessel, and decreasing the motion of the spider increased the influence of gravity upon the body, which thus sank toward the ground. At the same time, the diminution of the surface of the thread above, and the increase of bulk at the mouth (trifling as it might be), tended to increase the buoyancy of the whole, and allowed the creature to fall. The same effect was thus produced by the spider aeronaut, and by a strikingly analogous mode, as that which the human aeronaut accomplishes when he con- \] tracts the surface of his balloon by causing the inflating gas to escape. The manner in which the lines of spi- ders are carried out from the spinnerets by a current of air appears to be How Fila- thus: As a preparatory measure, ments are : ; - Fmittea, 'e spinnerets are brought into close contact, and the liquid silk ‘is emitted from the spinning tubes; the spinnerets are then separated by a lateral motion, which breaks up the silk into fine filaments; on these filaments the air current impinges, drawing them out to a length which is regulated by the will of the ani- Fic. 278. Fia. 274. mal; and, on the spinnerets being again ian Se ee ea hee ee brought together, the filaments coalesce and looning spider gathering in its threads form a compound line.1 According to Mr, *™ ‘eseen® Emerton,? the line seems to come from the middle pair of spinnerets only, but the posterior pair were in constant motion, folding together over the middle ones and then spreading apart as if to help throw out the threads, rT. It will here be in place, and will add to the understanding of the reader, to insert a few field notes giving in detail the above and some further facts as to the posture and action of spiders before and during flight. '“Blackwall on the Structure, Functions, and Heonomy of the Araneidea,”’ Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., Vol. XV., page 241, 1845. * “lying Spiders,” American Naturalist, 1872, page 168. 262 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. There is no difference between the aeronautic habit of these araneads and that of spiders in other parts of the United States. Moreover, obser- vations of naturalists on ballooning spiders in various quarters 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 Atypine in Eng- land securing an easy and un- obstructed flight in the same way. The instinctive impulse which 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 Lycosid, apparently Lycosa scutulata Hentz, was posed on the side of a fence post Nee DNS aN 3 ; i ; Ja ee; WAGS opposite the wind, face down- Ny, E ca wards, abdomen elevated, the body raised by the legs. I Fic. 275. Ballooning Lycosids ascending from a fence post, followed it after flight for two and floating before the wind. Fe i hundred feet; it rose as high as thirty feet before it was lost to sight. Its flight was across a wide meadow, and promised to be a long one. Several threads were streaming 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; the abdomen was turned well nigh straight upward; a long thread floated out and up from the spinnerets. The spider walked several inches upward along the rail, keeping its body in the same stilted position, the thread meanwhile flying. Then it was off, rather slowly, and about on a line with my face. It showed, in motion, one small thread in front and one (or more) behind. It moved straight THE AERONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT. 263 forward for about fifty feet, and then rose suddenly upward, as though it had passed into an ascending current of air. No. 3. Lycosa; observed at 2 P. M. Pose and actions as No. 1. After flight I distinctly saw one thread before and (apparently) two behind ; the head was toward the wind. After sailing fifteen feet it rose up and out of sight, a long stretch of meadow before it. Once, before it mounted, it lifted up one hind foot, as though laying hold upon the stay thread. No. 4. Lycosa; this example was followed for a distance of forty or fifty feet; in front of it there appeared to be but one thread, a ray of several fine diverging threads floated behind from the spinnerets. Its back was toward the ground. Its abdomen seemed, but could not be certainly determined, to be riding in front, 1. e., toward the direction of the wind. The body of the spider was thus at the apex of the angle formed by the fore and hind filaments, the free points of which were quite far apart. The balloon struck a tree, and part of it went on, the spider apparently staying on the tree. No. 5. Lycosa; this specimen floated with the abdomen toward the point of departure. Several threads ascended from it, one thread in front; the feet were gathered together; but, apparently, the back was upward. It crossed the highway, and a carriage just then passing interfered with the observation. No. 6. The head rode in front, the back was certainly toward the ground. A fourfold streamer of threads was thrown out before mounting. At first the spider moved off slowly, but soon climbed up the fore thread, the “bow,” so to speak; further on it climbed up the rays of threads a dis- tance of several inches. The balloon, when lost sight of, had at least three separate filaments. It was followed one hundred feet before it rose out of sight. No. 7. Lycosa; riding back downward; it sailed sidewise part of the time; afterward the head seemed to be directed toward the course of the wind, Before vaulting into the air many of the spiderlings turned their ele- vated abdomens first to one point then to another; repeating the action many times, as though testing the direction of the wind. The The Etoe- hols process of aeronautic flight, as it has been described, may ess Sum- - : : : : : marized, be briefly given as follows: First, the spider seeks a high posi- tion, such as the top of a bush, grass stalk, or fence post, as the point of ascent. Second, the abdomen is elevated to as nearly a right angle with the cephalothorax as may be. Third, a ray of threads is issued from the spinnerets, the face being, meanwhile turned to various points; the legs are stretched upward, thus raising the body; fourth, they gradually incline in the direction of the breeze, the joints straighten out, the legs sink forward and down until the first pair are almost on a level with the surface, the whole attitude of the animal being that of one resisting some 4* 264 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. force exerted from above. Fifth, suddenly and simultaneously the eight claws are unloosed, and the spider mounts with a sharp bound, apparently, and (sixth) floats off with the back downward, usually, but sometimes with this position reversed. Seventh, at first the abdomen seems to be in ad- vance, but generally the body is turned so that the head rides in front. Eighth, the ray of threads is apparently grasped with the feet and floats out in front, upon which (ninth) sometimes the spider will climb upward, as though to adjust the centre of gravity. Meanwhile (tenth) a thread or cluster of threads issue from the spinnerets and float out behind, leaving the spider to ride in the angle of the two diverging rays, or, as it some- times happens, of three, which are widely separated at the upper free ends. Eleventh, the feet seem to be united by delicate filaments, which would serve to increase the buoyancy of the balloon. ‘Twelfth, the spider is now carried forward by the wind, riding for long distances in an open space, and often borne high upward upon ascending currents. Thirteenth, the anchorage of this miniature balloon appears at times to be within the spider’s own volition, by the fact that it can draw in with its claws the forward ray and gather it in a white roll within the mandibles. But most frequently the balloonist is stopped by striking against some ele- vated object, or by the subsidence of the breeze. A bright warm day in October is commonly chosen for the ascent, and judging from the pres- ence of a number of dry moults, apparently of the same species of spider observed in flight, the animals had recently cast their skins. IV. The greatest height to which I have seen spiders ascend is about one hundred and fifty feet; but, undoubtedly, they often rise much higher. Dr. Lincecum observed the gossamer balloons of certain Texas ioe ee species floating at an altitude of one to two thousand feet.! inoenes Blackwall found ascending currents of air acting with such force upon the gossamer streamers as to raise them in the atmos- phere to a perpendicular height of at least several hundred feet.2 Dr. Martin Lister, the earliest observer of the habit (A. D. 1670), says: “As to the height they are able to mount, it is much beyond that of trees or even the highest steeples in England. his last October the sky here upon a day was very calm and serene, and I took notice that the air was very full of webs. I forthwith mounted to the top of the highest steeple 3 in the Minster [York], and could thence discern them yet exceeding high above me; some that fell and were entangled upon pinnacles, I took and * “The Gossamer Spider,” American Naturalist, 1874, page 592. * Trans. Linn. Society, Vol. XV., page 453. * The central and two western towers are 201 feet high. Cathedrals and Abbeys of Great Britain, Dr. Wheatley. eek imerl a — ee i a i i oe ad ek ee THE AERONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT. 265 found them to be lupi [Lycosids], which seldom or never enter houses, and cannot be supposed to have taken their flight from the steeples.” I once found a number of half grown Epeiras upon their round webs on the topmost railing of the dome of St. Peter’s at Rome (Italy), whither they or their maternal ancestor had doubtless been carried by the wind from the surface of the earth. October 25th, 1883, was a bright day following a series of cold, wet days caused by a severe northeast storm. At noon, while crossing the Chestnut Street Bridge, Philadelphia, I saw a great number of aeronautic threads floating in the air, streaming from the tips of the bridge balustrade and lodged upon the piers. One of the threads, a long filament, was sailing slowly toward the river as a Pennsyl- vania Railroad train dashed along the river track beneath the bridge. It was low enough to strike the cars as they rolled by, and so was carried on southward with its tiny voyager—another illus- tration of how artificial habits of man tend to the geographical distribution of life. The filaments were long, pure white, curled or wrinkled, about one millimetre wide or less, occasionally expanded into thicker wads, and frequently carried attached to them minute insects which had doubtless en- tangled in the fibres as the threads floated in the air, (Fig. 280.) On one thread I found three, 5. a6 Fochuclites wea on another two small flies. The young balloonist — out aeronautic threads while is thus provided with food upon his landing, if "™#'™s "Po" * weP- he choose to avail himself of these chance supplies. The insects are sim- ply entangled, as the fibre is without viscidity. The field observations recorded above have been confirmed by numer- ous studies made with spiderlings reared in the house, especially the young of Epeira sclopetaria, Epeira domiciliorum, Epeira insularis, and Agalena neevia. As the results obtained were not different from those already given, they require but brief mention. When let loose into the air from the finger tip, the spiderlings floated out by a sin- gle thread, which was always and instantly first attached to the finger. At first the head was outward, the abdomen being turned toward the hand, from the apex of which the long superior spinnerets of the tubeweavers diverged. Presently the little creature turned and cast out a thread be- hind, when, if permitted, it would usually clamber up the original thread to the finger. When this was broken off, the spider, seated midway of the two filaments, floated off and outward, and was lost to sight. Again, by an eddy of the air, the thread would be thrown backward and upward and catch against the wall, upon which the little voyager would anchor. Floating Gossamer Young Spiders. ' Correspondence of John Ray, page 77. Lister to Ray, January 20th, 1670. 266 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. At other times, much to my surprise, after the thread had been quite lost to view, the spider was supposed to be far away upon its flight, it would descend as from the clouds, and send out its silken grapnels against the cheek or nose. The will of the little spider seemed to have no control over these movements, which apparently were always wholly at the mercy of the wind. However, the manner of accomplishing aerial flight by means of the buoyancy of a single thread, or rather of two threads united at or near the middle, was quite in accord with the methods above de- scribed. V. While the young balloonists were adventuring their flight in the fields in the manner heretofore described, several species of small Orbweavers were making or waiting for their ascension in a manner so dif- ferent that it requires espe- cial notice. ‘These were sta- tioned upon the small grass- es and weeds, from which innumerable cords of spider silk were streaming, and up- on which similar threads were twisted and meshed by the eddies of the wind and the passing of the spider- ! y) oats Sih : I i ad a Dh t | A ir if il aN ad Fic. 277. Aeronautic Orbweavers preparing to ascend from floating threads. Bee ; j lings from point to point. ve ( (fi ff hai The attitude of most of “AT ane oT hie "cH these was one of expecta- VAT RR I iW i iy fay aii # Han) AN VN i aes Gi wie My yi tion. Only two were ob- Hal AN \ i) a wh | i) Wl served in actual flight, and | one of these I assisted. ‘The nearness to the ground and the shelter of surrounding herbage doubtless retarded the process. However, this greater deliberateness is quite in harmony with the more phlegmatic Orbweavers, just as the energy of the Lycosids in mounting the fence and their haste to be off are characteristic of that group. Varia- tions : Orb- weavers. end of the thread. The little Orbweavers were hanging upon the lower part of the floating strings near the point of attachment to the grass. backs were downward and their heads outward, or toward the free (Fig. 276.) The first, second, and fourth pairs Their of legs were stretched along the thread, and the third and shortest pair THE ABRONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT. 267 were held off, curved, the feet apparently united to the main thread by taut filaments. This position, as far as could be determined, was main- tained after flight. In some cases a series of two or three puffs or pellets of floss were gathered around the thread between its free end and the spiderling. ‘They were generally cone shaped, the apex being turned toward the animal. In form they were not unlike the pellets which one used to see gathering upon the roll of wool as it passed from the fingers of our maternal ancestors into the whirling “flyers” of an old fashioned spin- ning wheel. (Fig. 277.) Perhaps they may have been wrought by a similar process, the twisting of the loose threads through ‘the action of the wind and the counteraction of the spider. The continuation of such twisting must presently break the thread, and thus set the occupant afloat. The greater force of the wind secured by gently breaking a stalk and lifting it into the air soon snapped off a thread, car- rying the little aranead away with it. T am inclined to think that this mode of ballooning prevails, particu- larly among Orbweavers ; that is to say, the spider, having spun out a long thread, sometimes thickened at the attached end, lays hold upon it and waits for the wind to pull it loose, when it is borne away and aloft. It is even probable that the spider may cut the thread, and thus procure her own release. This would place the moment of ascent within her own volition, and the fact (should it be established) would add greatly to the interest with which one must regard this variation in the aeronautic habit of these interesting araneads. Dr. Gideon Lincecum has put upon record a case in point.' He de- scribes the balloon of a Texas Orbweaver, which he calls the “ Gossamer Spider,” as follows: A lock of white gossamer five or six inches long and two inches wide in the middle, tapering toward the ends, is attached to a stalk, bush, or other elevated object by a thread two or three cae inches long. At the free end or “bow,” two lines thirty or forty Balloon, feet long are spun out, and one twenty or thirty feet long is spun from the attached end or stern of the aerial craft. All being ready for ascent, the voyager cuts the cable which holds the balloon, and floats briskly upward and forward on an inclined plane, or bounds aloft with a sharp spring that eludes one’s efforts to stop it. Lincecum’s descrip- tion of the hammock shaped balloon and its float lines answers very well to the above described acronautic spinningwork of Orbweavers (Fig. 277), and I am disposed to accept as quite trustworthy the statement that the attached end was actually severed by the spider, who thus controlled, in some measure, the period*of her ascent. Blackwall had already observed that occasionally spiders may be found on gossamer webs after an ascending current of rarefied air has separated Flossy Balloons 1American Naturalist, 1874, page 595. a 268 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. them from the objects to which they’ were attached, and has raised them into the atmosphere. He, however, added the opinion that, “as they never make use of them intentionally in the performance of their aero- a ed nautic expeditions, it must always be regarded as a fortuitous looning. ©ircumstance.”! This opinion, I think, must be abandoned, and the conclusion reached that there are two modes of ballooning practiced by spiders, viz.: First, ascent by means of the buoyancy of lines issuing directly from the spinnerets, the aranead vaulting upward from its perch; and, second, the ascent upon lines, sometimes thickened by flossy. tufts or strands, which are first spun out and attached to fixed objects, and afterward released by the force of the wind or cut loose by the spider. VI. While arranging a collection of spiders in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, I discovered a number of specimens of a large Laterigrade, the Huntsman spider, Heterapoda venatorius, from Aerial various localities, as represented upon the accompanying tables nea and chart. (Fig. 278.) Starting with the specimens in my private tenn collection, the line of distribution was traced from Santa Cruz, Virgin Isles, to Cuba, to Florida, across Central America, Yucatan, and Mexico; across the Pacific Ocean by way of Sandwich Islands, Japan, and Loo-Choo Islands; and thence across the continents of Asia and Africa to Liberia. The line thus indicated extends from the extreme eastern limit of North America to the extreme western coast of Africa, thus girdling the globe, with the exception of 54° of longitude. This excepted area ex- presses substantially the width of the Atlantic Ocean. It occurred to me, when this fact became apparent, that this line of distribution is within the belt of the North Trade Winds; and, further, that there might be some connection between the two facts and the fact that Laterigrade spiders, to which group this animal belongs, are among those which are most addicted, in the earlier stages of growth, to balloon migration. Thereupon I referred to the general course and limits of the North Trades, which are roughly indicated in the chart (Fig. 278) by the two upper lines of arrows, marked (at the ends) A A and BB. In the At- lantic Ocean the North Trade Winds prevail between latitude 9° N. and 30° N.; in the Pacific between 9° N. and 26° N. We now may turn to the chart, in which the following geographical points (shown by black spots and figures) are represented by our spider. The specimens which have been examined in the Academy, and my own collections, whose habi- tats are personally known, are marked by an asterisk (*). The species is credited to the other localities named on the authori- ties given therewith. ' Blackwall, Spiders of Gt. Br. and Ir, Introduction, page 12. THE AERONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT, 269 A comparison of this table with the chart will at once show that the dotted lines in the latter, which indicate the geographical belt over which Venatoria is distributed correspond, with remarkable general exactitude, with the belt over which the North Trades blow. It is not, therefore, an improbable conjecture that this distribution has been accomplished by means of those winds and the spider’s habit of aerial flight. It is, of course, supposable that commerce, following largely the same belt, may have originated or aided this distribution. But certain facts in the history of the spider seem to forbid this hypothesis. Some of the facts are: First, the early discovery of the species as al- ready widely distributed ; second, its presence at so many different insular points nearly or altogether contemporaneously with first visits Not Ar- }y commercial nations; third, the existence of the species or its ater .close allies among the fauna of the tropical interiors of conti- bution. ents far distant from coast lines; fourth, the variations, chiefly in color, which have been observed, and which would seem to require for their development a longer period than that which has tran- spired since the commencement of commercial communication with the localities in which the variations have been wrought. While one may not conclude with absolute certainty from these facts, they warrant the theory that the Huntsman spider has become cosmopolitan by the action of Nature, independent of the aid of man. TaspLp or Distripution North or THE EQuarTor. Locaniry. LATITUDE, LONGITUDE (GrR.). AUTHORITY. ; GSE boggy hl sl eke eas ea ty bs SON 6° N. 163° W. * DOPED We Sietl Cs sn an cle @ogaurans Wie eet a a! 7°- 8° N. 134° E. | L. Koch. Sy Mlgo-ChooWeands= e608 mega ee 25°-29° N. 128° EF. * WO MDHT chien psciainki is SR Eb AR sye! wo ketice | 80°-40° N. 130°-140° FE. | * Di NICOMARAIBIAIARS peak ctahus fay x tactics Yas | |. 6°=10° IN, 96°- 97° FE. | Bock. 6. Tranquebar, India ........... L2P ON, 80° E. Fabricius. TMA WSR WPAUEIOH aretha keen ate wie ok 5°- 9° N. 10° W. * 8. Senegal, Africa. 6. we ee [ale ay |. 16? W. Walckenaer. 9. Martinique, North America. ..... .| 15° N. 61° W. | * TO atthe entie eed Aman ls Wye ice & 18° N. | 65° W. | * Be HIMALGR sts ein suite tet os cre yo 8 se TS2SN. lee Me | Walckenaer. UC ie lett ss Niten ta ane var te aha | 20°-28° N. | 74°85° W. | * (EROU OMG Gers, byte eiec tina hase vec scones tn | 30° N, |) 2SS- We * hel UCC) Oe ae) ere ctl Sane icy oy ccd | 20° N. | 82°-91° W. | * DB; eMew1co) eee ope x) eo eae ees 20° N. O72 W. * Afr e GalItOMN Tae era hae eeu ah ah aD aay ? 109°-117° W. | L. Koch. * 17. Oahu, Sandwich Islands ........ 20° N. 55°-160° W. I was so impressed by the above chain of facts, and so confident of the inference therefrom, that I ventured to predict that corre- sponding results would follow a comparison of specimens collect- ed from all quarters; that is to say, they would be found to lie within the belt of the North or South Trade Winds. The only specimens at A Pre- diction. 270 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. hand were those cited above, and from Zululand and Surinam. But I was able to pursue the matter by reference to locations given by a number of naturalists. I was aided in this by references kindly sent me by Mr. William Holden. Some of the localities thus obtained have been named above, and others were found to correspond with the points represented by the specimens examined. So far my conjecture was verified. The two lower arrow lines in the chart, C C and D D, give a general view of the course and limits of the South Trades, which prevail in the Atlantic Ocean between latitude 4° N. and 22° S., ond the Pacific between latitude 4° N. and 235° S.! It is, of course, understood that these limits are not stationary, but follow the sun, moving northward from January to June, and southward from July to December; an oscillation which is also indicated in the zone of distribution. They are, however, substantially as above given, and may be compared with the following table, which shows the southern geographical distribution of this species, according to the authorities cited therein :— Tape or Distripurion SoutH or THE EQuaTtor. LocaLitry. LATITUDE. LONGITUDE (GR.). AUTHORITY. 1. Viti Levu, Fejee Islands ........!| 16°S. | 180° W. L. Koch, 9, Mew Caledouin . .. - . is g oe ome | 20°-22° s, 163°-162 BE, | 5. Sidney, Australia... 2% 5 oe eo aoe 150° BE. Bock, 4. Australia: 205 sy) 4) kde pele len ee ee Le ae 105°-115 EB. L. Koch. PSUR DAONG ponte ise peels io ern att Peel 104° Ki. Walck. 6. Zanzibar, Africa... PAM eee 6° S. 40° EK. Gerstaecker,* 7. Southeast Equatorial Africa. |... . . | 10°-20°S, (?) 30°-50° KE. =| Blackwall. 8. Mauritisss 2. . 5 si es 8) ay ee eco ere 56° E. Walckenaer. 0; Madagnecni = bz \.) cig teen aeeine mrat 8°-26° S. 43°-50° Ee. | Vinson. 10; Zululand: 935 << we avs ane eaten BM oR RO aE 28° E. * Mo Pernanip0o ss” «0 atm, cee We tae eae 7° 8. 37° W. LDN IBEAC ees he ayer a Rat decdang wee he mre 37°-70° W. Simon, Walck. 13: Rio VaOeItO vices poe eee thane eke al ey 50° W. Walck 14. Surinam. .... tras ee Sebel fea ah cs ; GFN, 55° W. bal 16. Valparaiso, Chili. “seo. 0. -fs ae tty on BOD Seey | 202 We. L. Koch, 16. Tahiti, Huaheine, Society Islands... .| 18° S. 150° W. a 17. Rarotonga, Cook’s Tale Rrcomk fe! -ail| een 162° W. u; 18. Upolu, Navigator Island ..... . . .| 184°-143°S, 168°-173° W. | se 19. Tongatabu, Friendly Islands ..... .| 20°S8, 172°-176° W. | ue This table shows a distribution corresponding with the limits of the South Trades, with, in three cases, viz., Sidney (3), Surinam (14), and Val- paraiso (15), a slight oscillation in ane with a fact above stated. Thus ‘The arrow line which indicates the course of the Trades is intended to give Sank the general direction. In point of fact, however, that course, in the case of the Southern Trades, is more nearly conterminous with the line: of distribution than here shown. The arrow line should not run directly westward from Valparaiso, Chili (No. 15), but from a point 10° above it, passing just south of Friendly Isles (No. 19). * Gerstaecker speaks of species as distributed over a large part of Africa, Asia, and South America. See Von der Decken’s Travels in East Africa, ITIL, ii., page 482. Cure 271 THE AERONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT, ae ee WY y ae, ) ral D meee eee Yj <_—_—_— —<—— 4+ eee ae eee <=. —«-f y Ye | G YY “HW WY —<— << —<—— > -"IGe ay » Mh Yj UY. oo Ue o || oe LH Wy =< ae YX 4 ree “S Fic. 278. Chart to show the cireumnavigation of the globe by the Huntsman spider, in the course of the Trade Winds. ——- a a 272 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THETR SPINNINGWORK, was entirely fulfilled the expectation with which I entered upon the prep- aration of these comparative tables.! It may not be without interest, and may, perhaps, have some bearing upon the above theory of distribution, to remark that the genus (or a closely allied genus) to which Heterapoda venatoria belongs is probably one of the oldest known forms of the spider fauna, 'Thorell? places the now existing genus Heterapoda (Ocypete, Koch; Oxypete, Menge) among those which are represented in the amber spiders. Amber probably be- longs to the tertiary (oligocene) period, and in it numerous spiders are found, generally well preserved. How far any supposed contiguity or closer approach of continents now separated might have facilitated or oc- casioned the world round distribution of our Huntsman spider, is a point upon which geologists may more properly express an opinion. The question, what variation of species, if any, occurs in the course of this distribution, is of great interest. The specimens examined by me show no variations which may not come within the range of Variation those natural differences which obtain in many species. Most of ete ini, tHe specimens had been so long in alcohol as to obliterate any bution. ‘ifferences in color and markings which might have existed. The normal color is a uniform tawny yellow, varied upon the cephalothorax by a circular patch of blackish or blackish brown color covering nearly two-thirds of the space; and, further, by a white or whit- ish marginal band quite or nearly girdling the same. In some of the specimens this circular patch seems to haye been more or less of a brown- ish color. Gerstaecker* speaks of this species as distributed over a large part of Africa, Asia, and South America. Specimens were examined by him from Dafeta, Mombas, and Zanzibar. In these there was some varia- tion in the coloration of the maxillary palpi: on the one hand, from a light rust color to brownish red and pitch brown; on the other hand, to a more or less sharp division or limitation of the light yellow color of the anterior and posterior borders of the cephalothorax. There was also a browning of the region about the eyes. But the araneologist will not regard such differences as having any special value as specific characters. 1 When these studies were originally announced in the Philadelphia Academy, I had no specimens from the South Pacific Islands within the same general belt; nor from the chain of small islands between the Sandwich Islands and Asia, viz., Philadelphia, Drake, and Massachusetts Islands, Anson and Magellan Archipelagoes; nor the Cape Verde and St. Helena Islands, off the west coast of Africa. Nevertheless, I expressed the belief that these had all been stations in the line of migration, the latter across the Atlantic Ocean as the Antilles have been; the former across the Pacific, as the Sandwich Islands, Loo-Choo Island, and Japan haye been, and as Mauritius and Madagascar Islands have been across the In- dian Ocean. Moreover, I ventured the prediction that a more diligent search would proye that this cosmopolitan species exists, and probably had already been collected at some of the above points. * European Spiders, page 231, Noy. Acta. Reg. Soe. Sci., Upsal., 1870. * Von der Decken’s Travels in Bast Africa, III, ii., page 482. Vv THE APRONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT. 273 VII. There seems nothing improbable in the theory of aerial circumnaviga- tion suggested to explain the series of facts above presented. There are not, indeed, many recorded observations of the distances to which spiders are carried out to sea in their aeronautic flights. But, before a strong steady wind, or in cases of storm, it is possible that the greatest distances which appear in the tables could be overcome. An observation of Mr. Darwin is the only recorded one to which I can refer! At the distance of sixty miles from land, while the “ Beagle” was sailing before a steady, light breeze, the rigging was covered with vast numbers of small spiders with their webs, The little spider, when first coming in contact with the rigging, was always seated upon a single thread. While watching some that were suspended by this filament, the slightest breath of air was found to bear them out of sight. I have ob- served similar single threaded “balloons” sailing at considerable height Spiders at Sea. Fic. 279. The Huntsman spider; a male. ©, the female’s cocoon, above the surface of the earth, and know no reason why, with a favorable breeze, they might not have been carried hundreds of miles. That they were carried at least sixty miles, as Mr. Darwin’s testimony shows, and that before a light breeze, gives great probability to such a conjecture. It is to be noted, moreover, that the spiders arrested by the “Beagle’s” rig- ging were evidently moving on when so stopped, and some of them, when arrested, soon resumed their flight across the main, I am able to add a valuable observation in the same line as that of Dr. Darwin’s. The late Capt. George H. Dodge, of the American Line steamer ‘‘ Pennsylvania,” informed me, during a voyage across the Atlantic in the winter of ’81-2, that he had found the masts and rigging of his ' Voyage of the Beagle, Vol. III., page 187. — ie | oe Pe 2 Se ee ee ey eee ee 274 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. vessel covered in the same way with innumerable webs of spiders, while sailing during the month of March along the eastern coast of South America. His ship was more than two hundred miles from land and about four hundred miles south of the equator. The wind at the time, ac- cording to his recollection, was blowing from the westward ; that is, from the continent. Captain Dodge, at my request, communicated the facts in writing, the incident haying been impressed upon his memory by the strangeness of seeing such creatures so far out at sea. “The spiders seemed like little elongated balls, with a sort of umbrella canopy above them. They settled upon the sails and rigging, and, finally, disappeared as they came.’”’! The purpose of such a remarkable habit as these facts exhibit is, ie doubtless, to secure the distribution of species throughout wide means? regions. The buoyant filaments of spider gossamer serve the 1 tiny arachnid the same good office that is rendered the dandelion and thistle seed by the starry rays of down surrounding them. Vill. The ballooning habit of spiders gives a complete explanation of a nat- ural phenomenon which has attracted the attention of men from an early period, and which has been variously alluded to in prose and poetical writ- ings, viz., Showers of Gossamer. One who walks the open fields in the latter part of September or in the soft bright days of October, which is the most delightful period of our Fic, 280. A flocculent thread of gossamer, with American year, will notice great quan- small flies entangled. aha ; 5 ‘ as, ; tities of spider silk trailing and float- ing from the stalks of weeds and grasses, and indeed from all elevated objects. In the early morning, when the dew deposited upon these fila- ments betrays their presence, one will be surprised at the vast amount visible. Further on in the day he will observe quantities of this threaded spinningwork sailing through the air. (Fig. 280.) A great excess of these floating tufts and filaments constitutes what is com- monly known as a gossamer shower. Doubtless Pliny alluded to such a phenomenon in the statement which he makes? that “in the year that L. Paulus and C. Marcellus were consuls it rained wool about the castle Carissa, near to which, a year after, T. Annius Milo was slain.” Gossamer Showers. 1 Captain Dodge adds, very significantly: “You know that it is not unusual for birds to be blown out to sea. How much easier for a spider, provided he had the means to keep himself suspended in the air!” * Natural History, I1., 54. Holland’s translation, page 27. —" THE AERONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT. 275 In later days, among our English ancestors, an explanation of this phenomenon even stranger than Pliny’s prevailed and found expression through some of the English bards. For example, Spenser writes :-— “More subtle web Arachne cannot spin; Nor the fine nets, which oft we woyen see, Of scorched dew, do not in th’ ayre more lightly flee.” Still later Thomson in his “Seasons” utters the same idea :— “How still the breeze! save what the filmy threads Of dew evaporate brushes from the plain.’? We have, however, passed beyond the period when so simple a natural phenomenon could be accounted for on such an impossible theory as that of autumnal dews scorched by the sun. I have never been so fortunate as to observe anything that could be called a “shower” of gossamer, although I have seen quantities of the material afloat in the air or fluttering from the foliage. I will therefore quote from others a description of the phenomenon. Mr. Kirby describes the gossamer observed by him early in the morning as spread over stub- bles and fallows, sometimes so thickly as to make them appear as if coy- ered with a gauzy carpet, or rather overflown by a sea of gauze, presenting, when studded with dewdrops, a most enchanting spectacle.* Rey. Gilbert White, whose “Natural History of Selborne” has been so long and deservedly popular, describes such an incident as occurring in England on September 21st, 1741. At daybreak he found the stubble and clover grounds matted all over with a thick coat of cobwebs, in the meshes of which a heavy dew hung so plentifully that the whole face of the country seemed covered with two or three fishing set-nets drawn one over another. The dogs were so blinded by this deposit that they could not hunt, but lay down and scraped the encumbrances from their faces with their fore feet. ‘As the morning advanced,” writes the author, “the sun became bright and warm, and the day turned out one of those most lovely ones which no season but autumn produces, cloudless, calm, serene, and worthy of the south of France itself. About nine, an appearance very .., unusual began to demand our attention—a shower of cobwebs ee falling from very elevated regions, and continuing without any Shower, imterruption, till the close of the day. These webs were not single filmy threads, floating in the air in all directions, but per- fect flakes or rags; some near an inch broad, and five or six long, which fell with a degree of velocity that showed they were considerably heayier than the atmosphere. 1 Faerie Queene, B. 2, XII., s. 77. ? Seasons: Summer, I., 1209. * Kirby and Spence, Introduction to Entomology, Vol. IT., 841, Letter XXIII. . eel ee 276 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. “On every side, as the observer turned his eyes, he might behold a continual succession of fresh flakes falling into his sight, and twinkling like stars, as they turned their sides towards the sun.” This shower extended over at least eight miles of territory, for Mr. White received an account from a trustworthy gentleman living that dis- tance from his house, corroborating his own observation. This Extent gentleman met the gossamer shower while he was riding abroad, ech and, concluding that he could escape it by mounting a hill ‘above his fields, which was three hundred feet in height, rode to that point. But, to his astonishment, when reaching this lofty spot, he found webs apparently still stretched as far above him as before, still descending into sight in a constant succession and twinkling in the sun as they fell. Neither before nor after, says Mr, White, was any such a fall observed; but on this day the flakes hung in the trees and hedges so thick that a diligent person sent out might have gathered baskets full.! Another account, quite as noteworthy as the above, was reported in the ‘London Times” on October 9th, 1826, which I quote from Mr. Frank Cowan’s interesting and valuable “Curious Facts.”? “On Sunday, October Ist, 1826, a phenomenon of rare occurrence in the neighborhood of Liverpool was observed in that vicinage, and for many miles Another istant, especially at Wigan. The fields and roads were covered English : . : ; : Shovwvei: with a light filmy substance, which, by many persons, was mis- taken for cotton; although they might haye been convinced of their error, as staple cotton does not exceed a few inches in length, while the filaments seen in such incredible quantities extended as many yards. In walking in the fields the shoes were completely covered with it, and its floating fibres came in contact with one’s face in all directions. Every tree, lamp post, or other projecting body had arrested a portion of it. It profusely descended at Wigan like a sheet, and in such quantities as to affect the appearance of the atmosphere. On examination it was found to contain small flies, some of which were so diminutive as to require a magnifying glass to render them perceptible. ‘The substance so abun- dant in quantity was supposed by the writer who described the phenom- enon to be the gossamer of the garden or field spider, often met in fine weather in the country, and of which, according to Buffon, it would take 663,552 spiders to produce a single pound,” An English writer? describes what he calls a “Visitation of Spiders,” which occurred at Newcastle-on-Tyne. ‘Three miles of iron railing in the writer’s neighborhood was covered with the little creatures. They were equally numerous about one mile north of Newcastle, and, in fact, covered 1 Natural History of Selborne, Letter LXV. * Curious Facts in the History of Insects, including Spiders and Scorpions. 5 “Science Gossip,” December Ist, 1865, page 282. = Ras) oh py od i THE AERONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT. 277 the entire town. A gentleman from Hexham, a town twenty miles from Newcastle, reported that they were abundant there also. The spiders were unknown up to that time, Mr. Blackwall not having described them in his elaborate work on the “Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland,” only having noticed them in the “Annals of Natural History” in 1863, previous to which time they had not been observed in England. No one had ob- served this spider in the neighborhood of Newcastle up to the time of their appearance, and they disappeared as suddenly as they came. Ac- cording to Mr. Blackwall, the spider is an aeronautic species, Neriene dentipalpis. One of the most temperate descriptions of a gossamer shower I quote from Mr. Blackwall. A little before noon on an October day which was remarkably calm and sunny, with the thermometer in the shade Black- ranging from fifty-five to sixty-four degrees, Mr. Blackwall ob- bidet aed served that the fields and hedges in the neighborhood of Man- chester, England, were covered over with a profusion of fine, glossy lines, intersecting one another at every angle and forming a confused kind of network. So extremely numerous were these slender filaments that ‘in walking across a small pasture his feet and ankles were thickly coated with them. It was evident, however, notwithstanding their great abun- dance, that they must have been produced in a very short space of time, for early in the morning they had not attracted his notice. A circumstance so extraordinary could not fail to excite the curiosity of so keen an observer. But what more particularly arrested his attention was the ascent of an amazing quantity of webs of irregular and compli- cated structure, resembling raveled silk of the finest quality and clearest white. They were of various shapes and dimensions, some of the longest measuring upwards of five feet in length and several inches in breadth in the widest part, while others were almost as broad as long, presenting an area of a few square inches only. Mr. Blackwall quickly perceived that these gossamer threads were not formed in the air, as was gen- erally supposed at that time (1826) even among naturalists, but at the earth’s surface. The lines of which they were composed being brought into contact by the mechanical action of gentle airs, adhered together, until by continual additions they were accumulated into flakes or masses of considerable magnitude. On these masses of spinningwork the ascending current, occasioned by the rarefaction of the air contiguous to the heated ground, acted with so much force as to separate them from the objects to which they were attached, raising them in the atmosphere to a perpendicular height of at least several hundred feet. About midday Mr. Blackwall collected a number of these webs as they arose, and again in the afternoon, when the upturned current had ceased to support them and they were falling. Scarcely one in twenty contained a spider, though on minute inspection he found small winged insects, Forma- tion. a _— 278 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. chiefly aphides, entangled in most of them. This flight of gossamer ap- pears to have been quite general throughout Great Britain, as it was no- ticed in England, Wales, and even in Ireland.! Mr. Blackwall is undoubtedly correct in the suggestion which he makes as to the origin of gossamer showers. My own observations, at least, are ¥ precisely in the direction of his conclusion. As has already been eed i said, the aerial excursions of spiders in the United States usually ‘ occur in the soft, balmy days of early autumn, during the months of September and October, although they occur in a less degree during the first warm days of June. The reasons for this are manifest. In the first place the conditions of the atmosphere are favorable. ‘The balmy weather invites the spiders to issue from their hiding places and attempt aerial flight. The wind is not high enough to disturb their excursions, and yet the temperature is sufficiently high to cause ascending currents of air. Were the weather cold or rainy spiders would not venture forth. Were the wind high its violence would greatly interfere with their excursions. Were the air perfectly still it would be impossible for them to mount above the earth. But the conditions being favorable, as they generally are in the haleyon days of our American autumn, immense numbers of spi- ders, but particularly the young, may be found upon all manner of elevat- ed objects—blades of grass, weeds, bushes, fences, and what not—essaying an aeronautic flight. In many, and I would venture to say in the great majority of cases, before a successful ascent is accomplished many unsuccessful attempts are made. A spider will assume the proper position and spin out a long thread. Jor various reasons, which we are not able to explain, it fails to mount aloft. The thread floats in the air until it is whipped off by the breeze. One, two, or a dozen attempts of this sort produce as many floating filaments. These while waving to and fro in the eddying air are sometimes tangled together before they are loos- ened. Others, again, are united in the air after release. If now we think of the unnumbered myriads of young spiders who are abroad at this sea- son, all moved by the common imptise to fly away from their present site, and all making the unsuccessful efforts described, we can imagine the enormous quantity of loose filaments of gossamer threads which would thus be set afloat within a short period of time. These, no doubt, ascend to a certain height, at which they become more or less united into a loose, flocculent mass, and from which, in the cool of the evening, or on the cessation of the air currents, they slowly descend, and add to the quantity already fluttering from all points of the herbage on the surface. Trial Threads. “Researches in Zoology,” by John Blackwall, F.L.8., second edition, London, 1873, page 258, sq. SS ———————— ee hl ee . THE ABRONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT. 279 This is a natural, and undoubtedly is the true, explanation of gossamer showers. ‘The theories which have attributed them to electrical phenomena, or to the shooting out of threads from the spinnerets by the physical power of spiders before their ascent, must be dismissed as having no foun- dation in fact. They are really no more worthy of credit than the popu- lar superstition that these fleeing cobwebs are— “Caused by the autumnal sun, That boils the dew that on the earth doth lie.” The French naturalist Mr. Virey made certain observations and ex- periments which led him to conclude that spiders ‘swim in the air” by approximating their limbs and striking the air as birds or insects do their wings. Moving the feet with incredible agility, they are able by means of the vibration to propel themselves through the atmosphere.' In this bold but fanciful conjecture, as Blackwall properly terms it, Mr. Virey was anticipated by Dr, Lister. ‘Certainly this is a rope dancer,” he writes, “and itself effects its ascent and sailing. For, by means of its legs, closely applied to each other, it balances itself, as it were, and promotes and di- rects its course no otherwise than as if Nature had furnished it with wings or oars,” ? Notwithstanding the importance which such names give to the suppo- sition, it is thoroughly unworthy of belief. The only movement which I have ever perceived on the part of spiders is a momentary adjustment of their bodies, so as to swing them between the two floating rays of threads that constitute their balloon; and, also, to spin the little foot basket or support for their feet, which I have heretofore described. Otherwise they appear to remain perfectly quiet until they reach the ground and escape from their aeronautic threads. It is hardly worth while to more than mention the theory of Murray that the ballooning ascents of spiders are caused by electricity.? The the- ory was much mooted at one time, and had some worthy names to endorse it. It is, of course, not impossible that a material composed of silk, as is the spinningwork of spiders, may be in- fluenced more or less, and in one way or another, by electricity. But as the result of careful, long continued, and wide observation and study I have no hesitation in saying that electricity has nothing (or next to nothing) to do with the ballooning of spiders, and that the ascending and moving currents of air are entirely responsible for aeronautic phenomena. There appears to be a special tendency on the part of certain species to undertake aeronautic flight, and certain species appear to be destitute of Elec- tricity. 1 Bulletin des Sciences Naturelles, October, 1829, page 183. * De Araneis, page 85. * John Murray on the Aerial Spider, London Magazine of Natural History, November, 1828, pages 320, 324. 280 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. the power, or at least the wish, for such excursions. Among the latter Blackwall! ascertained that Tegenaria civilis and Ciniflo atrox are to be reckoned; among the former, the most skillful balloonists ob- Balloon- served by him were Thomisus cristatus and Lycosa saccata. The prehl largest individuals of the first named species seen to take aerial ; journeys measured one-sixth inch between the extreme points of the head and abdomen, one-tenth inch across the broadest part of the ab- domen, and weighed about a quarter of a grain. The largest individ- uals of Lycosa saccata seen floating in the air were of similar weight and dimensions. x. Most readers of general and theological literature possess some knowl- edge of the position held by Dr. Jonathan Edwards as a philosopher. His work on “The Will” still ranks as one of the greatest books Dr. Jona- written by an American; but the fact that Jonathan Edwards is than Ed- : . : wards, Cntitled to a place among the pioneers of natural history has heretofore been limited to a small number of persons specially interested in science. ‘To that little band it gives particular pleasure to note the recognition of that fact which the last few months have brought. In the first volume of this work I have already alluded to the observations of Master Jonathan Edwards upon spiders, and have credited him with an- ticipating by at least one hundred and sixty years some of the most inter- esting observations which I have made and published under the supposition that they were original with myself.? It is proper at this point to call attention to some facts in the aero- nautic habits of spiders which this lad made known. Dr. Sereno E. Dwight, the editor of the “Life and Works of Jonathan Edwards,” appears to have been the first to publish a letter written by him, when a boy of twelve or thirteen years old, to an English correspondent of his father’s, in which letter he describes what he has seen of the habits of “ flying spiders.” The scientific world was made acquainted with the matter as early as 1832 by the editor of “Silliman’s Journal,”® who published in full the above named letter as printed by Dr. Dwight. The January number of the “Andover Review” takes up this subject anew, and in a valuable paper’ Professor Smyth covers the whole ground of Edwards’ studies, and permits us to look into the operations of the young mind while pursuing his remarkable observations and experiments. An unpublished manuscript is therein edited, which appears to have been the original record of the boy’s studies, from Boy Nat- uralist. 1 Researches in Zoology, page 275. 2 Volume I., page 69. 5’ American Journal of Sciences and Arts, Vol. XXII., 1832, pages 112, 113. *“The Flying Spider: Observations by Jonathan Edwards when a Boy,” Andoyer Re- view, 1890, Prof. Egbert C. Smyth. a a Ol ee THE AERONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT, 281 which record the letter of the English correspondent was probably con- structed. Young Edwards appears to have made a rude division of various tribes of spiders, which, as far as it goes, is accurate, at least sufficiently so for all popular purposes. In a general way this lad as early as A. D. 1716 had hit upon the foundation principle of classification of the distinguished naturalist Latreille, who, just a century later, divided spiders into seven groups, based upon those very habits which young Edwards notes, al- though, of course, with more careful characterization.' Edwards had found that on a dewy morning towards the end of Au- gust or beginning of September one has the best opportunity to study field spider webs. He had further discovered that spider webs which are ordinarily unobserved may readily be brought into view by putting one’s self into such position that the rays of the sun shall fall upon them against some opaque body. Once more, the boy naturalist had discovered that the aero- nautic habit of spiders is closely associated with those bridge lines which are continually observed in summer stretched from tree to tree across roads, between fences, and in like position. Again, he appears to have discovered that the spider, while engaged in casting out these bridge lines, often swings itself _.* in a little basket of lines held between the bunched Swinging feet, I have particularly alluded to this in Volume Foot . Basket. I., page 69, when speaking of the use of what I have called the swinging foot basket, a habit of which I had supposed that I was the original discoverer. The drawing in Volume L., Fig. 65, was taken from what I supposed to be an accurate fac simile in “Silliman’s Journal;” but, in point of fact, Edwards’ drawings, as given by Professor Smyth, are far more accu- rate than those, particularly in the outline of the spider’s body and legs, and I therefore re- FiG. 281. Edwards’ Ballooning Spiders. 1, dropping from twig; 2, swinging from produce them here, after the drawings in the line: 3, sending out threads, bc; 4, a, % abandoned thread ; ¢ b, spider in fli is “Andover Review.” iia Sieaaee Again, Edwards defined correctly the manner in which the spider’s thread is formed. He could make no studies of the interior structure of the animal. It was reserved for the age of the microscope _ to do this, but this boy of thirteen years old reasoned that the spinning stuff must be contained in liquid form within certain appropriate organs in the abdomen, from which it is expressed, escaping from the spinnerets as a liquid, and immediately hardening by contact A Pre- diction. 1 See Cuvier’s “Le Regne Animal,” edition 1817, Paris. ae 282 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK., with the air. I quote his language: ‘Seeing that the web while it is in the Spider, is a certain cloudy liquor with which that Great bottle tail of theirs is filld which immediately upon its being Exposed to the Air turns to A Dry substance, and Exceedingly Rarifies and extends it self”. . . . “Now if it be a liquor it is hard to Conceive how they should let out a fine Even thread without Expelling a little Drop at the End of it but none such Can be Discerned, but there is no need of this.” Young Edwards also perceived that the spider had no direction of its frail aerial vessel after it had once embarked, but was compelled to go at the will of the wind, and to disembark and settle wherever its balloon might find an entanglement. He correctly discerned and explained the theory of equilibrium by which the spider navigates the air. This is his explanation: “If there be not web more than enough Just to Coun- terbalance the gravity of the Spider the spider together with the web will hang in equilibrio neither ascending nor Descending otherwise than as the air moves but if there is so much web that its Greater Rarity Shall more than Equal the Greater Density they will ascend till the Air is so thin that the Spider and web together are Just of an equal weight with so much air.” This statement substantially expresses the opinion of all students at the present day.! This review of the studies in natural history of the boy Edwards will suffice to justify the language used nearly sixty years ago by Prof. Ben- jamin Silliman, one of the most eminent of America’s men of Prof. science: “The observations recorded by him present a very curi- Silliman’s ; ‘ : ; ; ; Tribute, US and interesting proof of philosophic attention in a boy of twelve years, and evince that the rudiments of his great mind were even at that immature age more than beginning to be developed.” Even with the more perfect light of the present there will be found few to question the further words of the same distinguished authority, that “had he devoted himself to physical science, he might have added another Newton to the extraordinary age in which he commenced his career; for his star was just rising as Newton’s was going down,’”? "See a paper by the author on “Jonathan Edwards as a Naturalist,” in Presbyterian and Reformed Review, July, 1890. * American Journal of Sciences and Arts, 1832, page 110. PART IV.—THE SENSES OF SPIDERS AND THEIR RELATIONS TO HABIT. On APYTE RX. THE SENSES OF SPIDERS, AND THEIR ORGANS. iL A SPIDER’s eye is a globose object or capsule, lined internally with pig- ment and having the outer surface transparent and conyex, constituting the cornea or corneal lens. Behind the lens is the optic cham- ber, filled with a semiliquid and lined on the hinder part with the retina, which receives and reverses any image, as in the -human eye, The eye of a spider corresponds with the ocellus of insects, and speak- ing generally, the ocellus may be regarded as consisting, first, of a lens, forming part of ,the general body covering; second, of a layer of trans- parent cells; third, of a retina or second layer of deeper lying cells, each of which bears a rod in front, while their inner ends pass into the fila- ments of the optic nerve; fourth, of the pigment. From the convexity of the lens it would have a short focus, and the comparatively small number of rods would give but an imperfect image, except of very near objects. Though these eyes agree so far with ours, there is an essential difference between them. It will at once be seen that the pigment is differently placed, being in front of the rods, while in the vertebrate eye it is behind them. Again, the position of the rods themselves is reversed in the two cases, ! In details, the structure of fully formed ocelli presents many differences; and it is remarkable that in some species this is the case even with the eyes of the same individual, as in those of the well known En- glish Orbweaver, Epeira diademata. (Fig. 282). The figure, which is taken from the admirable work of Grenacher,? represents a section through the front (A) and hinder (B) dorsal eyes. In this case the eye B would receive more light and the image therefore would be brighter, but on the other hand the image would be pictured in greater detail by the eye, A. Spiders’ Hyes. Ocellus. 1 Sir John Lubbock, “On the Senses, Instincts, and Intelligence of Animals,’ page 147. * H. Grenacher, “Untersuchungen tiber das Sehorgan der Arthropoden,” Goéttingen, 1879. I have made the cut from Lubbock’s book. ) (283 eS he Oe . 284 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Fig. 288 is a drawing of a section through an anterior median eye of Agalena nevia eight days after hatching multiplied about three hundred and fifty times. The retinal portion has not reached its full development, but on the whole in this stage the essential features of the eye are established. 1 It will be seen that in this species, according to Locy, the eye consists, first, of the lens, which a few days after hatching assumes the form of the cuticular lens of the adult; second, the vitreous body, which is the magnified portion of the hypodermis, with which it has never ceased to be continuous; third, of the hypodermis; and, finally, of the retina, consisting of the first or inverted layer of optic invagination, and the second or non inyerted layer of optic invagination. Speaking roughly, the eyes of spiders and ocelli of insects may be said to see as our eyes do; that is to say, the lens throws on the retina an image, which is per- ceived by the fine terminations of the optic nerve. Or : x From the nature TIAN of the external in- ee : ' tegument, the eyes of spiders would seem to be fixed in one di- rection. Yet micro- scopic examination of them when alive Fic. 282, Long section through the front (A) and hinder (B) dorsal eyes of appeared to satisty Epeira diademata. (After Grenacher.) A, anterior eye; B, posterior eye; Mr. Campbell? that Hp, hypoderm ; Ct, cuticle; ct, boundary membrane; K, nuclei of the cells spiders not only have of the retina; M, muscular fibres; M, M', cross sections of ditto; St, rods; Pg, P*, pigment cells; L, lens; Gk, vitreous body; Kt, crystalline cones; 4) adjusting power Rt, retina; Nop, optic nerve. over the lenses, but that they also can move the eye itself within the cavity covered by the transparent cuticle. This appeared to the author to be the only way to account for the frequent changes of color, as well as of the form and posi- tion of the color, which take place in spiders’ eyes, and which resemble that of a moving liquid globule. This opinion seems to me unfounded. Il. How far Orbweavers may be guided by sight in making their webs, and how far by touch, is an open question. The organs of sight do not seem to be as highly organized in these and other Sedentary spiders as in the Wanderers. Structure of Eyes. } Z Uf ww * William A. Locy, Observations on the Development of Agalena nevia, Bulletin Mus. Compar, Zool. Hary. Coll., Vol. XII., No. 3, plate x., Fig. 69, ? Observations on Spiders, page 42. — t= *r = THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 285 Professor Wilder, when studying the habits of Nephila plumipes,! came to the conclusion that spiders of that species cannot see anything at all, whether near or remote. I do not accept the conclusion, but give some facts on which it was based. The spiders paid no at- tention to an object put close to them, nor to the quiet movements of any one about them. An individual would often rush by an insect en- tangled in her net, if it chanced to cease its struggles before she had accu- rately determined its position; she would then slowly return to the centre of the web, and wait until another vibration indicated the whereabouts of the insect. A fly offered upon the point of a needle would not be no- ticed until it began to buzz, when it would be seized at once. Nephila, however, always prefers the light, and constructs her large orbs where the sun can reach them. The young mani- fest the same instinct, and in confine- ment seek the sunny side of a glass vessel. In order to test the ability of the Furrow spider to work upon her web without the aid of daylight, Quality of Vision. Orbs —_ I secluded one within a large ‘Made in Gel] with a sliding glass door the Dark. sree Beg She soon spun an _ orbweb across the cell as close to the glass door and as far toward the light as could well fy. 293. sagittal section through an anterior be. Fortunately not a line of the snare ™odian eye, eight days after hatching; the - retinal portion has not yet reached its full was attached ‘to the glass itself, so that development. x about 350. Ins, lens; vit, Ivéould! draw it back amd: forth at wi eee ee cea tener aP enkle tare. I next cut away the lower foundation ination; rtn”’, second (non inverted) layer. line, broke up the entire lower part of © “%* "°° the web, and the box was then completely darkened. Next day, when the covers and screens were removed, the web was found thoroughly mended, every part being so neatly and accurately repaired that it was scarcely possible to determine which was the patchwork and which the original snare. Even if we admit that some particle of light may have entered the cell, the sense of touch in this case must have been the chief reliance, In other experiments the spider’s sight, in so far as that sense can be apprehended by human experience, could have had no part in Cocoon- directing her work. I have repeatedly confined female Orbweay- ihe mae ers, Epeira strix, sclopetaria, insularis, domicilioram, and triara- nea, Acrosoma rugosa, and others, in paper boxes absolutely im- pervious to light, and opening them the next day have found eggs deposited 1 Proceed. Boston Soc, Nat. Hist., Vol. X., page 208. a 0 286 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. upon the inside, sealed, covered, and swathed within the characteristic co- coon, and all done as accurately as though the creature had wrought under the most satisfactory conditions. Readers who have followed the methods of cocoon weaying as detailed in the preceding chapters will be able to appreciate the acuteness and accuracy of that sense of touch, and what- ever other faculty may be associated therewith, by which such an in- dustry was wrought, and share the wonder that it could have been done in total darkness. Like facts are true of other tribes than Orbweay- ers, particularly Tubeweavers and Saltigrades, with which I have experi- mented. The fact that spiders are able to spin their cocoons not only in the dark, but without apparent organs of vision, is demonstrated by the case of the well known caye spider, Anthrobia mammouthia. Professor Pack- ard found this species in Mammoth Cave, and was fortunate enough to collect a cocoon belonging to it. This, of course, shows that the delicate work required in constructing this object can be wrought by touch alone. So also the cavern Linyphians, although having eyes, dwell in total dark- ness and weave snares and cocoons. I have often found the peculiar tubular nest of the Saltigrades spun within boxes in which they had been captured, These spiders have, per- i See haps, the most perfect organs of vision of any of the order. Yet eae they are able to do quite as good weaving in the dark as in the : light. No one who has watched them stalking prey during the day could well fail to conclude that they are guided by a tolerably accu- rate sense of sight. Their rapid and marked change of manner when prey is “sighted,” the mode of approach, like the action of a cat creep- ing upon a bird, the peculiar behavior displayed when the final spring is made, are not to be accounted for on any theory other than a keen sense of sight. ‘So also with Citigrades. I have seen young Dolomedes sexpunctatus leap from the side of a box and catch a fly “on the wing,” and return to its perch by the rebound of its dragline. Such an act not only shows ability to see, but also some faculty to estimate distance, unless we suppose it to have been a chance shot. In Laterigrades similar action may be observed. Like Saltigrades, they are arboreal in their habits, and crouch for prey and steal upon it. One of our largest indigenous Laterigrades, the Huntsman spider (Heterapoda venatoria), received from Florida and kept in captivity, permitted a large fly placed in her cell to run between the legs, fly into the face, alight on the back, without any attempt to capture it. In the course of time, how- ever, the fly lit on the side of the box a short distance in advance of the Huntsman. She perceived it, crouched, slowly moved her limbs, stealthily and by almost imperceptible advances approached, then swiftly shot forth her claws and secured her victim. The behavior was quite similar to that shown under kindred conditions by animals with well organized sight. THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 287 Rey. Mr. Pickard-Cambridge! records that he has more than once seen an English Orbweaver, Meta segmentata, drop from her web upon an insect which it had espied on the ground a little way below it, and ascend again with its prize by means of the line drawn from its spinnerets in the de- scent. This is certainly a remarkable degree of keensightedness for an Orbweaver, one, by the way, that habitually affects a shadowed habitation. Many species of Orbweavers are found upon their snares during day- time in normal posture for capturing prey. They seem to have little cessation of activity in the hours of light, nor does there appear to be special increase of activity during evening. Other species, as the Furrow spider, quite habitually exclude themselves from the orb during the day and hide in the vicinity until the approach of evening, when they come forth and take position at the hub of the orb. With most species this is the time when such work will be done. As the light begins to diminish over the landscape an increased activity may be observed throughout a large part of spider world, and everywhere indi- viduals may be seen flying tentative filaments, restlessly pioneering the neighboring shrubbery, running foundation lines, weaving webs, swathing, trussing, eating insects. Something of the same sort may be seen in the early morning, when snares broken by the night’s work are renewed or replaced. Night Habits. Ta: I am not prepared, as yet, to say whether a comparison of the species which show morning activity with those which display activity at night would justify a separation into nocturnal and diurnal spiders. Certainly the line would not be a rigid one; but there is some ground to suppose that there are occasional tendencies to this side or that, more or less de- cided. There is probably a difference in this respect among the several eyes of any one spider; some are undoubtedly organized to re- ceive more light than others, while some receive the image pict- ured in greater detail. (Fig. 282.) We may therefore attribute different powers of vision to the different eyes. The eyes of spiders vary both in shape and color in the same individual. Some are pearly white; others yellowish, amber, dark gray, or black. Some Saltigrades have eyes that shine like precious stones, reflecting various brilliant hues, as the emerald, the amethyst, the opal—which may be due, in part at least, to reflection from the brilliantly colored mandibles. These hues, according to M. Simon, indicate different powers of vision and qualities of service. Quoting favorably a remark of Dr. Vinson, he would divide a spider’s eyes into “diurnal” and “nocturnal.” The diurnal eyes are brilliant, Color of Hyes. ' Spiders of Dorset, Vol. II., page 241. _ ne a 288 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. transparent, and seem to have a pupil and iris; the nocturnal are, on the contrary, dull and opaque.! Lebert expresses the same opinion,? adding further that those which are most convex and brightly colored, serve to see during daylight, and the others, which are flatter and colorless, serve during the dusk. It occurred to me to test this theory by making such division on the basis of habit, as above referred to, and observe whether the spiders which incline to nocturnal habits have the nocturnal or white eyes, and vice versa. Such a comparison, extended to a few species, shows the following results :— Among our indigenous Orbweayers, those whose night habits are most pronounced, or whose ordinary habitat is dark or shaded places, proved to have light colored eyes. For example, I rarely find Epeira strix Night upon her web in daytime; she comes out for prey in the early Aa ae evening or twilight, and remains quite persistently throughout Byes. the day in her nest of curled leaf or in some conyenient den. The eyes of this species have the entire rear row and the side eyes of the front row a light gray color. The middle front eyes are of the same color, but a darker shade. Meta menardii, which persistently inhab- its shaded places, and which I have found in caves in central Pennsylva- nia, has all its eyes a light pearl or gray color. The specimens of this species examined were found in Sinking Spring Cave quite distant from the mouth. The Ray spider I have always found in ravines or well shaded spots under the cover of ledges or foliage. Its eyes are all a light pearl, the middle front eyes having a little darker shade. Turning to other tribes I found, for example, that the Medicinal spider (Tegenaria medicinalis) has all its eyes yellow, with the exception of the small midfront pair, which are dark with a marginal ring of light color. Its dwelling place is habitually cellars and dark corners. I have often found it living quite in the shade. Clubiona palens, which lives within a silken tube and is frequently found underneath stones, has pearly white eyes, the middle front being a slightly darker shade. The eyes of Agalena neevia are all a uniform bril- liant yellow (amber), rather darker than Tegenaria medicinalis. This spi- der inhabits a tube which expands into a sheeted web. She keeps habit- ually on guard within the mouth of her tube, but sallies forth at all hours of the day after the prey which drops or alights upon her web. She evi- dently possesses good day sight. So far, therefore, one might say that the conjecture that the white eyes are used for seeing in the dark, are nocturnal eyes, in fact, is corroborated. But a further examination introduces facts which are in serious conflict with the theory. For example, Argiope cophinaria lives persistently in the 1 Simon, Histoire Naturelle des Araignees, page 35. 2 Die Spinnen der Schweiz, page 6, quoted by Lubbock, “On Ants, Bees, and Wasps,” Linn. Soc. Jour., Vol. XX., 125. COLORS OF SPIDERS AND THEIR COCOONS. 1, ARGIOPE COPHINARIA; 2, EPEIRA INSULARIS; 3, EPEIRA DOMICILIORUM; 4, 5,6, COCOONS AND FEMALE OF ARGIOPE ARGENTEOLA; 14, MALE OF SAME; 15, MALE ABDOMEN; 7, 8, COCOON AND FEMALE OF GASTERACANTHA; 9, NATURAL SIZE OF FEMALE; 10, COCOON STRING OF CYCLosa BIFURCA; 11, FEMALE, SIDE VIEW, ENLARGED; 12, DORSAL VIEW, ENLARGED; 13, NATURAL SIZE. Auth- Del. in part Edw. Sheppard, Lith.& Del. vpn ad als : , bee it > T fe WE sc ites ith . 4 ran) ot THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 289 light. I have always found it hanging on the central shield of its web in broad daylight and at all hours of the day. Its eyes are a light yellow color. The same is true of Argiope argyraspis. Acrosoma rugosa I have always found upon its web in daytime. This is a wood loving species, but commonly spins its web in open places. Its eyes are light gray, the mid- dle front pair having a little darker shade. Epeira labyrinthea is also a diurnal spider, selecting, as a rule, a position upon branches stripped of foliage or dead limbs. Its rear eyes are light colored, pearl gray or a del- icate amber, but those of the front row are black. Epeira insularis habit- ually occupies its nest of sewed leaves during the daytime and often at night also, but it takes prey quite freely during all hours of the day. Its eyes are all light colored. Two gravid specimens of this species which I examined had eyes decidedly lighter than other specimens, and the ques- tion occurred to me whether it might not be that the color of the eyes is affected during the period of gestation. I had not sufficient specimens, however, to follow this inquiry, which, perhaps, is not worthy of further attention. . The eyes of Linyphia weyerii, which I have examined from several specimens received from Luray Cave, are of light color, the two central eyes being white. The latter is a marked variation from the general con- dition of this pair of eyes, which appear to be darker, as a rule, in all ‘terrestial species, and to be obliterated in some cavern Poaunes I submitted a few European species to a similar examination.’ 'Tetrag- natha extensa (Russia) has the side eyes a yellowish brown, the side rear eyes of lighter hue than the side front. The midrear eyes are dark yellow, and the midfront eyes are darkest of all. Epeira sclopetaria (Ireland) has the side eyes light colored, the rear eyes being lightest. ‘The midrear eyes are a dark yellow, and the midfront darkest of all. Epeira sclopetaria of Russia is colored in the same way. Epeira quadrata (Russia) has the side rear eyes light colored, the side front eyes a little darker hue, and the front eyes tolerably dark. Epeira dia- demata (Russia) has the rear eyes brownish yellow, the front eyes a darker hue of yellow, and the front side eyes a darker yellow, and the midfront eyes darkest of all, almost black. None of the above species can be classified as nocturnal in their habits, although all of them, of course, are able to capture prey at night. 'Tet- ragnatha extensa and Epeira sclopetaria are continually seen upon their webs in broad daylight. Epeira quadrata and Epeira diademata belong to nesting species, having habits similar to our Epeira insularis and trifolium. ‘They live in dome shaped tents, roofed and walled by clustered leaves or by a single rolled leaf, Their faces are towards the opening, looking upon ‘The Russian species were received from Mr. Waldemar Wagner, of Moscow, and the European Species. British species were collected partly by myself and partly by Mr. Thomas Workman, of Belfast. i ia pie ae 290 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. their webs, which are usually spun in well illumined places. They may be regarded as diurnal in their habits quite as much as nocturnal. Of Epeira cornuta I examined specimens from Moscow (Russia) and Treland. The side eyes are an amber yellow of a rather dark hue. ‘The middle eyes are still darker; the midfront ones the darkest of all. The side rear eyes have the lightest hue. This species resembles our Epeira strix in its habits, and is much inclined to live in dark places, and for the most part retires to its cell or den, or some secluded retreat, during the day, showing its greatest activity at night. It is not exclusively a nocturnal species, but approaches nearly that habit. Of Epeira umbratica I examined two species captured by me upon the outer basaltic columns of Fingal’s Cave and one from England. The side eyes are amber yellow, of a darkish hue. The midrear eyes Epeira have a little darker color, and the midfront darker still. In raracas the English specimens the colors were similar, but a little darker, the midrear eyes being quite dark and the midfront almost black. This species, as is well known, is nearest a nocturnal species of all the Orbweavers of Europe. It quite frequently seeks shaded places, although this is not its exclusive habit. The webs of the Fingal’s Cave spiders were exposed to the light, although the individuals were hidden within a little recess of the rock. I have seen numbers of the webs of these species on the grounds of Tatton Hall, near Manchester, the estate of Lord Edgerton, swung between the railings of a rustic bridge, shaded only by foliage. These two spiders present the strongest testimony in contradiction of the theory that the white eyes are most useful to those species that are nocturnal in habit. Judging by their habits, their eyes should have been the lightest of any Orbweavers of Europe, but the contrary appears to be the case. I am not able to solve such contradictory facts. Quite at the opposite extreme, and in line with the general tendency, are the eyes of cavern fauna. The eyes of Linyphia weyerii, which I have examined from several specimens received from Luray Cave, are all light colored, the two central eyes being white. The above facts appear to point to the conclusion that eyes of a light color are better suited for seeing in the dark, but that dark colored eyes are not necessarily especially valuable to the species having diurnal habits. In short, there does not appear to be a corresponding difference between the nocturnal and diurnal habits of spiders, and the supposed nocturnal and diurnal eyes, sufficiently marked to justify a division on that basis. An examination of the above facts also shows that there is a quite persistent tendency on the part of the side eyes to be lighter in Most color than the middle eyes; and, of the side eyes, the rear ones Persistent : : P Hives, are generally the brightest. It also appears that the middle group of eyes tend to be darker colored, and, of these, the front pair are darkest of all. —_—_— THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 291 On the theory that the dark colored eyes are of the greatest advan- tage in the light, and the light colored eyes most valuable in the dark, one would expect that in the case of cave species the eyes first to disap- pear would be the middle ones, and those longest to persist the side ones; the rear eyes longest of all. I was anxious to test this theory, but unfor- tunately had but a scant amount of material to do it. However, the few facts at hand are valuable for comparison, and are quite in harmony with the above inference. Pavesi has observed! that while the species of Nesticus possess nor- mally eight eyes, in a cave dwelling species, Nesticus speluncarum, there are only four, the four middle eyes being atrophied. This suggests that the four central eyes serve especially in daylight. The above observation of Pavesi corresponds substantially with Emer- ton’s studies of the spider fauna of some of the large caverns of America.? Out of six species of Lineweayers described, five show some unusual condition of the eyes. Three species haye the front middle pair very small ; “one has all the eyes small and colorless, with the front middle pair wanting in the males and some females; and one species is entirely without eyes. The complete obliteration of all the front middle “ pair in some specimens, and the partial atrophy of the same eyes in others, would seem to indi- cate that the organs so situated are of most ben- jy. ogs, Face of Linyphia inserta, efit in full sunlight, or, at all events, that sun- _ with two eyes wanting. Fiq. 285. if 1 A . t h a ‘ . } Byes of another individual, same 1g. nt 1s more necessary to their preservation than species, all present. Fic. 286. the others. Face, of Anthrobia mammouthi, with eyes atrophied. Fia, 284. FiG, 286. Several figures are here presented, made from Emerton’s drawings,* which will illustrate the progressive atrophy of the eyes in the case of some of the spider fauna of the caverns of Kentucky and Virginia. Fig. 286 shows the face of a female Anthrobia mam- mouthia, from which the eyes have been entirely obliterated. Fig. 285 is a drawing of the eyes of a female Linyphia inserta from Fountain Cave. Here the middle eyes of the front row are extremely small, but, neverthe- less, are quite manifest. In contrast with this is Fig. 284, which repre- sents the head and mandibles of a male of the same species (Linyphia inserta), from which the middle front eyes have entirely disappeared. The absence of this or any pair of eyes, so far as my knowledge extends, is in no case a sexual characteristic, so that the disappearance of these eyes, if we suppose the figures to have been drawn correctly, can only be attributed ‘Sopra una nuova specie de Ragni appartenente alle collezioni dei Museo Civico di Genoya, Ann, Mus. Civ., 1873, page 344. * Notes on Spiders from Caves, Am. Naturalist, Vol. IX., page 278. 8 Op. cit., plate i., Figs. 5, 18, 21. —— - _ r a 292 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. to the gradual progress of the atrophy, or to one of those natural freaks which occasionally occur with spiders as well as other living things. Occasional irregularities in the number of eyes are not wholly due to causes which produce the atrophy of those organs. For example, Black- wall! records that an adult female Epeira inclinata captured in August was entirely destitute of the left intermediate eye of the posterior row, and the right intermediate eye of the same row was not the usual size. In another adult female taken in the autumn of the same year the right intermediate eye of the posterior row had not one-eighth of the usual size, being merely rudimentary. This spider abounds in many parts of Great Britain and Ireland, and seems to prefer districts which are well wooded, but otherwise has no habits which would account for such irregularities. It is simply an abnormal state of the eyes, resulting from some morbid condition. Concerning Linyphia inserta, drawings of whose eyes are shown at Figs. 284 and 285, Emerton says that the eyes are small and colorless and sep- arated from each other. The front middle pair are very small, hardly larger than the circles around the base of the hair by which they are sur- rounded, and only distinguished from them by wanting the dark ring which surrounds the hair circles. In five females from Fountain Caye all the eyes are present, (Fig. 285.) In one female one eye of the front mid- dle pair is wanting. In three males from the same cave both front middle eyes are wanting, as in Fig. 284. In one male only one of the front mid- dle pair is wanting. In four females and one male from Bat Cave, Carter County, Kentucky, the front middle eyes are wanting.? This irregularity in the number of the eyes indicates with little doubt the fact that the in- fluence of environment has been strongly felt in producing a greater or less atrophy of these organs of sight. IV. That spiders have accurate perception of the direction and intensity of light, one may easily determine by experiments with the young. A great number of such experiments I have made, but will content myself with an illustration or two which fully typify the universal tendency. A brood of young Zillas heretofore described (Volume I., page 148) habitually .,,.. Placed themselves upon the illuminated side of their common Sensitive Frcs fis _ : to. Tait. eb, This position during the day looked toward a bay win- dow a few feet from the table on which the colony was settled, and at night was on the opposite side and toward the lamp on my desk. In the morning, if the day were bright so that. the sunlight streamed in at the bay window, the colony invariably migrated to that side. If the day’ were dull, inasmuch as a side window shed some e light over the table, ‘ Spiders Gt. Bt. & ik, .» page 3 BG 2 ire cit., page 280. THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 293 the movement was not so decided. At night the direction was reversed, and the migration set toward the library lights, and the colony settled as near them as possible. This behavior was so often and uniformly observed that the conclu- sion was quite satisfactory, but I nevertheless made a series of experi- ments which fully confirmed it. For example, one evening I found the brood massed at two points (a and b, Fig. 287) on either side of a toy wooden column, hanging in a dim light which fell from a lamp that previously had been turned down. An oil lamp giving a bright light was now lit, and so placed (beyond the point c) that one cluster (at a) was in shadow, the other (at b) faintly illuminated. In twenty minutes twelve individuals had passed over from the partly shaded spot (b) to the illuminated point (c), and about half the group in the shadow (at a) 5 ne eerie meen sees me: # ee rE re a. b c Fic. 287. Experiment to show the perception of light by young spiders. The group in shade were all transferred to the shelf by lighting the lamp thereon. had crossed to the better light at b. The lamp was then removed to the opposite side of the table, reversing the conditions of light, casting ¢ in the shadow, b partly in the shade, and throwing full light upon a. Instantly a movement began among the spiders now in the dark at ¢, who turned and ran rapidly along the lines communicating with the col- umn. In less than two minutes only four of the twelve remained; one of these soon followed, and shortly the other three. In the meanwhile the shaded group at b was being broken up by an active transfer to the illu- minated section at a. Another experiment gave the following results: I captured a female Kpeira sclopetaria at Atlantic City and placed her within a box to cocoon. May 26th, a cocoon was formed in the angle of the box, over which was placed a triangular piece of sheeted spinningwork attached at the three 294. AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. margins to the sides and bottom of the box. (Fig. 288.) This formed the cocoon tent, whose dimensions were two inches on the floor and along the sides. June 13th, a small cluster of yellowish white spiderlings appeared at the bottom of the cocoon, showing that the young had already hatched and found their way outside within the intervening eighteen days. They had then the appearance of having been hatched a day or two. During the ensuing week they gradually darkened in color and were. joined by their fellow broodlings, who gathered in a semicircle around the upper edge of the cocoon on the box. Here they remained six days upon the top of a case of drawers near an open window. While reading on the evening of June 19th by the light of an argand burner, I glanced up- ward and observed that the lamp was covered with web lines that fringed ; ipods ‘the bottom of the por- i Ae Wa We We iy ge celain shade and met- Wey My al stand. Upon these is Le L oe i 3 lines forty or fifty spi- Zp Ny. derlings hung, in the full blaze of light. They had _ evidently just issued from the cocoon tent, and had been carried by the wind along a bookcase and across the desk to the lamp, a total dis- tance of fourteen feet. A bridge line four feet long was strung from the bookcase to the lamp, along which the brood had clambered, attracted undoubtedly by the light. There was no reason why they should have sought that particu- lar spot, and many reasons why they should have gone elsewhere, but the light dominated their action. (See Volume I., Fig. 141.) A portion of these I removed to a table, where, during the night, they set up a cobweb commons of the kind heretofore described, and remained grouped thereon until next morning. Then they and nearly all their fel- lows were dispersed by the breeze when the windows were opened. It thus appeared that exposure to and the force of the wind determined the fact of a-quick and wide distribution of spiderlings immediately after egress. In the case of the other broods that were protected from the effects of strong winds, the young remained within a limited space for two or three weeks. Most of them gradually disappeared by aeronautic flight, mount- ing in that way to the ceiling and walls; some of them spun small orbs in the vicinity, and some remained upon the common web to the end. Sy Ai ify Fic. 288. Cocoon tent of Epeira sclopetaria. THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 295 ¥. The vision of spiders is evidently limited in extent, although it remains to be determined what that extent may be. Prof. Auguste Forel, so widely known for his distinguished studies of ants, records in a paper on the “Senses of Insects,” that if a cocoon be removed from a ground spider (Lycosa) to the distance of two or three inches, she will hunt about for it and have great difficulty in finding it. He states, moreover, that jumping spiders (Saltigrades) cannot perceive their prey at a distance greater than two or three inches.! Professor Peckham, as the result of his experiments, concludes that spiders, at least the Lycosids, even when they see their cocoons, are not able to recognize them except through the medium of the sense of touch.? But, on the other hand, the Peckhams’ observations make it plain that Saltigrades can see objects at a distance of at least ten inches, ‘They fre- quently saw them stalk their prey at a distance of five inches. They re- peatedly held Astia vittata on one finger and allowed it to jump to a finger of the other hand, gradually increasing the distance up to eight inches. As the distance increased, the spider paused a longer time before springing, gathering its legs together to make a good “ready.” I have repeatedly verified this experiment with an adult female of Phidippus morsitans. Holding the spider upon a box in which she had been taken, I approached a finger within an*inch of her face, until her attention was evidently attracted. Presently she leaped the space, alight- ing upon the finger. I then restored her to her position upon the box, and by manipulation again tempted her to escape by vaulting twice the distance. By gradually increasing the space, she finally jumped a distance of from three and a half to four inches. Her whole action showed that she had seen the object before her, had discerned the fact of an interven- ing space, had carefully measured the distance, and then yaulted, success- fully reaching the object. As usual on such occasions, she always kept herself secure by a dragline attachment to the box from which she jumped. Twice the Peckhams saw a male Astia vittata chasing a female upon a table covered with jars, bags, and boxes. The female would leap rapidly from one object to another, or would dart over the edge of a Good — ook or box so as to be out of sight. In this position she would Sight in : . : : mates ; Salti- remain quiet for a few moments, and then, creeping to the edge, grades, Would peer over to see if the male were still pursuing her. If he happened to be hidden, she would seem to go to him even when ten or twelve inches away, and would quickly draw back. But in case he was hidden behind some object, she would hurry off, seeming to Limited Vision. 1 Sensationes des Insectes, I. Recueil Zoologique Suisse, Tome TV., No. 1, pages 18, 19. 2 Mental Powers of Spiders, pages 401, 402. - oe a a i 296 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK, think she had a good chance to escape. The male in the meantime fre- quently lost sight of the female. He would then mount to the top of the box or jar upon which he found himself, and, raising his head, would take a comprehensive view of surrounding objects. Here he would remain until he caught sight of the female, which he often did at a distance of at least ten inches, when he would at once leap rapidly after her.? These observations certainly show a well developed power of vision, sufficient at least for all purposes of the active life led by these wandering Saltigrades. They confirm the opinion elsewhere expressed in this work (Volume I., page 19), that individuals of this tribe possess more highly developed vision than those of any others. One might almost infer this from the appearance of their eyes, the seeming expression which rests upon their faces, and the general intelligence that marks their demeanor and movements. Sir John Lubbock appears to have tested the experiment made by the Peckhams upon sight of spiders. Lycosa saccata, a familiar European species, was selected for his observations. A female from whom Lub- an egg sac was removed was placed upon a table, about which bock’s the- ram fora adie aaa Tastes Peak dient WI i Experi. ‘%2¢ tan for a while as though looking for her eggs. 1en she ments. became still, the cocoon was placed about two inches in front of her. She evidently did not see it. It was gradually pushed towards her, but she took no notice until it nearly touched her, when she cagerly seized it. : The cocoon was again removed, put in the middle of the ‘table, from which all other objects had been taken. The spider wandered about, some- times passed close to the egg sac, but took no notice of it. She spent an hour and fifty minutes in this aimless wandering before she found the cocoon, and then apparently by accident. A third time it was removed, placed upon the table as before, and an hour was spent in wandering before it was discovered. The experiment was tried with other individuals, and with the same results. Sir John’s conclusion is that “it certainly appeared as if they could not see more than half an inch before them; in fact, scarcely further than the tips of their feet.’ It is impossible, however, to admit the explanation which the learned author has made of this inability promptly to recognize the cocoon. “It must be remembered,” he says, “that the sac is spun from the spinnerets, and that the Lycosid perhaps had never seen the bag of eggs.” On the contrary, the manner in which the Lycosid prepares her round cocoon, as it has been quite fully shown and described by myself, compels the conclusion that the mother Lycosa has perceived her cocoon both by the touch of sense and sight from the beginning of its fabrication to the ‘ Mental Powers of Spiders, page 402. * Senses, Instincts, and Intelligence of Animals, 1888, page 179. ® See Chapter V., page 144. THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 297 time when, having deposited the eggs within the little circular patch, she rolls the cover around them into a ball, and then attaches the ball to her spinnerets. This is undoubtedly the universal method with spiders that carry about their egg sacs. The cocoon covering is first spun upon some surface, the eggs enclosed, the ball prepared, and the last act is attach- ing it to the spinnerets. Of course, during this process, a spider whose eyesight is so good that it can perceive its prey at a distance of several inches, must of necessity have seen its cocoon. It would be impossible for us to reach any other conclusion. The confusion in maternal recognition and selection of her offspring cannot, therefore, be accounted for by defective sight. Among the Theridioid spiders is a large group of species which Black- wall has placed under the genus Walckenaéra, which present some re- markable peculiarities in the location of the eyes. These are distributed on the anterior part of the cephalothorax, which sometimes in females and usually in males is remarkably: ele- vated. The drawings here presented (Figs. 289-293) are taken from Black- wall’s descriptions of Walckenaéra acumina- ta,! and represent one of the most remarkable of these turret like de- velopments of the ca- put for the reception of eyes.2 The length of the female (Fig. 292) is about one-seventh of an inch. The sexes are similar in color, but the male (Fig. 289) is smaller than the fe- male, and the anterior prominence of its ceph- alothorax is much more elongated and slender, measuring about one- ‘ : l £ : | . Fic, 289. Male. Fic. 290. Eye turret of male, greatly enlarged; front twentiet 10F an men mn view. FiG, 291. The same, side view. Fic, 292. Female. Fic, 293. length. This eye tur- Same, side view of cephalothorax, with outline showing natural size. ret is elevated vertical. ‘“™" Bickel) ly and dilated near the middle and at the apex (see Figs. 290, 291), the latter dilatation being separated by a transverse groove into a superior and inferior segment, both of which are rough, with short, strong hairs. On Hye Turrets. Bde SS a Try ty SSS Walckenaéra acuminata. 291 ' Spiders Gt. Br. & In, pl. xx., Fig. 208. * See also Mr. W, Simon’s Arachnides de France, Vol. V., part IIL, page 820. 298 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. these enlargements the eyes are seated. Both sexes of this curiously con- structed spider were taken in England in October under stones and on‘rails,? It is to be observed that the greatest prominence of the eye turret of Acuminata belongs to the male, and this appears to be the rule with simi- larly constructed species. What can be the cause or the use of toe of this? One would think that such a remarkable development Turrets, must be intended to serve the spider some special advantage in making its way around its natural site. But until we know something more in detail of the habits of the species we can only venture a suggestion. The probability is that all these small Theridioid spiders, like many of the minute species dwelling in the United States, spend their life upon or near the surface of the earth, where they weave their loose webs of lines around the bases and among the roots of grasses. It may be taken for granted that the male, in his amorous search after the female during the period of courtship, would find such an eye turret advantageous in detecting the home web and person of his mate amidst such an entang- ling environment. At least, no other advantage can be suggested for this strange exaggeration of the tubercles on the eye space. A difficulty which at once arises, is the fact that so many other spe- cies haying like habits and location show no peculiarity of a like kind, and appear to have no need therefor. Great numbers of species have eyes placed upon tubercles or slightly elevated parts of the caput, usually of a rectangular or quadrangular shape. In some Epeiroids these tubercles are quite pronounced, and many of the genera are sharply distinguished thereby. In many more genera, and indeed it may be said in aang almost all, the eye or ocellus proper is quite commonly raised and Rows'pon or within a little cup of black chitinous formation, which thus slightly elevates it above the surface of the face. As far as I know, there are not many eyes that appear to be set immediately into the eye space without this enclosing cup. Among Saltigrades and Citigrades one pair of eyes is commonly placed at considerable distance behind the others, giving in this way an addi- tional advantage to the species by the seeming ability to observe, to some extent, objects lying behind it. The breaking up of the eyes into rows, generally two, but sometimes three, may serve the same useful purpose. This whole subject is an interesting one, but the facts in my possession are so few that I can do little more than open it for the consideration of future students. Vi. In considering the sense of smell in spiders two questions require at- tention. In the first place do spiders possess this sense at all, and, if so, 1 Blackwall, idem., page 290. Ee ne > . a — eS THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 299 to what extent? And, in the second place, where are the olfactory organs located? The conclusion which I had reached, as the result of experi- ments and observations’ of my own, is that spiders have little The sense of smell, although they are in some way affected by certain Sense of : ; ae Smell, dors. I have long entertained the opinion that the sense of smell in spiders, like that of hearing, abides entirely in the deli- cate hairs which constitute the covering and armature of the creature. I have thought that in some way the nervous system receives through these organs or appendages impressions that may be considered analogous to hearing and smelling in the higher animals; but, further, that both these senses are in an extremely rudimentary condition. These conclusions are substantially confirmed by the experiments re- corded by Professor and Mrs. Peckham, which were carefully performed and continued through a number of examples large enough to justify a conclusion, Their method was to place a rod dipped in various essential oils, cologne, and several kinds of perfumes, close to the various parts of the spiders, and note the effect. The results were carefully tested in all cases by first presenting a clean rod. Among the essential oils used were oil of peppermint, of lavender, of cedar, of cloves, and of wintergreen. The first experiments made were upon some tame Attide that had taken up their abode with them. These were fear- less little creatures, ready to jump upon the finger, catch the gnats that were offered them, or drink from a spoon. They showed the same facility in smelling that they exhibited in seeing, and were quick to re- Effects of : Oden spond to any test of their sense of smell. The most common effect. produced by an odor was that it caused the spiders to raise their fore legs and palps, which sometimes they also moved up and down. In one case great excitement was caused by the approximation of pepper- mint. In several cases the spiders, after indicating that they noticed the scent, moved away from it. With Orbweavers the effect of the various perfumes was to cause an upward jerk of the abdomen and a movement of the legs. Sometimes the tips of the legs were rubbed between the palps and the falces. The result of two hundred and twenty experiments may be summed up as follows: Three species, Epeira hortorum, Dolomedes tenebrosus, Herpyllus ecclesias- ticus, did not respond to the test. In all other cases it was evident that the scent was perceived by the spiders, although it may be noted that among spiders of the same species great differences of degree exist in their sensitiveness to odors, ‘The spiders exhibited their sensitiveness to the various perfumes by movements of the legs, palps, and abdomen; by shak- ing their webs; by running away; by seizing the rod which had been dipped into the scent, enswathing it as they would insects; in the case of the Attide, by approaching the testing rod with the first leg and palps held erect, but whether in the way of attacking it, or, as it sometimes The Peck- hams’ Eix- periments 300 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. seemed, because the smell was pleasant to them, the observers could not determine. ! As to the olfactory organs, the experiments would indicate that they are distributed more or less over the entire surface of the body, especially at the tips of the feet and at the apex of the abdomen, but that Olfactory they probably are more highly developed in the fore part of the alana body and in the organs immediately surrounding the face. In order to test the value of the palps as olfactory organs, those parts were dissected from two females of Argiope cophinaria. The result- ing tests indicated that the araneads had suffered no apparent loss of sen- sitiveness. In one case the application of the oil of lavender at the front of the body caused the spider instantly to contract her legs and rub the tips thereof, one at a time, upon the falces. The other spiders responded to heliotrope and Chinese bouquet by quickly jerking the abdomen and rubbing the tips of the legs over the falces, VII. A number of experiments, prolonged through several years, have been made with a view to determine the extent to which spiders hear, and the location of the auditory organs. I have found myself continually thwarted, or at. least confused, by doubts lest the various re- sponses made were caused by independent movements of the air, which, operating on the delicate body armature, of course produced sensa- tion and excitement. I made many experiments upon the tarantula “ Lei- dy,” which I had in my keeping for more than five years, and whose life I have elsewhere recorded.2. These experiments were made with tuning forks, with several kinds of musical instruments, and by sounds of all de- grees of sharpness and dullness made by the human voice and various sonorous objects. Once I had nearly concluded that the great creature was immensely excited by my flute. Certain tones, when the instrument was brought close to the vessel in which the tarantula was confined, caused her at once to rear upon her hind legs in that rampant attitude which this creature as- sumes when about to strike its prey. During one experiment, however, something occurred which induced me to drop my flute and make a light puff of air with my mouth over the edge of the glass cage, so that the wind thus produced would be reflected against the animal. At once she assumed the rampant position precisely as before. Repeating this, I found that it was simply the motion of the air over the mouth hole of the flute, which was carried into the cage, that had agitated the tarantula, In other Sense of Hearing. 1 Mental Powers of Spiders. 2 Proceedings Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1887, page 869, sq. “Prolonged Life in Invyer- tebrates: Notes on the Age and Habits of the American Tarantula.” ——— ee Pl rt = acre 4 "*" ’ ‘ . THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 301 words, when I blew upon her, the action of the wind excited her, and caused her to rear upon her hind legs as though some enemy were ap- proaching or some victim coming within reach. This will- illustrate some of the difficulties in the way toward a just verdict. Of course, all sound is produced by vibrations of the air; but it seems possible that the movements produced by tuning forks and other instruments, sounded, as they must be, in so close proximity to the spider, may and probably do mechanically agitate the hairs upon the body, and thus effect the sense of touch alone, producing an excitement which I have often observed and sometimes attributed to hearing. The difficulty has been to separate between these two sensations and decide whether my ex- periments had not simply excited the spider by touch. My conclusion, as the result of independent observations, is that if spiders have any sense of hearing proper, that sense is distributed, like the sense of smell, over the entire body; and, further, that it can scarcely be distinguished from the sense of touch as it is known to us. No doubt, however, the aranead has some of the advantages within its limited sphere that auditory organs proper give to higher animals. On this point the Peckhams also made a number of experiments, with some interesting results, as follows: Certain spiders indicate that they hear a vibrating tuning fork, by characteristic movements of the legs; others by signs of alarm, dropping from the web and keeping out of sight for a longer or shorter time. One spider, at least, Cyclosa caudata, when sub- jected to frequent approximations of a tuning fork, seemed to become grad- ually accustomed to the sensation, and, instead of dropping from her web as at first, remained immovable and apparently undisturbed. One of the most interesting points developed is that orbmaking spiders appear to be most sensitive to the vibrations of the tuning fork. All these responded promptly, being evidently alarmed by the sound. On the contrary, spiders that make no webs gave not the slightest heed to the sound. Among those species that proved unresponsive were two Tubeweavers (Herpyllus), several Lycosids, and the familiar Dol- omedes tenebrosus. Professor Peckham suggests that this differ- ence may be partially explained by difference in the feeding habits of the two groups, an explanation which leaves much to be ex- plained. May we venture to suppose that, in the case of the Orbweavers, the particular effect produced by the vibrations of the tuning fork upon the spider hanging on her web, or upon the delicate filaments of the web itself, is very much the same as that produced by the rapidly vibrating wings of an insect when humming around the snare or when struggling within it? Certainly Orbweavers are dependent upon some such agitation, especially of the web, for the intelligence that their snares have succeeded in trapping a victim. On the other hand, we know that Lycosids, for ex- ample, which stalk their prey in the open field, instead of ensnaring them Organs of Hearing. Effects of Sounds. ee 302 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. upon silken nets, are chiefly dependent upon sight for knowledge of their victim’s presence and power to secure it. A few experiments were made to determine where the organ of hearing is located, which, as far as they go, seem to confirm my own opinion as expressed above, that the auditory apparatus is but little specialized, and is distributed over a considerable portion of the epidermis. The removal of the palps appeared to make no difference in the power of individuals to respond to the vibrations of the fork. So also the removal of the first pair of legs seemed to leave the auditory organs intact, at least made no impairment of power to respond to sound. I will now describe two of my own experiments, as illustrative of the method pursued and the grounds for reaching my conclusion, An adult ; female Domicile spider, hanging in the centre of her orb, was ee tested by an “A” tuning fork. The fork in rapid vibration was periments moved all around her, gradually approaching until the instru- ment was within a few millimetres of her person. All parts of the body were thus tested and no signs of excitement appeared. ‘The fork was then touched to the top of the web, when Domicile immediately showed signs of excitement, acting precisely as if an insect were entangled at that point. She turned herself in the direction of the fork, grasped the radii leading outward to the point of contact, pulled upon them in the usual way as though testing the strength or entanglement of the supposed insect, and then gradually approached the point of agitation, I withdrew the fork, and, as the spider came up to the margin of the web where the instrument had been, she turned around, made several motions as though examining the strands, spun out a few lines, and went back to her hub, dragging a thread after her. The fork was then placed at the bottom of the web, then at the sides, and so successively to various points on the circumference of the orb. The same action substantially resulted, the spider always going to the spot where the fork was vibrating against the lines of her web. Finally, I suf- fered the fork to remain as the spider approached. She touched it with her fore feet; at once showed tokens of surprise, indeed of some pitrins stronger emotion; she seemed to be expressing the feeling, “I Spider. have been fooled;” turned her back upon the fork, shot out a thread from her spinnerets, and scampered away to the hub, where she curled herself up, drawing her legs toward her face until the knees projected above the head, exhibiting what I cannot express by another phrase than tokens of disgust. I then laid the vibrating fork upon the outer lines, but Domicile would not respond. I revolved the fork around the hub, close to her, as at the beginning of the experiment. This time, instead of remaining motion- less, she waved her fore feet back and forward, as though she had observed the vibration and were feeling the situation. After a few moments’ THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 303 interval I again tried the fork to the sides of the web. This time Domicile was again deceived, and turned towards the point of agitation as in pre- vious cases. She had evidently forgotten her former experience in the brief intervening space. The conclusion which I draw from such an experiment is that the spider was affected by the vibratory motions of the fork, communicated through the taut elastic line to the hairs and spines of the feet, pope The sense of touch was the only means of communicating the by Touch, *gitation, and no other indications of the spider having heard the sounds of the fork were here shown than appear in the cap- ture of an insect under well known and ordinary circumstances. Certainly the theory has never been advanced, and could not be maintained, that the spider hears the motion of an entangled insects wings and runs to secure the victim at such a signal. In such case it is manifest that the spider feels the action of the struggling captive as it is communicated over the vibrating radii to her feet, which grasp them at the centre of her snare. If this be so, it seems to me equally manifest that the same sense was brought to bear in determining the position of the tuning fork in the above and like experiments. I may venture to give the record of another experiment with the tun- ing fork, which was also wrought upon a Domicile spider, The vibrating fork was placed near her as she sat upon the hub, and moved around her four times, the spider showing no symptoms of perceiving the vibrations. The fork was approached within a few millimetres of the hind legs, where- upon she showed excitement. This was again repeated a number of times, the spider showing no signs. I quote the notes: “The vibrating fork is next touched to a radius on one side of the web. The spider turns and runs out towards the point of contact. After one minute’s interval the orb was touched on the opposite side. Domicile leayes the hub, runs out a little ways towards the fork, hangs upon the radial line, waves one fore foot around through an open space torn by the rain just below the hub, then returns to the hub. “One minute interval. The fork is applied to a radius at the top of the web. Domicile makes same demonstrations as before. One minute interval. The fork is applied within a half inch of the spider’s face as she hangs upon the hub. She stretches out one fore leg as on guard. One minute interval. The experiment is repeated. The fore legs are both thrown out quickly, violently, as though to grasp something. After one minute the experiment is repeated three times. The first two are unno- ticed. At the third application Domicile shoots out her fore legs. After the same interval the fork is tried at one side and at the top of the web several times. No response. It is then placed upon the web at the other side. The spider runs towards the fork. Various trials are made at the same and other points, and all fail to elicit a response.” a 0 304. AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. The result of this experiment, as in the case above detailed, and indeed in all other cases tried, is the conclusion that the symptoms of hearing, as they have ordinarily been described, seem to appear in the spider Conclu- only when the vibration of the sound instrument is communi- sine cated along the line of her web to the hairs which form the ments, ®mature of her body. I ean reach no other conclusion from the experiments so ad- mirably portrayed by Mr. Peckham.’ His experiments upon Orbweavers enabled hinxy to get results which, to his mind, indicated the sense of hear- ing. That the vibrations produced a state of excitement is true, but the question is, what was the mediate cause of that excitement? Did it result from hearing a sound, or was it simply caused by feeling a vibration similar to that made by an insect captured or hovering near? Mr. Peck- ham’s experiments indeed seem to me clearly to indicate the conclusion which I myself have reached. He used the tuning fork upon a half dozen species taken from different groups of spiders, making ten or twelve trials on each one. No individual gave the least intimation of hearing anything. These unresponsive species belong to the genus Herpyllus among the Tubeweavers, and the genera Pardosa, Piratica, Lycosa, and Dolomedes among the Citigrades. None of these spiders, so far as known, ever capture their prey by means of webs— a fact which struck Professor Peckham. It seemed to him “ remarkable that while all the Epeiroids responded promptly, being evidently alarmed by the sound of the tuning fork, the spiders that make no web, on the contrary, gave not the slightest heed to the sound. This may perhaps be partially explained by the difference in the feeding habits of the two groups.” Does this explain anything? ‘The difference here indicated certainly lies in this, that the excitement of the Epeiroids was produced by the agita- tion of the hairs upon their feet, and that agitation was awakened by vibra- tions of the fork along the lines of the web. That the web is affected by these vibrations I thoroughly satisfied myself by experiment. For exam- ple, a vibrating fork, when approximated to the broad, zigzag ribbon upon the orb of Argiope, would cause it to sway back and forth as though agitated by the motion of the air, which, beating upon it, alternately re- pulsed and attracted it. It would indeed be a remarkable fact were it to be established that; those spiders which, like the Lycosids, are dependent upon keenness of the senses for their success in capturing prey, should prove to be destitute of the valuable sense of hearing; while the webmaking spiders, who are so little dependent upon the sense of hearing, and are enabled to accom- plish the most important functions of life by the sense of touch alone, 1 Mental Powers of Spiders, pages 396, 397. belt akc t a pm —T- Te THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 305 should be found to possess hearing in a degree of acuteness. It is not often that one finds a contradiction like this in natural history, viz., that those animals that most need a certain organism or sense have none, while those which are in least need are highly sensitive. The experiments of Mr. C. V. Boys! would really lead to the same conclusion. He notes that after a spider has been dropped from its web by bringing a tuning fork near it, if the fork is made to touch any part of the web the spider is aware of the fact, and climbs the thread and reaches the fork with marvelous rapidity. Mr. Peckham observes and records a similar fact in the case of Epeira strix and Epeira labyrinthea.? How shall we account for these actions? It appears to me clear that when the fork was placed near the animal its vi- brations agitated the hairs upon the body and the spinningwork immediately under and around, just as a large insect hovering near in the same posi- tion would have done. ‘The spider, therefore, did in the case of the tun- ing fork what it would almost certainly have done in the case of the in- sect—it dropped from its hub as a measure of defense. In fact, a spider seated upon its hub is ordinarily at a decided disad- vantage when an insect enemy, such as a wasp, approaches near it. Its best defense, therefore, is to get out of the way. But it is quite a differ- ent thing when its enemy appears at any viscid part of the web and by the agitation thereof gives indications that it is captured. This is a signal which the spider understands to mean, in almost every case, that its vic- tim is ensnared and it can approach it with comparative safety. For this reason the spider that would run from an insect or a supposed insect that seemed to threaten it, would run towards the same when it appeared to be captured and harmless. In these experiments, therefore, I see simply dif- ferent manifestations of the same sensation of touch under different excit- ing causes, Mr. Boys’ Exper- iments. VIII. In connection with these observations upon the auditory powers of spi- ders, one must at least glance at the numerous stories about, and prevalent beliefs in, the sensitiveness of spiders to music. There is such a Sensi- discrepancy between belief in this commendable trait and the tiveness 7 : : to Music, 2°neral contempt and disfavor with which araneads are regarded, that one might incline to think there is good grounds for the tradition, since it would hardly have arisen under the circumstances with- out some basis of truth. Certain it is, the opinion is quite ancient and is widely distributed. Nor are there lacking incidents of seeming historic verity to be cited in confirmation thereof. It may be of value, it will at least be interesting, to quote a few of these. 1 “Nature,” XXIII, pages 149, 150. 2 Op. cit., page 411. ee 306 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. The anonymous author of an ancient history of music records the fol- lowing examples among others which tend to illustrate the effect of harmo- nious sounds upon the lower creation.! An officer of a Navarre (Irench) regiment was committed to prison for having spoken too freely of M. de Louvois. In order to brighten his prison life he sent for his lute. He was astonished, after four days, to see that when he played, the spiders would descend from their webs in his cell and form in a circle around him in order to listen. On the first occasion he was so greatly surprised that he remained per- fectly motionless, when, having ceased to play, all the spiders retired qui- etly into their dens. This strange assemblage caused the officer Attract- { fall into a muse upon the accounts related by the ancients of Se Orpheus, Arion, and Amphion. He assured the author of the Histoire, who appears to have received his account at first hand, that he remained six days without again playing, an abstinence which was caused in part by his astonishment, and perhaps more especially by the natural aversion he had for this kind of “ insects.” However, he began anew to give a concert to these animals, who seemed to come every day in greater numbers, as though they had invited others, so that in the course of time he found a hundred gathered about him, But this sort of society in such multitude proving in the end undesir- able, Monsieur the Captain got a cat from his jailer. ‘This animal he would shut up in a cage when he wished the presence of his aranead admirers ; on the contrary, when he would dismiss them, he let the cat loose. The particular actions of pussy are not described, but the narrator alluded to them as “making a kind of comedy that alleviated his imprisonment.” The author of this history from which I quote long doubted the truth of the above story, but declares that he was confirmed therein by subse- quently hearing a gentleman of position, merit, and probity, who played very skillfully upon several instruments, relating an inci- dent of the same tenor. This person said that he once went into his chamber to refresh himself after a walk, and took up a violin to amuse himself with music until supper time, a light being placed upon the table before him. He had not played a quarter of an hour before he saw sev- eral spiders descend from the ceiling, who came.and arranged themselves round about the table to hear him play. He was greatly surprised at such a demonstration, but did not interrupt the music, having the curiosity to see the end of so singular an occurrence. The spiders remained on the table very attentively until some one entered to call the musician to sup- per, when he ceased to play. Thereupon, as he informed the author, the spidens remounted to their webs, and, very much to his credit be it said, The Violin. 1“TVlistoire de la Miusigte et de es Effets,” edition Paris, 1715. I am nduitad to the musical library of Mr. 11. C. Wilt, the organist of my chureh, for references to this book and the work of Sir John Hawkins. THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 307 he added that he would suffer no injury to be done them. Subsequently he declared it was a diversion with which he often amused himself and gratified his curiosity.! A somewhat similar incident is associated with the distinguished musical composer Ludwig van Beethoven. According to Schindler, the story, if not originated, was generally spread by a biographical paper on Bee- thoven by Dr. Christian Miiller, of Bremen. The tradition runs that as often as the little Ludwig played his violin in his little room a spider, enamored of the strains, let itself down and sat upon the instrument. When his mother discovered her son’s strange companion she killed the spider, whereupon the little fellow broke his violin, Upon this fairy tale Schindler comments: “The great Ludwig could not recall such a fact, as much as this fable amused him. On the contrary, he said that everything, even flies and spiders, would have fled before his terrible scratching.”? Of course, in view of such statements, not the slightest credence can be given to “this pretty fairy tale of a poet’s invention,” and it shows how little credit is often due to these pop- ular fancies that associate themselves with distinguished characters. The well known anecdote of Pelisson, as described by Abbe Olivet, is another example in point. This gentleman was confined in the Bastile , ,, during the reign of Louis XIV., and amused himself by feed- ee ing a spider, which, from the description, must have been one pider. 4 - é ; of a Tubemaking species. The hour of feeding was timed to the rude music played by a Basque, who was the companion of his cell. The spider in time learned to distinguish the sound of the music, and to associate it with the season for its special banquet. This story, with various embellishments, has had a wide circulation and belief, though I believe it is wholly discredited by modern historians. Cowan quotes an account of a certain young ladies’ school at Kensing- ton, England, in which an immense species of spider was said to be un- comfortably common. When the young ladies were gathered for their morning and evening worship, and engaged in singing their accustomed hymn, these spiders made their appearance on the floor, as the story goes, or suspended overhead from their webs in the ceiling. ‘The obvious attraction, it was inferred, was the sweet singing by the worshiping young ladies. Walckenaer quoted Gretry as relating in his memoirs that at his coun- try seat a spider would seat itself upon the table of his piano wheneyer it was played, and would disappear therefrom when one ceased to touch the Beethoven and the Spider. Singing and Piano ‘Sir John Hawkins’ History of Music, Vol. III., page 117, note. * Biographie yon Ludwig van Beethoyen verfasst von Anton Schindler. Dritte, neu bear- beitete und vermehrte Auflage. Erster Theil, page 8, Miimster, 1860. See also Thayer’s His- tory: Ludwig van Beethoven, von Alexander Wheelock Thayer. Erster Band, page 112, Berlin, 1866, —=— ee OOO he 308 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. keys. He also states, as a fact which had recently come to his attention, that a lady while playing a harp in the midst of her garden perceived a spider fixed in the attitude of attention above her. Presently she trans- ported her instrument to another part of the room, whereupon the spider also changed its position, The lady’s curiosity being excited, several simi- lar movements were made, which led her to conclude that the aranead was affected by the sound of the instrument.! Campbell had in confinement a Tegenaria domestica, which at a tune from a music box would open her spinnerets, an act which is common to : spiders when expecting food, and go to the centre of her web oe where she used to be fed. It took some weeks thus to train her, and the first sign of reconciliation to her imprisonment was an angry movement of the falees when he touched her, whereas previously she used to run away.? He also speaks of startling spiders some distance off by the banging of a door, and their agitation could not be explained by supposing a current of air; nevertheless it easily might have been ex- plained by the agitation of the door jambs communicated through the wall to the web of the spider. Other examples might be cited, but the above are sufficiently typical, and will answer all my purposes. Now, the question naturally arises, what basis of fact is there for such a consensus of belief? Shall we dismiss the matter by simply supposing that all the individuals concerned deliberately drew upon their im- A Natural yoination, or were deceived? There is no reason to doubt a certain miiid part of the facts, at least. It is noticeable that in most of the above accounts the hour at which the spiders appeared was the evening, or just before evening. ‘This is a most natural occurrence. I have sat upon an open porch or verandah, and as the afternoon waned and sunset drew near, have seen spiders descend from the angles, cornices, ~ and crevices of the ceiling and roof, and spin their webs in the open spaces above me. They seemed to hang suspended in the air, without any special purpose, and, indeed, one who did not take pains to watch them would naturally conclude that they were in a position of fixed attention. It is customary for spiders, particularly Orbweavers and Lineweavers, who are the ones to which such manners are to be attributed, to descend ; in this manner and present this attitude as the evening ap- Evening proaches, which is the time for their ordinary activity. To be me a sure, they do not remain thus long, but proceed to make their bration. snares, yet, in so far, the stories which we have quoted may be . considered as substantially true. The persons concerned may have seen the spiders descend at the evening hour and hang in an ap- parent attitude of attention. 1 Apteres, Vol. L., page 110. 2 Observations on Spiders, I’, Maule Campbell. * Tbid., page 41. ee a Se ‘ THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 309 The question may further be raised, did the music have any effect in promoting this habitual behavior? I would not be willing to affirm it, but it is not improbable. The vibrations of air caused by singing and the sounds of flute or violin might affect spiders, as they rested upon their webs in the angles and corners of the ceiling, to such a degree as to im- press them with the idea that insects were near. No doubt there is some similarity in the effects produced by the humming of insect’s wings and the vibration of musical instruments. It is not irrational, therefore, to conclude that certain spiders may have been influenced by musical sounds to such a degree as to hasten their habitual action. But, for the most part, as far as our stories are to be regarded as credible, I am inclined to think that habit alone is sufficient to account for the alleged conduct of the spiders. That they were affected by the music to the degree believed and re- ported is not credible; though it is perfectly natural that, under the cir- cumstances, the observers should have so believed. Imagination could have gone a far way to supply the details and picture the spiders as gathering around the table or head of the performer in rapt attention to the “concord of sweet sounds.” As for the rest, one knows how stories grow—how a spider or two can be multiplied into a dozen, and how a dozen can readily grow into a hundred, and a natural action be involved in mystery or exaggerated into marvel. But, however we dispose of these ‘ widely disseminated traditions, one thing is certain, I have never been able, after many experiments and observations, with all sorts of music, good and bad, and with divers instruments, to see the slightest evidence that spiders are in the least sensitive to music. IX. Spiders are well provided with the means of feeling the slightest move- ments of their webs or other objects. On their legs and palps are long, slender, silken hairs, which differ from others in that they are attached to a small disk on the integument. ! It is not my purpose to present anatomical details of the organs through which the sensations analogous to smelling and hearing are conveyed to the nerves of spiders. But somewhat has been written upon the matter, and a reference thereto will be of interest. Dahl has opened the way in a contribution upon the auditory organs of spiders,? and this has been freely commented upon by Mr. Waldemar Wagner, of Moscow.® Auditory Hairs. ? Campbell, Observations on Spiders, Trans. Hertfordshire Nat. His. Soc., Vol. I., 1880, page 40. 2 Das Gehor- und Geruchorgan des Spinnen, Zool. Anz., 1883. 5 Des Poils Nommés Auditifs chez les Araignées. Bull. de la Societe Imper. des Natural- istes de Moscou, 1888. — —_——— 310 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Several illustrations of the types of hairs known as auditory are here reproduced from the latter writer. Their character is well enough ex- plained in the legends of the cuts, but a brief description may be added. The two parts of the hairs are distinguished as the root and the stalk or shaft. By the root is understood that. portion which enters the cuticle, and is inserted into an appropriate pit; by the stalk the free part of the hair which extends above the cuticle. The hairs of spiders, both by their structure and their root, appear to be divided into two principal types, perfectly distinct. One sort is distinguished by a root which is much larger than the portion of the stalk im- mediately above it. In other words, the stalk narrows at its foot to swell out again into a much enlarged root, thick- ened into the form of a button and in- serted into a sac like cavity of the skin. (See Fig. ae) This is what Wagner denominates a Tactile hair, proper. The roots of the other sorts of hair are ordi- narily much smaller, as compared with their stalks, than the type above named. (See Figs. 295 and 297, r, r, compared with Fig. 294, r, r.) The hair pits or follicles enclosing the roots are also more simply constructed. Tactile hairs (poils tactiles) are en- Fic. 294. Transverse section of a Tactile hair in the foot of a spider. (After Wagner.) ch, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, layers of chitine; mt, the matrix of the hair; t, tube formed by the inferior layer of the cuticle (ch. 5), and filled with plasm, pls; pl, fold formed by the tube (t) at the level of the first layer of the cuticle; t.r.s., inferior part of the basal thickening of the fold; t.r.a., its superior part; r, central part of the radix of the hair; ec, papilla; 0, orifice of the root by which the plasm passes from the cavity of the tube into the cavity of the hair, x; N, the nerve; p, the stalk of the hair; b, the annular thickening of the supe- rior layer of the cuticle surrounding the root of the thread. dowed with extreme sensibility, as is manifest from the fact that the lightest filament of silk can at once be detected by them and communicated to the ani- mal. The other types are simpler in their structure and, perhaps, their func- tion. Dahl does not make any distinc- tion between the hairs of the different types, and names them all auditory; but Wagner distinguishes the hairs into three principal types, the Tactile hair, including one of finer structure (poil tactil fin), the Beaded hair (poil a chapelet), and the Clubshaped hair (poil cucurbitiforme). The principles that led Dahl to attribute to his auditory hairs this function rests alone upon the fact that the waves of sound set them into motion, which movement is borne along the extremity of the nerves ound provokes the sensation of sound. He appears to attribute the same function to all the types of hairs distinguished by Wagner. In this opinion the latter author cannot agree, wry ‘ a 9 ‘THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 311 but thinks that the functions of these three types are not identical, since being found upon the same individual, one cannot well admit that three different organs are constructed for the same physiological role. Might they not, however, serve for different degrees of the same function ? Wagner does not doubt that spiders have a delicate sense of hearing, but the objective ground on which he rests it is unreliable. He states it as “a fact known to all biologists,” that in order to entice a spider from its nest or den it is only necessary to cause a fly to buzz near it, while an unskillful imitation of the buzzing sound fails to deceive the ara- nead. On the contrary, even the pres- ence of flies in the web often fails to tempt the spider forth; and I know that unskillful imitations of insects have often drawn them forth; but such imi- tations I have never conffned to sounds. They are only or chiefly successful when the movement is communicated to the threads of the web itself. Wagner admits that if the movement of hairs of any type under the influence of sound could be proved, that would suffice to assign to that type the role of an auxiliary auditory organ, at least. But, in fact, ib is far from being proved! "Satin of « Pete tal, Me mrs that sound sets the so called auditory marked by the same letters. z, an eminence hairs into movement. At least his OW ee ne aap ero oe or ae ea anc ans ing of the fold by which the free borders are experiments failed to show this. By the bent against the stalk of the hair, and form a ‘ d fe ] ee l bl little external pouch which is situated in front al or an ¢ ectric lantern he Was able to of the large external pouch; bo.e., cavity of the throw distinctly upon a screen figures of large external pouch; r, root of the hair with ‘ . its thickening; p.t.r., section of the walls of the a row of auditory hairs, enlarged to the external pouch by which the inferior part of size of from three to six inches He had the basal thickening of the fold (t.r.s.) is set " J : below; b, wall of the large external pouch, cor- prepared a fine section of that portion of responding to the annular elevation of the first the foot which is provided with auditory ¥°F of chitine in @ Tactile hair, b, Fig, 204 hairs, and this had been so placed as to allow free movement. Sounds of various, sorts and tones were then produced without having any effect upon the shadows on the screen. Suspecting that his lack of success might be due to the dryness of his preparation, he replaced it with a foot freshly cut from a living spider. The figures of the hairs were thrown clearly upon the screen, and, again, every effort to cause them to move by the aid of sound waves was unsuc- cessful. The size of the hairs upon the screen was so considerable that the least vibration would be perceived, and, therefore, he could hardly ad- mit that the failure was the result of defect in his experiment. From the pls, 312 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. above facts he concluded, first, that the function of the three types of hair above described cannot be recognized as identical; and, second, that no one of these types can be regarded as an auditory Fic. 296. Section of a fine Tactile hair. p, the stalk of a hair; r, the superior thickening of the root in the cavity of the large external pouch ; bo.e., cavity of the large external pouch; ry, basal thickening of the root at the point of its junction with the basal fold; z, ele- vation upon the superior part of the basal thickening of the fold by which the free borders are bent against the stalk of the hair and form a little ex- ternal pouch; p.t.r., section of the walls of the internal pouch, by which the inferior part of the basal thicken- ing of the fold (t.r.s.) is inserted be- neath; b, wall of the large external pouch, corresponding to the annular elevation of the first layer of chitine in the Tactile hair. The other parts corresponding to those of the Tactile organ. But, if their function is not identical, their fundamental likeness in anatomical structure gives one a right to suppose that they do have a function more or less analogous. does that function consist ? Wherein Mr. Wagner con- siders that the function of the Tactile hairs ought to be more perfect than that of the other types, because of their more per- fect structure, and that, therefore, they should be capable of receiving more delicate excitations than the ordinary Tactile hairs. One use, he thinks, may have been indicated by Dahl, who re- marks that the slightest breath of air is able to move the auditory hairs, a hair are marked by the same letters. Ho. 2by¥-—Sectlon sof thaigntiotn fact which may be readily observed ; at least, that spiders are always extremely sensitive to the slightest puff of wind made by the human mouth. There may, therefore, be assigned to the auditory hairs the function of transmitting the mechanical movements of the air, Wagner again raises the conjecture that the Beaded and Clubshaped hairs may be used to in- dicate the state of the weather; a conjecture which he bases upon what he supposes to be an ac- cepted fact, namely, that spiders are so sensitive to weather changes as to be able to anticipate them, and, indeed, to prognosticate them by their behavior. hat this is a widespread belief I else- where indicate (in the chapter on General Habits) ; Clubshaped hair. m, the club- shaped blade of the hair; st, lon- gitudinal striations of the blade; z, elevation upon the superior part of the basal thickening of the fold by which the free borders are bent against the stalk of the hair and form a little external pouch; r, root of the hair, with its thickening; p.t.r., section of walls of the internal pouch by which the inferior part of the basal thickening of the fold (t.r.s.) is inserted beneath; b, walls of the large external pouch, corre- sponding to the annular eleva- tion of the first layer of chitine in the Tactile hair. The other parts corresponding to those of the Tactile hair are marked by the same letters. but that it is without foundation, I think, I also show; so that Mr. Wagner's suggestion must fall to the ground before the presence of facts of habit, Oe ee ——— << TLC THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 313 My own opinion is that all these various types of hairs may be re- garded, generally speaking, as Tactile hairs, and that they serve to com- municate to the spider the sensations which are included by more highly organized animals in the distinct senses of touch and hearing, and, I might add, of smell. It seems to me that there can be nothing contrary to this view in the fact of differences in the forms of hairs, if we suppose that the several types may indicate some differentiation in the character of touch sensa- tions communicated by them, so that a spider may be able to distinguish between the agitations of the air caused by ordinary movements of the wind and the impressions of waves of sound, and those sensations which result from touch proper, as the undulatory motion of surfaces on which a spider rests, or the agitation of the web upon which it hangs and the trapping thread to which it holds as it lurks within its den. In other words, there are differences in the sensations produced by the organs of touch, but these have not been so far differentiated as to justify us in distinguishing any of them as organs of hearing. Mr. Wagner calls attention to facts which may lead up, after wider study, to important conclusions. He says that the Orbweavers (Epeiride) and Lineweavers (Therididee), for example, only possess these hairs upon the tibia and metatarsus; while the Wanderers have them not only more numerously on the tibia and metatarsus, but also upon the tarsus. We perhaps may not accept Mr. Wagner’s opinion that the Wanderers are ex- posed to far greater dangers than the Sedentaries, but certainly there is a difference in the form in which the dangers approach them, as well as in the character of the dangers. The greater number of Tactile hairs on the legs of Wanderers may perhaps be associated with the fact that they do not rest upon a web, but come in contact with the ground and the vari- ous surfaces on which they lurk for prey. Their feet also are used, at least in some cases, for digging holes in the earth and for other uses which are not habitual to Orbweavers and Lineweavers. Moreover, Sedentary spi- ders, hanging on their webs by their feet, need a concentration of sense organs in the neighborhood of the claws or tips of the tarsus; and it seems to me that the Sedentaries are well provided in this respect, and are thus able to detect the slightest motion that runs along the lines of their snares when agitated by insects or by raiding enemies. However, we must confess that here we are largely in the region of conjecture, but the manner of life among Wanderers, one would suppose, naturally re- quires a better physical organization, inasmuch as they are not provided with the habit which constructs trapping instruments for the accession of prey and the defense of their persons. In other words, it may be that the presence of additional sensation hairs upon the Wanderers is a compensa- tion for the lack of industrial facilities. Mr. Wagner has also found some interesting facts concerning the —=_ = Te ee 314 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. development of these Tactile hairs: Immediately after hatching from the eggs, Attus terebratus has none of these organs upon its tarsus or metatar- sus, and only one upon the tibia. Lycosa saccata when first hatched has not a single Tactile hair. After the second moult, however, both these species acquire one hair upon the tarsus, two upon the metatarsus, and two upon the tibia. Lycosa saccata when adult has four hairs upon the tarsus, nine of such hairs on the metatarsus, and seven on the tibia. This would seem to indicate that with the development of the spider, and thus with the approach of need for sensation organs, Nature causes those organs to appear. The young spider has no need of food, as it subsists upon the nourishment provided by the mother in the egg. It is not until after its first moult or two that Nature requipes it to set up housekeeping for itself, and capture its own prey. This fg oe of the Sedentaries. The Wander- ers, at least some of them, live with the mother until the first moult has been made. X. Are spiders mute? The question is one of much interest, whether con- sidered from the standpoint of the relation between the sexes, or Are the number and nature of the senses. The amount of informa- Spiders : : ; ] oye Mute? tion possessed upon this subject is scarcely sufficient to warrant a decided opinion, but such as I have will be presented. At the outset, it may be suggested that, reasoning from analogy, we would expect to find in spiders some mode of stridulation. The subking- dom of Arthropoda, to which they belong, has at its head the Insecta, among which are many genera whose species are characterized by their power to stridulate. In illustration of this, any frequenter of our fields and forests will recall the rolling drumming of the harvest fly or cicada, which may be heard in yast and confusing notes when the seventeen year locust, as it is popularly called (Cicada septendecim), makes one of its periodical appearances, and covers the trees with hosts of insects. The cheerful creaking of “the cricket on the hearth,’ which has passed into our proverbs and poetry, is an example of stridulation. The shrilling of the grasshopper, locust, and field cricket are other well known examples. Professor Wood-Mason has discovered stridulating organs in the Phasmidee.! These were seen in a species of Pterinoxylus, the stridulating organs being fixed partly on the wings and partly on the tegmina, like the Orthopterous Edipoda described by Seudder.? In these cases it has commonly been regarded, and is probably true, that the stridulating instruments are exclusively possessed by the males, and that the sound is in some way intended as a call to his mate. This 1 Proceedings London Entomological Society, 1877, page xxix. 2 American Naturalist, Vol. II, page 113. EE Te ee | a THE SENSES AND, THEIR ORGANS. 315 fact has long been known, as is evident from the old witticism attributed to the incorrigible Rhodian sensualist Xenarchus, who alludes in o Male * 5 the following terms to the cause of that great happiness which Love Call. : é , was popularly attributed to these insects, and which seemed to the common folk to make them apt images of the gods :— “lappy the Cicadas’ lives, Since they all have voiceless wives! ” ! The fact here noted is probably true of insects generally, as in most cases females cannot utter sounds, and stridulating organs are limited to males. Yet there are some exceptions which add perplexity as well as interest to the problem. For example, the stridulating organs possessed by the Phasmide above alluded to are, accord- ing to Professor Wood-Mason, found in the females, thus furnishing a case in which functional stridulating organs are present with that sex. Another example of power to stridulate on the part of female insects is that of Cicada montana? Passing to the other extreme of the Arthropods, we find examples of stridulating among Crustaceans and Scorpions. Mr. Darwin, alluding to stridulation among spiders as recorded by Professor Westring, makes the remark that this is the first case known to him, in the ascending scale of the animal kingdom, of sounds emitted for this purpose.* But we are now able to embrace other Arthropods among the music making animals belonging to the lower orders. ; Mr. J. Sackville Kent discovered sound producing properties in a Crus- tacean, a species of Spheroma. He was not able to ascertain the exact method in which the sound was produced, nor whether the ani- Hixcep- tions. rad mal has organs specially adapted for the purpose. On numerous moe ee occasions, however, he heard the sound made by this little creat- ceans. Ure, a Crustacean scarcely one-fourth of an inch long. The ani- mal was confined within a glass jar, of which it was the only occupant, and the noise made was a little sharp tapping sound, produced three or four times consecutively, with intervals of about one second’s duration. The observer could almost exactly imitate it by striking the side of the jar with the pointed end of a pipette. The character and intensity of the sound produced, associated with the small size of the animal, in- duced him to believe that it was caused by the sudden flexion and ex- tension of the creature’s body.* 1 See Cowan’s Curious History of Insects, page 250. 2 See Trans. Lond. Soc., 1877, pagé xvi. 8 Descent of Man, Vol. II., American Edition, Chapter IX., page 330. 4 Nature, November Ist, 1877, page 11. See also Proe. Lond. Ent. Soe., 1877, page xxvii. — ee ee eee eT 316 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. On this communication Professor Wood-Mason remarks that the sound producing organs in Crustacea are paire organs, as in Scorpions, Mygale, and Phasmide; that is to say, organs working independently of Stridulat- each other on each side of the body. They are differently seated ing AP- oy situated in various genera, but in all cases appear to consist paratus. : 5 of what may be called a scraper and a rasp, and the sound is produced by rubbing together these two organs, which constitute the strid- ulating apparatus. Professor Mason has also announced the discovery of stridulating organs in Scorpions. This appeared from the study of the anatomy, but the matter was placed beyond doubt by observations made at Bombay. Two Scorpions Jarge living scorpions, procured from Hindustani conjurors, were hiatag fixed face to face on a light metal table and goaded into fury. At once they commenced to beat the air with their palps, and simultaneously to emit sounds which were distinctly audible, not only to the observer, but also to bystanders. They were heard above the flutter made by the animals in their efforts to get free, and resembled the noise pro- duced by continuously scraping with one’s fingers bits of silk fabric or a stiff tooth brush. The stridulating apparatus in this species is developed on each side of the body; the scraper is situated upon the flat outer face of the basal joint of the palp fingers, the rasp on the equally flat and pro- duced inner face of the corresponding joint of the first pair of legs.! It is thus found that from one extreme of the Arthropods, the Insecta, where stridulation is frequent, through the Scorpions, and to the opposite extreme, the Crustaceans, the habit of producing sounds, for whatever pur- pose, is to be found. We -therefore have a strong basis in analogy for the belief that similar organs might be found among the spiders, animals that rank between these extremes. XI. In point of fact, such organs have been found. The Swedish nat- uralist Westring was the first to discover them, and his observations are accessible to the general reader in his valuable work upon Swedish Spiders.? He appends this observation to his description of “Theridion serratipes.” The abdomen of the male, around the cord by which it is united to the thorax, is armed with a denticulated coat, whose use West- ring had often puzzled over. At length he fortunately discoy- West- . ered that this valve is an instrument for stridulation. At the mine's base of the thorax the aranead is armed with t covery. P#se of the thorax the aranead is armed with transverse, most delicately wrinkled striations, which are applied by the animal for the producing of sound, as among insects. This sound Westring heard when the spider was squeezed slightly ; then, either freely or when touched ' Proc. Ent. Soc, Lond., 1877, xviii. 2 Aranew Syecicee, page 175. coal LS ee em THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 317 with the fingers near the apex of the abdomen, he moved his abdomen up and down, and its base or the serrated valve near the base of the thorax was rubbed upon. The female ‘of the species does not possess these or- gans.! Mr. F. Maule Campbell? has taken up these observations of Westring, and in a valuable and interesting paper added much to our information. He made special studies, both of the male and female of Stea- Stridula- toda guttata and Steatoda bipunctata. In the fore extremity of er een the abdomen he found, in the male of Guttata, that the socket is a complete ring with some strong chitinous spurs on the in- side of its external edge (Fig. 299), which is also roughly serrated. ‘That of the female is divided into two parts, the inferior being smallest, while the superior, as in the male, is the deepest. In the female (Fig. 298) there are no spurs. The inner edge, however, is undulated, and in points becomes angulated, while a little below are stiff hairs on small protuber- ances. The chitinous thoracic extension of the male is marked on its Fic. 298. Z Fig. 299. The stridulating organs of Steatoda guttata, male and female. (After Campbell.) Fic. 298. Female; view from above, of chitinous ring or socket attached to abdo- men, covering the union with thorax. Fic, 299. The same part of the male. Fia. 800. View from above of chitinous extension of thorax of female. superior surface with many fine, parallel, transverse grooves, which are absent in the female. (Fig. 300.) In the same position on both sexes are several ridges which are less numerous in the male. Thus, it appears that while it is likely that individuals may vary in details, the female of Steatoda guttata has organs adapted to stridulation, as well as the male. Mr. Campbell also examined both sexes of Steatoda bipunctata, and found that the socket of the male is much shallower than those of the male and female of Guttata. The inside of the external edge is rough, and the sides are lined with a row of bristles seated on prominences. The only opposing surface is a spinate ridge on the base of the thorax, which 1 Since this original discovery Westring had heard many males of Theridium and Stea- toda stridulating. Among these he mentions Theridium castaneum Clerck, Theridium (Stea- toda) bipunctatum (page 185), Theridium hammatum, Theridium albumaculatum (page 186), Theridium (Steatodos) guttatum (page 188). 2On Supposed Stridulating Organs of Steatoda guttata and Linyphia tenebricola, Linn, . Soc. Jour, Zool., Vol. XV., 1880, page 152. 318 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. ! has no chitinous extension covering the abdominal union. In the female of this species, unlike Guttata, there is no trace of these organs. Of course, any sounds which might be produced by the organs thus described, must be occasioned by the flexion and extension of the two principal parts of the body; that is to say, by the drawing back Boe and forward, within the socket, of the cartilaginous pedicle which connects the thorax with the abdomen. But Mr. Campbell has ‘also discovered an apparatus which he ventures to call stridu- lating, seated on the faleces and palps in both sexes of Linyphia tene- brosus.' These are of a different structure from those heretofore described. On the outer side of the basal joint of each falx are about twenty parallel transverse chitinous bands, placed so that their inferior edges are free. (Fig. 301.) The effect, when viewed from the front, is that each falx has a distinctly serrated outer edge, which becomes more and more decided towards Fic, 301. FG, 302. the base Fic. 301. Right falx of Lin- s < 5 Pome! ppliet tenebrtania amiales The opposing surface is that of the humeral joint viewed obliquely fromthe of each palpus (Fig. 302), which is marked with a right side. Fic. 302. Hu- : meral joint of left palp, More or less regular series of curved grooves deep showing spines on tre enough to give the appearance of serration on its side top the horny plate. (Af under a two-third objective. On the under side of this es Bee joint, close to its base, is a curved enlargement, and on the top a prominent, horny, somewhat triangular, knob like plate, with a rounded apex. This differs in form, size, elevation, and position from the chitinous prominences usually seen in connection with spines, of which there is one near each side, but of which, in some individuals, it is inde- pendent. The above described organs persist in all adult members of this species; but those on the palps of females are not so highly developed, the chief difference being the size of the enlargement at the base of the third joint. When confined in a glass tube, Mr. Campbell observed that these spiders often move their palps backward and forward, with a slight rotary motion, in such a manner that the horny plate crosses the bands on the falces. But he had been unable, even with the aid of the microphone, to detect sounds in connection with these movements. Mr. Campbell adds the suggestion that the absence of specialized stridu- lating organs in most Aranez does not imply that they are mute. It is a common practice with many to rub the falces against the maxille; and were the serrated edge of these latter found in another part of the body, similarly opposed to a hard, toothed, chitinous surface, it is most likely 1 Linyphia terricola Blkw., or Linyphia tennuis Blkw. 2 Op. cit., page 155. THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 319 Another account of organs of stridulation in spiders is that observed by Mr. 8. E. Peal in the great stridulating Mygale of Assam, and brought to notice by Prof. James Wood-Mason.! Mr. Peal’s account is eee that the noise is made by the tarantula when in a state of great Take’ excitement, particularly at the presence of some enemy. When thus roused, the spider usually rested on the four posterior legs, raising the other four and shaking them in the air, with the thorax thrown up almost at right angles to the abdomen, and the palps in rapid motion. The noise made is both peculiar and loud. It resembles that made by pouring out small shot upon a plate from a height of a few inches, or perhaps by drawing the back of a knife along the edge of a strong comb. ‘The stridulation was very distinct, and had a ring about it which the observer had never noticed in the stridulation of orthopterous insects, wherein it more closely resembles a whistling sound, Professor Wood-Mason, who reported Mr. Peal’s statement to the London Entomological Society,? remarks that the sound apparatus in Mygale stridu- lans has been found to consist, first, of a comb composed of a number of highly elastic and indurated, globe shaped, chitinous rods, arranged close together on the inner face of the basal joint of the palp; and, second, of a scraper formed by an irregular row of sharp erect spines on the outer surface of the penultimate joint of the palps. He further states that it is equally developed in both sexes, the first specimen met with by Mr. Peal having been a gigantic female. In the spiders alluded to by Westring, the stridulating apparatus con- sists, as we have seen, of a serrated ridge at the base of the abdomen, against which the hard hinder part of the thorax is rubbed, and of this structure not a trace could be detected in the females. Professor Mason agrees with Mr. Darwin and Professor Westring in feeling almost sure that the stridulation made by these spiders serves as a call to the female. It is manifest, however, that if the sound serve this purpose in the Mygale, it must serve as a mutual call, the apparatus being present in both sexes. Professor Wood-Mason further ventures eis so the suggestion that the sounds are emitted by the spider in self lation, ‘efense; that is, to render itself terrible in the eyes of its ene- mies; or, it may be from fear. He thinks that they may. also be serviceable to the spider in terrifying its prey; and, further, that during its nocturnal rambles in quest of food, it may warn the creatures that it preys upon of its dangerous and deadly nature, as, for example, is the case with the rattles upon the tail of our American rattlesnake. Of course, the presence of stridulating organs, if they be regarded as sound producing organs, naturally infers the presence of auditory organs. 1 Proc. Asiatic Soe. Beng., 1876, and Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 1876. 2 Transactions, 1877, page 282. i a i i i Bi 320 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Via, 3083 (upper figure). A Tarantula rampant, just before striking. Fic, 304 (lower figure). Tarantula in act of striking. THE SENSES AND THEIR ORGANS. 321 If we suppose that the species of spiders in which the male is provided with stridulating apparatus, possesses it for utility in courtship, and uses it for love calls, as is generally thought is the case with orthopterous in- sects, then we must also suppose that auditory organs exist, at least in the female spider. In other words, spiders are not deaf; they can hear. It is true that distinct auditory organs have never been found, at least have never been recognized as such, and, if spiders hear, they must hear by means of sense organs widely different from any possessed by animals that have the power of hearing. If, further, we suppose that those species wherein stridulating organs are possessed in common by male and female, use them to make mutual calls, like the notes of birds or like the sounds uttered by higher vertebrate an- imals, then we are also to infer the power of hearing in the male as well as in the female. -This much, at least, appears reasonably certain, that the theory that the organs above described are proper organs of stridulation, whose pur- pose is to produce sounds that will be heard by the opposite sex, is de- pendent upon the demonstration of the fact that spiders possess organs of hearing. If we are able to affirm the presence of auditory organs in spi- ders, we may then conclude that the way at least is open for the theory that stridulating organs are common for mutual communication by sound between the sexes. Until this be established, the theory-rests upon a very uncertain foundation. Concerning the observations upon the stridulating Mygale described by Mr. Peal, and announced by Professor Wood-Mason, I would remark that I have kept for many years in succession living species of both males and females of the large Mygalide. One of these (Eury- pelma hentzii) I had in my possession for a period of nearly six years, and one living at this date has been with me about five years. I have often seen them assume the attitude described by Mr. Peal. When I have tested their appetite for small vertebrates by putting mice into their artificial home, or have given them large insects, as locusts, or when I have teased them with a pencil, or annoyed them in any way, it is their invariable habit to throw themselyes into the rampant position which Mr. Peal has described and illustrated. This position I have frequently sketched from various points of view, and from some of these sketches Figs. 303 and 304 have been engraved. But in all these cases I have never heard any other sound than that which I regarded as the clatter- ing of the fangs as they were struck together in the movements of the mandibles under the powerful influence of hunger or fear. No sound that T could at all regard from any other standpoint has it ever been my op- portunity to detect. Such negative evidence, of course, amounts to little— amounts to nothing, indeed—in the face of positive testimony. I only state it as serving to qualify any conclusions which we may be disposed My Mute Myegalidez 322 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. to make as to the actual cause and intention of the sounds which some- times are heard to issue from spiders in a condition of excitement. The method of the tarantula in. attacking its prey is similar to that of Lycosids and other spiders. It throws itself upon the four hind legs, draws back its cephalothorax to a greater or less degree, accord- How Ta- ing to the nearness of its adversary, raises the two front pairs Penne of legs and the palps, and, holding them well together, throws trikes. : them backward, opens wide the tremendous fangs and the man- dibles, which are held straight out from the face, and then at the proper moment launches itself forward (Fig. 304), striking its adversary with its fore claws and fangs. The stroke will be repeated a number of times with great rapidity, and after each stroke the tarantula falls back into the rampant position above described. (Fig. 303.) I am hardly able to give serious credence to Professor Mason’s theory that the stridulating organs, like the rattles upon a rattlesnake’s tail, are intended to give warning to victims. Even if we were to suppose that the large insects and other creatures fed upon by these spiders are able to detect such sounds and recognize their meaning, I cannot think, in the face of ‘my long continued observations of living species in confinement, and the few observations made in the state of Nature, that they do utter sounds sufficiently distinct to cause anything like terror on the part of intended victims. I never saw an insect fed to my tarantulas that showed the least sign of fear or even consciousness of the presence of an enemy. OP APT HR: x1. COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. Tue popular impression that spiders are extremely ugly is deeply seated. Even specialists in other branches of natural history are apt to ex- press surprise when one speaks of high ornamentation among araneads. Butterflies are commonly thought to have special claims to beauty, and without disputing these one may truthfully say that as fair and brilliant colors may be found among the Aranew as among the Lepidoptera. I suppose the popular impression to the contrary is largely due to the fact that the spiders which frequent our cellars and outhouses, and straggle occasionally inside our homes, belong to the genera whose colors are rather inconspicuous. Possibly, contact with human beings has tended to demoralize these species, and thus disrobe them of colors which once may have made them attractive! I. One does not need to go to the tropics for examples of richly colored spiders. Our indigenous Orbweavers furnish species whose coloring may well challenge the admiration of lovers of the beautiful, This ecciteag will be abundantly illustrated by the plates prepared for Volume Colors. III. of this work, but several -examples are presented in this volume, as those on Plates I. and IV. Our two indigenous spe- cies of Argiope have bright colors, Cophinaria being at once distinguished by her size and prominent, black, yellow, and brown markings, and Argy- raspis adding to these a metallic white which in earlier stages of her life has a noticeable lustre. Epeira insularis is well known among familiars of our fields by her attractive yellow and orange colors; and the varied and beautiful robing of the Shamrock spider is well illustrated by the specimens presented in Plate I. Yet these are far excelled in beauty and brilliancy by the Orchard spider, and the remarkable aranead, Argiope argenteola (Plate IV., Fig. 6), which is found in the southwestern portions of the United States, The genus Acrosoma also presents several species whose attractive coloring makes them worthy of notice in this connection, and Gasteracantha (Plate IV., Fig. 8) is often well decorated. (323) —=— Ys VT e)|0Ul 324 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Many Theridioids also bear beautiful and delicate colors, the varied hues and shades of green, yellow, and brown being particularly noticeable in this group. Some of the genera, as the parasitic species of Argyrodes, are covered with burnished silver. Of these two tribes of Sedentary spiders it may be affirmed that they contain, in all portions of the world, and particularly in tropical countries, exam- ples of as delicate and brilliant coloring as may be found elsewhere in Nature. But the coloring of Orbweavers and Lineweayers is probably even ex- ceeded by that of the Saltigrades, which is as rich as that of humming- birds or beetles, according to Professor and Mrs. Peckham. The most bril- liant family of this tribe, the Attide, especially, contains examples of brilliant ornamentation. Of some of these araneads Wallace says that they are noticeable for their immense numbers, variety, and beauty. They fre- quent foliage and flowers, run about actively in pursuit of small insects, and many of them are so exquisitely colored as to resemble jewels rather than spiders.'” Elsewhere he speaks of the abundance and variety of the little jumping spiders which abound on flowers and foliage, and are often perfect gems of beauty.? Most travelers in South America who haye care- fully observed aranead life, agree with Bates that the number of spiders ornamented with showy colors is remarkable.* Professor Peckham makes the strong assertion, which my own experience confirms, that a large collection of spiders from the tropics is almost certain to contain as great a proportion of beautifully colored specimens as would be found among an equal number of birds from the same re- gion. Some of the Laterigrades also are richly colored. We have several species in the neighborhood of Philadelphia that would attract the admi- ration of any observer. The yellow and brown markings, varied with red and purple, which characterize the familiar Misumena vatia (Plate IIL, Fig. 1), may often be observed in the midst of wild flowers of our fields. A small species, apparently of Philodromus, which I am not able to iden- tify, is remarkable for its pleasant grass green hues, with markings of bright red and brown upon the legs and palps. The most brilliant color- ing appears to be confined to these four tribes, namely, Orbweavers and Lineweavers among the Sedentaries, and Saltigrades and Laterigrades among the Wanderers. Tubeweavers and Tunnelweavers among the Sedentaries, and Citigrades among the Wanderers, are, for the most part, distinguished by dull and inconspicuous coloring, though it is highly probable that a wider knowledge of the species of these three tribes will uncover many decorated species. Beautiful Spiders. Attoid Jewels. ' Tropical Nature, page 97. * Malay Archipelago, page 437. ® Naturalist on the Amazons, Vol. I., page 106. * Sexual Selection in Spiders, page 10. = ee j ad ‘TS = or COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. oul Among Orbweavers and Lineweavers there appears to be a preponder- ance of yellow hues, and the metallic species of these tribes are generally marked by a metallic white or silver. The Saltigrades have a tendency to somewhat darker colors, the reds and browns being more generally prevalent in this tribe; and where metallic colors occur they are usually metallic green, or occasionally blue. Yellows, greens, and dark browns prevail in the Thomisoids. Uniform browns, grays, blacks, and lead colored or neutral tints are most common among Tubeweavers, Tunnelweavers, and Citigrades. It will thus be seen that spiders present a sufficient number and variety of facts in coloration to occupy the attention of naturalists. It is to be regretted that these facts have not been so systematized and presented in connection with the habits, industry, and structure of the species as to enable one to consider them with accuracy and satisfaction in their bear- ings upon many problems that now occupy the thought of scientific ob- servers. Nevertheless, something may be attempted; and even the imperfect contributions of this chapter may, in the future and in other hands, be found helpful. How shall we account for this variety of coloration? And what under- lying causes have influenced the special colors of particular species? In point of fact, color appears to belong to the natural constitu- tion of the spider, being imparted to it at its birth, and pre- served through life by the power of heredity. It seems to be an accident or incident of physiological changes which have not been ac- counted for; and as such it can hardly be considered to have special regard to utility in one direction or another. To quote the language of Mr. Wallace, ‘Color per se may be considered normal and needs no accounting for. Amid the constant variations of animals and plants it is ever tending to vary, and to appear when it is absent,” 4 No doubt it is modified by food, habit, environment, variations of heat, cold, moisture, light, and darkness; but the strong hereditary tendency by which it is controlled is dominant, even amidst the abnormal influ- ences: which sometimes more or less modify it. Nevertheless, it may be worth while to attempt to present some of the facts in habit, environ- ment, and structure which seem to be most closely related to the colors and color changes of spiders. Some of the most remarkable and perplexing facts in aranead colora- tion are seen in Epeira trifolium, and these have been repre- Color Va-sented in Plate I., Volume II., wherein several variously hued rieties of . . ; ; z Saye se Trifolium, 8Pecimens of this species are given, colored from the individ- uals themselves, as they were collected from one field in Niantic, Connecticut. The locality is described at length in Volume L., page 292, Metallic Hues. Color is Normal. 1“ Essay on Colowrs of Animals.” 326 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. to which the reader is referred. The specimens were all near neighbors, exposed to the same influences of habitat, food, sunlight, ete., and most of them were taken from bushes of the same plant. They were all domiciled in nests of clustered leaves or of single leaves rolled and sewed together. Let us examine some of these specimens, all of which are females, as we pluck them from their homes, and note their colors. Beneath this nest is a spider whose feet are black and whose legs are white, ringed with black at the feet and around the joints. The body too is white, with only here and there faint black lines bringing out more distinctly the trifolium markings. In the next bush is another, differing from the first only in the fact that the annuli of the legs are brown instead of black. Here is another (Plate I., No. 1), pale yellow on the abdomen, deepening into orange towards the spinnerets under- neath the body. The trifoil markings on the abdomen are very faint, indeed, scarcely distinguishable. The legs are a pale, transparent yellow, with red brown rings at the joints. Another specimen (No, 2) resembles No. 1, except that the front of the abdomen is orange below and greenish yellow at the top, the face being light brown. This spider is drawn in the position which it usually assumes when sitting in its nest, or when it rests upon a branch, with the knees bunched up against the abdomen. Still another specimen (No. 3) is dark yellow brown on the dorsum of the abdomen, growing into a deep chocolate at the sides and wunder- neath; the trifoil patterns and spots on the abdomen are chalk white. The legs are orange with brown. The next specimen (No. 4) is drawn as viewed from underneath, the abdomen and sides showing there dark orange, with crimson stripes through the centre and yellow hues along the sides. The legs have deep orange rings on transparent pale yellow. Still another (No. 5) is colored yellow, the top of the abdomen deep- ening into yellow brown along the sides and beneath, and has the out- lines of the trifolium spots distinctly marked and of a pale yellow. Two short, greenish, longitudinal bars mark the tip of the abdomen, The legs are pale yellow with brown rings. In the next specimen (No. 6) the trifoil spots are yellow on a green- ish yellow abdomen, the latter deepening to orange on the sides and be- neath. The legs have dull brown rings. Yet another specimen Straw- is of a bright strawberry tint, the abdominal patterns being a nueas bright yellow, the legs yellow with red brown rings. It is a beau- tiful object, certainly, as it lies bunched up in the palm of one’s hand, and no one looking upon it could deny that spiders are sometimes attractively clothed. Still another specimen (No. 9) has the dorsum of the abdomen orange, which deepens to crimson red below and at The . é wae Male. the.sides, and has light yellow trifoils and spots. The legs are white, with dark brown rings at the joints. A male, Figs. 10 and 11, which we find in the nest of one of the females, is colored yellow, the oe) a “ei add a UF COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. 327 legs and cephalothorax having brownish rings and bands, and the abdo- men being a lighter yellow with brownish spots. Thus the colors run, with varieties of tints and hues that confound the observer. Most of these spiders appear to be of one age and at the same period of gestation. Those that are least advanced, perhaps, may be said to have the white colors. The next degree of maturity in mother- hood shows the yellow tints. ‘The next the deepening brown, and so as the creature ages the colors seem to deepen and brighten. When the last stage of maturity has been reached, and the spider mother has spun her beautiful silken cocoon, depositing therein her eggs neatly and securely blanketed against assaulting enemies and winter frosts, these colors will gradually merge into the dull, dark hues of the sere and yellow leaf of which her nest is built, and so her life will fade away. The physiological causes of this change in the colors of Trifolium present an interesting study. Other species known to me are subject to changes. In some the change is quite marked. In some there is a great variety of coloring, and particularly of dorsal patterns, as in the case of ° Epeira patagiata and Epeira parvula, but the Shamrock spider exceeds all species which I have ever observed in the puzzling variety and contrasts, as well as beauty, of the colors it assumes in the closing weeks of its life. 18 The color of young spiders is almost without exception light yellow or green, whitish or livid, tints that blend well with the prevailing greens of foliage and young twigs, and the grays of bark on trees, of rocks Color De- and soil. This is probably due largely to the fact that the tis- pee sues are at that time translucent. The effect may also be caused Young. Py the absence of acquired food in the alimentary tract and lack of distribution throughout the system of other than the prena- tal nutriment. As young spiders advance in age the color deepens, which is caused, no doubt, by gradual hardening of the tissues, thus making them more opaque. Up to this period no food has been taken, hence the absence of food alone is not sufficient to account for the lighter colors of the first stages after exode. Yellows and browns in various tints occur at this period, and in some cases—though not generally, I believe—color patterns which are characteristic of the various species in adult life begin to appear with more or less distinctness, or at least suggestively. It is not until Seden- tary spiderlings have established themselves upon their own webs, and, so to speak, have set wp housekeeping for themselves, that the characteristic colors and markings of the species begin to appear with positive degrees of distinctness. The Attide, like birds, moult frequently, and at each moult the mark- ings may change, so that some of the older writers have formed several ~~ a 328 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. species for the different moults of one. These difficulties are increased by the fact that the adult males and females of a species usually differ con- siderably in appearance. ! ' This is not entirely in accord with the statement of Mr. Cambridge that the pattern of a spider—that is, the design formed by its colors and mark- ings—differs in general but little in immaturity and maturity, excepting that it is usually more distinct in the young and in the female exam- ples. The first of these statements appears to me to be too sweeping, unless the period of youth referred to be placed well on toward maturity. In some species there are striking differences between the colors and mark- ings of the very young spider and those which it attains after one or two changes of skin. Epeira diademata and Zilla x-notata, two of the commonest English spiders, are conspicuous examples of this.” According to Peckham, the young spiders often differ from adults, and in many species when the sexes differ when adult, the male being brighter, they are alike until they reach maturity, when the male, along with his sexual development, acquires his brilliant color. Again, soon after hatching, young spiders, probably at the third or fourth moult, begin to show color more decidedly, and the colors are dis- tributed in the patterns characteristic of the species, and as the spiders continue to advance in age and make their successive moults, other and more marked changes may be noted. The truth appears to be that there are differences among species in the degrees of resemblance between imma- ture and adult forms, but that generally the likeness strengthens from the time of hatching onward to maturity. I give a few observations upon the appearance of spiderlings during and shortly after their cocoon life. These, however, can hardly be fully appreciated by those who do not know the adult species, without consult- ing the plates in Volume III. But the following species may be com- pared with figures or descriptions in this volume. Just after its escape from the egg shell the young of Argiope coph- inaria is about two millimetres long. The cephalothorax is a grayish white color, translucent, upon the fore part of which the eyes, Color and Sex. Sauer which are a brownish color, stand out vividly, seeming to form Se hee aa large part of the face. The legs are white, translucent, as Young. ; ‘ “ ‘ are also the palps; as the spider sits upon a surface both legs and palps are doubled under the body. In this position the palps seem to be a shorter pair of legs, so that as thus viewed the animal really seems to have ten legs. The abdomen is a yellowish color, except that in the places where the peculiar yellowish irregular marks of the dorsum are seen upon the adult, may be seen irregular markings of pure white. * North American Spiders of the Family Attidee, page 5. * Spiders of Dorset, xxvi. * Peckhams, “Sexual Selection,” pages 14, 15. COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. 329 Fig. 305 is drawn from a young Cophinaria just out of the shell, and Figs. 306 and 307 from the same a few days older. When the young Cophinarias have advanced in age a few days the fo- lium upon the dorsum of the abdomen assumes a distinct shield shaped outline resembling that which is common upon the adult forms of Epeira insularis, sclopetaria, etc., the color of the same being a darkish green, and the scalloped margins being surrounded by a white band which extends quite around the fore part of the abdomen. The sides also have a greenish band, the same color prevailing around the spinnerets. The usual aspect of the abdomen is thus green in the centre and lower part of the dorsum, and white along the fore part of the abdo- men and the sides. The hairs are quite prominent both on the abdomen and legs. The eyes have a darker hue, and little processes on either side of the base of the abdomen distinctly appear. The abdomen is now in general shape a miniature of the adult form. ‘The legs are covered with greenish bands closely placed. When separated from the mass of its fel- low broodlings, a single spider will throw out a thread from which it will hang down, sus- pending itself by its dragline and weaving a little foot basket, precisely in the manner of the more matured spiders. Three longitudinal bands appear upon the cephalothorax, one in Argiope. i R ;, pr Fic. 305. Fic. 306. Fig. 307. the median line and one on each side. The jaye, 395, youngling looks plump, as though well nour- fter leaving the shell. Fics. 306, Young Argiope cophinaria r 807. Appearance after first moult. ished. The young of Epeira strix shortly after its advent from the cocoon (April 14th) often presents a uniform glossy black appearance. After an- other moult this appearance is somewhat changed, the legs have black annuli around the joints, and the interspaces are of a yel- lowish brown hue well covered with black spines. The folium upon the abdomen is along its margins jet black, with a median cross like figure of a dark yellowish brown. Bands of the same color surround the scalloped margin along the sides. The cephalothorax has the same gen- eral hue of glossy black. At the time of hatching, the young Gasteracanthas of Africa, accord- ing to Dr. Vinson, are round and black, without the pointed spines pecul- iar to the adult, and with a triangular white spot upon the abdomen. These peculiarities are also characteristic of our California species. Among those sent to me by Mrs. Eigenmann were a number of young in various stages of growth. They are all quite black, and the spines are either lack- ing or just beginning to push out slight angles upon the otherwise rounded abdomen. (Compare with Plate [V., Volume II., Fig. 8.) The black color of these young Gasteracanthas is a singular variation from the ordinary color of spiderlings, which is quite light, the colors Epeira strix. = ae —— a 330 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. being nearly always white, or a faint livid, or a delicate hue of pink or yellow. I do not know whether the absence of spines characterizes the young of those species that show these peculiarities in adult life. Abdom- Tt may be that the development of these thorn like processes is ae in some way connected with the development and growth of ’ the young spider, and is only completed at maturity. It would be interesting to know the physiological causes of this vital phenomenon. Some of those species which have soft conical tubercles upon the fore part of the abdomen show these very early in the young. I have observed them distinctly formed upon at least two of the Angulata group of our American Epeira, gemma and bicentennaria. In the case of Argiope coph- inaria the spiderling immediately after escape from the egg (the first moult) appears to be without the processes or bifurcations which mark the base of the abdomen of that species, but after the next moult these show plainly. (Compare Fig. 305 with Figs. 306 and 307.) When the young of Tegenaria medicinalis first break from the shell, the legs and palps are white and semitransparent. The eyes stand out brown and distinct upon the face. The cephalothorax in the fore part has a slight bluish or lead colored tint, with a touch of yellow at the posterior part near the abdomen. The mandibles are the color of the cephalothorax, but with the fangs prominent, feeble looking, whitish, instead of the dark, horny appearance of the adult. The abdo- men is a uniform yellowish hue, at the apex of which the spinnerets ap- pear lead colored, the long, jointed pair quite prominent. The spines are quite manifest on the legs, and hairs are seen on the abdomen. ‘The fo- lium or dorsal figure can be traced, together with the transverse bars, on either side of the median line. In a day or two the color of the legs deepens until they have a leaden hue, upon which the black spines stand out more prominently. The abdomen is a little brighter yellow, and the cephalothorax corresponds in color with the legs. In two days more the yellowish tint has faded from the abdomen, the whole spider has a black- ish appearance, caused by the dark hairs upon the lead colored body; the transverse markings stand out more prominently upon the abdomen. The young of Epeira cucurbitina (English) when extracted from the egg have the cephalothorax and legs of a pale yellowish white color, that of the abdomen being reddish brown. But after their first change of in- tegument they acquire an olive or brownish green tint, the upper part of the abdomen being metallic with whitish spots on each side, with a longi- tudinal stripe of the same hue parallel with it. On the upper side there is a series of minute black spots.' | These examples will be ample, when compared with adult forms, to enable the student to note the color changes that occur during the growth of spiders. Tegenaria 1 Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland, page 3438. COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. 381 TI. As spiders further advance in age and make their successive moults, various color changes may be noted. Immediately after moulting the color is always lighter, which is probably due to the fact that ae the harder skin just cast off prevented the passage of light ancen: through the tissues. The new skin is thinner and more trans- lucent. Moulting produces changes in color patterns of a de- cided kind, at least in certain species. Phidippus rufus when mature is a dark red spider, the male consider- ably brighter than his consort. When about one-seventh grown and after the third or fourth moult, the young are dark brown with light yellow legs. Some moults later they are reddish, with narrow, oblique, whitish bars on the sides of the abdomen, and two dark bands on the dorsum, on each of which is a row of white dots. The appearance of the spider changes but little during the next four moults, but after the last, the tenth, both male and female become mature, and acquire the adult color. The appearance of the female after the fifth moult is similar to that of many other females in the genus.! The female of Phidippus johnsonii has the abdomen red and_ black with a white base and some white dots, while the male abdomen is bright vermilion red, with sometimes a white band at the base. The young of both sexes resemble the mother, until the last moult, when the males as- sume their bright livery.? In old age the color changes are often quite decided. In some, as Epeira trifolium and Epeira thaddeus, the changes give added brilliancy to the color at certain parts of the body. Some of the color changes ue a of Trifolium are remarkably beautiful, and the same is true of Thaddeus. But advanced age, as a rule, brings darker colors. Orange and brown then have a ruddier hue; yellows darken into orange and brown. Sometimes the yellow patterns are entirely lost, and the spi- der becomes dark, almost black. There is a grizzled appearance about the animal in this stage which reminds one of vertebrate animals at the cor- responding period. These last named changes are manifest in the female spider after the final deposit of eggs. In gravid females changes of color are sometimes noticeable. Some of the bright colors upon Trifolium and Thaddeus are doubtless due to this condition. However, other and perhaps most species during ges- tation have a lighter color, which may be the result of mechan- ical changes in structure. The skin becomes distended and more transpa- rent, the pigment is thereby distributed, and thus centres of color are broken up and the coloring matter diffused. Not only the skin, but other Gestation ! Peckhams, Sexual Selection, page 25. 2 Idem, page 17. — ll > — pe TE ee Os v 332 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. parts of the abdomen are distended during gestation, and this distension produces changes in the color of the animal, it may be by modifying in some way the various secretions from the liver and other organs, and in some cases, perhaps, widening the intervals between color centres and color hairs, and breaking up groups of the same. The little pits or dark spots upon the dorsum of the abdomen, which mark the attachment of the muscles within, seem to me to be centres for the aggregation of coloring material. At least the dorsal pat- Effects of terns appear to be grouped in some regular way around these rer muscular attachments. Thus the action of the muscles on the skin and chitinous shell or walls seems to compel certain aggre- gations along the lines of use that form these colors and patterns. It. might be important in this connection to consider what is the ordinary effect of muscular action upon the distribution of pigment and colored hairs in vertebrate animals. The color rings or annuli around the joints of the legs of spiders may be influenced by action of the muscles. The tendency of these darker and more vivid colors is towards the ends of the joints, as though by the at- tachments and prevailing outward action of the muscles the pigment were forced mechanically or otherwise attracted toward these points. The foot or terminal joint is usually dark, and often black. In the. cephalothorax may be noted the same tendency of color to group itself somewhat sym- metrically around the points of muscular attachment, particularly the cen- tral depression. IV. Color and markings are undoubtedly influenced by sex. Peckham, after summarizing the Attide of France from the studies of M. Simon, finds that in thirty-nine species the male is plainly unlike the female, Influence }eing in twenty-six instances much more conspicuous, while in ee se °” fifty-five the sexes are similar, or, if they differ, the male is no more conspicuous than the female. These facts make it clear that the sexes commonly differ, the male being brighter than the female. Peckham considers it not too much to say that in the Attidee at least two-fifths of all the species have the male more conspicuous than the female. ! Menge, in referring to the greater brilliancy of the male of Micromata ornata, says that it only assumes its bright color as a bridal adornment, and in this connection makes a statement that in the Thomiside and Sal- tigrade the males are generally more beautifully colored than the females.? Phileus militaris, a common American Attoid, is another illustration. In the male the cephalothorax and abdomen are bright bronze brown, the 1 Sexual Selection, page 20. * Menge, Preussische Spinnen, II., page 396. COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. 330 former with a wide, pure white band on each upper side and a white spot on the centre of the head, the latter with a wide white band around the base and sides. The female has the brown all covered over with white and gray hairs, which form a more or less distinct pattern of lines and spots.! In Habrocestum splendens, while the young males are not exactly like the adult female, they resemble her much more closely than they do the adult male. This is one of our most beautiful male Saltigrades. The highly iridescent scales which cover the entire body make it impossible to give in a painting a correct idea of its brilliancy, since the color changes in eyery light. The male only gets his gorgeous livery at the last moult, just as he becomes mature, though in some species the nuptial moult is acquired one moult before maturity.” This prevalent condition of the relative brilliancy of coloring between the sexes of the Attidee is entirely reversed among Orbweavers. In this tribe there is a strong tendency to inconspicuous colors in males, and fre- quently in the degree that the females are conspicuous for size and color- ing, the males are diminutive and dull. We have already seen (see Chapter II., page 60), from our examination of the interesting studies of the Peckhams upon the courtship of Salti- grade spiders, that there is a close relation between mating oat habits and the brilliant colors prevalent among males. In other on- F ae x schae words, the favors desired from the female are solicited with such Wasa? a display of the ornamented parts of the male body, as to jus- tify the conclusion that the ornamentation is pleasing to the fe- male, and is presented in the way of soliciting her favors. Of course, if we accept this fact, we also admit that there must be, on the part of both sexes, a consciousness of the presence of color, and the fact that the female at least is so sensitive to the differences in color ornamentation as to be moved towards this wooer or that according to the splendor of his physi- cal finery. That climate and favorable environment sometimes exert modifying in- fluences upon the general facies and, to some extent, the industry of spi- ders, is illustrated by Epeira labyrinthea. I have specimens of this species from almost every part of the United States where collections of araneads have been made. It is distributed from the far Northeast to the southwestern portion of California. I have also received specimens in collections forwarded to me by Professor Peckham from several South American States. These southern representatives of the species are larger and decidedly more vigorous looking animals than the northern specimens. he industry of the spider experiences no essential change as far as I can learn. ‘The snare is, perhaps, larger with tropical examples. Specimens of cocoons sent to me from southern California have Climatic Influence. 1 Peckham, Sexual Selection, page 17. 2 Id., page 18. 334 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. all the characteristics of our northern species, but are decidedly larger. No marked influence appears to have been exerted upon the coloration of the spider itself. But other collections indicate contrary conditions, The species was collected pretty freely by the naturalists of the U. 8. 8. “Albatross,” in its explorations along the shores of the southern Atlantic and the Pacific, showing an immense distribution over the en- Epeira tire Western Hemisphere. Dr. Marx remarks that specimens col- ee lected at the Straits of Magellan are hardly recognizable, for its color has greatly changed. The dorsal folium is nearly obliter- ated. Only two lighter spots at each side remain, and the whole body is covered with a long, dense pubescence. ! If Dr. Marx is correct in his surmise that Epeira cooksonii Butler, which lives in great abundance on the Gallapagos Islands, is related to our Epeira domiciliorum, and that the latter spider has undergone on the Pa- cific coast so great a change in form and coloration as to be identical with my Epeira vertebrata, this species will afford another example of the influence of climate upon color. I am not satisfied, however, that the last two named species are identical. On the other hand, certain species, as notably Argiope cophinaria and argyraspis, have undergone a transcon- tinental distribution, covering wide extremes of climate and conditions, without experiencing any notable change in general appearance. These examples will be sufficient as illustrations of the fact that the influence of climate must vary according to species. The fact is that some of the species probably are more elastic and impressionable in their nat- ural constitution, and thus are more sensitive to radical changes in envi- ronment, while others are able to resist such changes more vigorously, and thus retain their characteristics through extreme changes. Spiders that live upon plants, as a rule have colors that are har- monious with the prevailing greens and yellows, and admixtures thereof, of branches, leaves, and flowers. Spiders that nest in stables, Influence houses, on fences, and like locations, ordinarily have dusky pera colors, harmonious with the environment; as, for example, The- ridium tepidariorum, Agalena nevia, Tegenaria medicinalis. However, I do not find that any great difference in color is observable in the above species when they nest in foliage, as is often the case, at least with Agalena and Theridium. It might be said, perhaps, that there is a slight tendency to darker hues and a more uniform color when the spiders are found in the first named locations. Ground spiders, as the Lycosids, generally have colors of neutral grays that blend well either with the soil, with rocks, or with stalks of grass and weeds, especially when the latter are somewhat dry. Lycosids found in the neighborhood of streams do not seem to be especially influenced by * Proc, U. 8. National Mus., Smithsonian Institn., Vol. XII, page 209. * Td., page 210. ? * —_—S es cs — Oe COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. 335 the natural color of water; but Dolomedes sexpunctatus, which is so con- stantly found on the water, sometimes has a tint that at least well harmo- nizes with that of the stream itself. Saltigrades follow the rule of the Lycosids; their colors, being chiefly black, gray, and brown, harmonize with the surfaces of rocks, trunks of trees, etc., upon which they habitually seek their prey. Many Mimetic of them are freely marked with yellow, and thus are also suffi- ae ciently harmonized with the color of the leaves. The metallic monies. . green and blue on the fangs of some Saltigrades seem almost like a leaf ambush to the body of the creature as it is observed stalking its prey. This suggests the strategy most familiar from its association with the lines of Shakespeare :— “Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to the Dunsinane hill Shall come against him.” It is, perhaps, a not wholly untenable theory that some insects are made less wary by the resemblance to surrounding foliage and the play of iridescent hues from the mandibles of a stalking Phidippus morsitans, for example, as it stealthily moves upon its prey. But independent of the indifference of the ordinary insect to spider presence, the Peckhams have taught us to find the chief service of these gorgeous frontlets in courtship. But what can be their use in the female Morsitans? She is such a ferocious virago that we might suspect in her an example of warn- ing coloration as towards her own lovers. According to Emerton,' in one species of Linyphia from Weyer’s Caye, Virginia, the colors and markings of some specimens are as bright as on spiders of the same family living in cellars and shady woods. ae of ‘The other five species are pale in color. On the supposition Spiders. that all these species drifted from the outside world into the caverns, we must reason from such a fact either, that the species retaining a normal color had been domesticated in the caverns at a much more recent date than the others, or that it was possessed of greater power to resist the changes consequent upon its changed environment. The influence of cave life upon Anthrobia mammouthia appears to be manifest in this lack of color. Two young Anthrobias were hatched May 3d for Professor Packard, who describes the whole body, including the legs, as snow white, with the legs much shorter than in the adult state. The ‘adult in life is white, tinged with a very faint flesh color, with the abdomen reddish. In some specimens the abdomen has beneath several large transverse dusky bands. Linyphia subterranea as observed living “Notes on Spiders from Caves in Kentucky, Virginia, and Indiana,” American Nat- uralist, Vol. [X., page 278. 0 SS ESSN : 7 “- a 336 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. in Wyandotte Cave is pale pinkish, horn brown on the thorax and legs, while the abdomen is dull honey yellow.! \ Two specimens of Linyphia weyerii in my possession, collected by Dr. Joseph Leidy in Luray Cavern, Virginia, are of a light honey yellow, the abdomen of one individual being darkish brown. As this is a common color for spiders of all conditions, after they have been in alcohol a little while, I am not able to say what may have been the original color of these, particularly as they are not adult. In the case of Lycosa arenicola, whose habits were studied by me on Coffin’s Beach, near Annisquam, Massachusetts, the undue presence of sun- light and heat appears to have produced precisely the same Pe eee results as the absence of sunlight in Mammoth Cave. The light. eastern shore of the bay opposite Annisquam consists in part of a stretch of sand hills known as Coffin’s Beach. The sand is a bright white color, and is massed at places into elevations of consider- able height. The fragrant Bay bush grows in clumps along the edges and summits of these irregular sand hills, and this is intermingled with patches of tough grass, among which are numerous burrows of the Turret spider. These Lycosids are domiciled in the sand, and spread very gen- erally over the dunes. The burrows are dug straight downward, penetrat- ing the upper layer of loose sand, and striking the more compact and moist strata below the surface. The spiders captured were of a light hue, as compared with the same specimens found in meadows, fields, and like environment in the interior. Specimens almost identical with these in color were found by Dr. Joseph Leidy, and subsequently by myself, in the sand at Beach Haven, New Jersey. This pale coloring appears in all other littoral specimens examined. The influence of envi- ronment, as manifest in these spiders; was also Fic. 808. Lycosa arenicola. (A dark seen in a. grasshopper or locust which is specimen.) ; . quite abundant on Coffin’s Beach, and is al- most as white as the sand over which it was found hopping.? It is certainly confusing to one who studies the influence of light upon aranead coloration to find such contradictory facts as these, viz., that the absence of light results in albinism in the spider fauna of cay- Contra- erns, while the excessive sunlight which beats upon and is re- dictory ; it ‘ Effects, {lected by the white sea sand produces the same condition. Evi- dently something more than the direct influence of sunlight must * McCook: The Turret Spider on Coffin’s Beach, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sei., Phila., 1888, page 333. COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. Bad But confusing elements do not stop here, Any one who is familiar with our ordinary cellar spider fauna must have observed among them a strong tendency to black or dark colors. The most common cellar spider in the neighborhood of Philadelphia is probably the Tubeweaver Tegenaria me- dicinalis. It is a quite dark lead color, which is as near black as any of our indigenous spiders. So also Agalena nevia, when it nests in dark places, as it often does, seems to me to add to the somewhat sombre colors which it bears in arboreal and sunny sites, several additional tints of darkness. It should be ‘noted that in the case of the Turret spider of Coffin’s Beach a large portion of the year must be spent in a torpid condition by such individuals as survive the winter, which is severe and long in that vicinity, On the other hand, the white spiders of Mammoth Cave live in a uniform and pleasantly warm temperature. The same, to some ex- tent, is true of the Medicinal spider, which is kept reasonably warm when living in our cellars and other unfrequented places in human habitations, but, unlike the Mammoth Caye Anthrobias, are black. Thus similar con- ditions of temperature, as well as of light, appear in these cases to issue in opposite conditions of color. V. I have already considered the theory of Peckham that the bright orna- mentation of the male Saltigrade spider serves to attract the attention of the female, and to secure him her favor in preference to duller Color colored rivals. In the case of Orbweavers, where the conditions Utility : : ; Mating, ®° reversed and the female is the more highly ornamented, we may suppose that the point of utility is also reversed, and the brighter colors of the female serve to attract to her the attention of the male. In the case of Orbweavers and Lineweavers, there would seem to be some necessity for this, inasmuch as the females for the most part occupy the centre of their webs, which are often of considerable size, and thus they would require to be marked in such wise that the vagrant male on his courtship excursions could discern his mate at the distance of at least several inches. It seems not an overstrained supposition that both the in- creased size and excessive coloration of the female would make her a more conspicuous object and thus facilitate the union of the two sexes. Again, in a large number of species which are influenced by what we might call mimetic harmony, and to which allusion has already been made, we can readily see how highly useful the general resem- blance of environment would be in protecting spiders from vari- ous enemies. All the Wanderers, and some of the Sedentary spiders, appear to be subject to those influences which harmonize their color with the surroundings of their daily life. This subject may be more fully considered in the chapter on Mimicry, but it has been necessary to allude Mimetic Harmony — = = a_i Ae 338 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. to it in this connection. Here, perhaps, we have a view of the greatest influence exercised by color and, as one may say, the absence of color, upon the life of araneads. When we come to consider the more highly colored species, particularly in their relation to their habits, the question of utility is complicated by many apparently contradictory facts. Such large and well marked species as those of the genus Argiope, Acrosoma, Gasteracantha, and such brilliant species as the Orchard spider, are found well nigh invariably hanging at the centre of their webs in full view of all enemies and assailants. One who is pursued by the theory of utility can scarcely fail to ask whether these species are protected by their color from any enemies, and, if so, in what manner are they protected? It is certainly natural to suppose that they are more exposed thereby to raiding birds, digger and mud dauber wasps. Another question may be mooted, have these species, thus highly col- ored, and thereby exposed to enemies, any industrial protection which may be considered a compensation? I refer to a few exam- Industrial ples bearing upon this inquiry. Argiope cophinaria and Ar- ee. gyraspis sometimes have protective wings of retitelarian lines thrown out on each side of their nets, which guard the dorsal parts of their bodies, and a thick shield like sheeting, which protects the under side. (See Volume I., Figs. 96 and 89.) These spiders are highly colored and conspicuous by size. They dwell in shrubs, bushes, grasses, low trees, and commonly are stationed in the centre of their round webs, having no domicile or tent to which they retire. No doubt, the pro- tective wings are serviceable in warding off attacks of raiding wasps, as well as helping to secure insect food for the occupant. But I find that in a large number of cases these fenders are omitted. The tendency to omit them, if I am not mistaken, strongly increases as the spiders mature in age. Perhaps in this case the size of the animal may be considered as sufficient protection. At all events, I think that the protective wings are rather characteristic of the immature state. The Insular and Shamrock spiders, which are among the most brightly colored of our fauna, do not hang habitually in the centre of their webs during the day, but live in leafy tents, and their habitat is among bushes, shrubs, and trees. The Insular spider inclines to groves much more strongly than Trifolium. Epeira thaddeus has the same habit. Indeed, it may be asserted generally that many of our most highly colored Epeiroids belong to tentmaking species, a fact which is true not only of the American, but of the European, spider fauna. The facts here seem to point to a special development of industrial protection as a compensation for the exposure of bright colors. On the other hand, Epeira strix, which is not a bright colored spider by any means, is one of the most secretive Orbweavers in its habits, dwelling =~ : ee el ee COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. 339 in a domicile of rolled leaves, shrinking away into cavities and holes of bark, in angles of walls, and like positions, occupying at times a well made ‘ leafy tent, after the manner of Insularis and Trifolium, and only Seeming occupying its snare during the night. It is one of the rarest eae things to find a Furrow spider, unless it be quite young, sus- pended upon its orb, trapping flies, in daytime. Notwithstand- ing its seeming protective color, and the additional protection of its secret- ive habits, it is mercilessly pursued, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, by the steel blue wasp, which stores numbers in its clay cells. Epeira domiciliorum and cinerea are also spiders of rather inconspicuous colors, the last named particularly so, and both of them screen themselves in tents, though the Domicile spider at least not as habitually as some others. The Labyrinth spider and Epeira triaranea are among the most strongly protected of our fauna by their industry, having, besides their orbs and thick retitelarian Domicile, snare, a dome shaped silk- ei en tent as a domicile. In rinth, atti RAE IR BEE Orobara addition, Labyrinthea roofs Spiders. her tent with a dry leaf, or uses it as a shelter for her body. These spiders are strongly marked as to their patterns, and are not inconspicuously colored, but do not have the bright hues which characterize Argiope, Epeira insulatis, and some others. The Orchard spider is one of the most brilliantly colored of our indig- enous species, although its hues harmonize well, particularly its green and yellow, with its leafy surroundings. It rests beneath its horizontal orb, where it is abundantly exposed to attack from above, but has straggling, pyramidal retitelarian lines beneath it, which form some protection. It dwells mostly in wooded places, or among shrubs and thick, leafy bushes. Epeira gibberosa is also a brilliantly colored spider. Its industrial protec- tion is more manifest, for it dwells beneath a sort of hammock or structure of lines woven between the edges of a leaf. This hammock protects it above, while the leaf affords good security from beneath (Volume I., page 154), and its green color completes the protection. Our three indigenous species of Acrosoma, viz., Rugosa, Spinea, and Mitrata, are all, particularly the first two, well marked and brightly colored spiders. They are protected, Mitrata least conspicuously, by spin- ous processes, if such can be called protections. They live in the centre of their orbs as a rule, and their webs are most frequently found stretched between the trunks of young trees, in openings of groves, woods, and like spots. They seem to me more directly exposed to assault Fig. 309, Leaf nest of Epeira. Spinous Species, a |, ee 340 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK, + than almost any other of our native Orbweavers, unless, indeed, their pre- ferred site within the shaded walks of groves and woods may be consid- ered a protection. Gasteracantha, with its strongly developed spines, has much the same habit as Acrosoma, but the spines appear to be wanting in the young of this genus, the very age, one would think, at which they are most needed, However, the young of Gasteracantha, at least with numerous specimens sent from the Pacific coast, are almost black in color, a feature which must certainly be regarded as protective, if bright colors best invite the observa- tion of enemies. On the whole, the conclusion seems to be justified that many spiders which appear to be more exposed to enemies by reason of bright colors or greater size, possess special variations in industry and habits that in some degree are protective; but there are so many apparent exceptions to this, which require more careful study, that no generalization can now be warranted, If we come finally to consider the bearing of what has been called “warning coloration” upon spiders, there is little to be said. In the case of those numerous species which belong to the Wanderers, the colors cannot be considered as warning, but, as we have seen, are rather protective. As to Sedentary species, I cannot think of any animal that would avoid them as inedible on account of their color, or of any influence that their color could have in warning insects of danger. In point of fact, the colored spiders appear to be as delicate morsels to those that feed upon them as any other sort, and they are just as fre- quently, and perhaps I may say even more frequently, though by no means exclusively, selected for such purposes. That a warning should be conveyed to insects by the color of a spider at the centre of its web seems to me wholly imaginary, since Sedentary spiders do not capture food directly, but by means of their manufactured trapping instruments. Indeed, I have little faith in the opinion that in- sects are capable of experiencing anything like a warning, from color or other causes, against the presence of spiders. I feel sure that Insects this is the case with flies, the insects which perhaps more than Warning Colors. Uncon- i ; scious of @2Y other form the staple food of the various aranead tribes. I Danger. have often been witness of the absolute indifference of various species of flies to the presence of spiders. One remarkable ex- ample is recorded (Vol. I, page 256), in which, during an entire season, I observed numbers of a little black Diptera settling and feeding upon the carcasses of large blue bottle and house flies which had been trapped and trussed within the orbs of Argiope. In several cases these little creat- ures were observed stationed within the open jaws of their gigantic enemy, sipping juices which the spider was expressing from the fly on which she was feeding. COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. 341 A fly which had been put into a box with Epeira strix tempted her in vain to make a breakfast upon it. Three times it flew into or against the spider’s jaws and escaped. Twice it crept between the front pair of legs; once it lit upon and crept up the hindermost legs; and all the time was walking everywhere around her, utterly unconscious of the presence of an enemy. The spider remained motionless, except when the fly flew into her face, when she made an effort to seize it. At the time she was seated upon the bottom of the box, separate from any snare or web, and thus without ordinary means by which the presence and locality of in- sects are determined. We may suppose that the spider was confused by the unusual circumstance of separation from her web, and her vision momentarily impaired; but the fly, at least, was in normal condition, hunting food and otherwise acting in a natural way. In numerous other cases when flies haye been placed within boxes where spiders have been confined, I do not remember a single individual that showed the slightest sense of fear, but on the contrary they would run all around, and even settle upon the spider, apparently no more con- scious of its presence or of any peril therefrom, than if it had been a clod or chip. The same is true of grasshoppers, hundreds of which have been fed to the large tarantulas that from time to time, during a number of years, I have kept in confinement. Of such insects, at least, it would be highly absurd to argue anything of service in the way of “ warning coloration.” Bright or dull, large or small, they seem to be absolutely without Consciousness of the presence, or fear of the power, of spiders. In taking a summary view of the facts above recorded it may be said, in general terms, that the influences which appear to modify the color of spiders, in various degrees more or less known, are the follow- ing: Moulting changes; the effects of advancing age and ap- proaching dissolution; the disturbance of gestation; the distri- bution of pigment and color hairs by muscular action; the effects of food, environment, and general habit; sexual differences and the excite- ments of courtship and mating; and, possibly, inimical influences, such as natural enemies and weather changes. General Summary VI. How far are spiders conscious of the color elements in their surround- ings? They are found among leaves, flowers, and blossoms of all the : varied kinds and colors in the vegetable kingdom. Sedentary Conscious: syiders hang their webs to the branches and leaves of trees, ness of ; - : Coles, and weave them amidst flowers, often selecting for them sites which strike the observer as choice and notable for beauty. One may find, for example, the pretty web of Linyphia communis hung within an opening upon a morning-glory vine, the bright colored flowers : Cd] ~“—aeen eee ee 342 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. of which encircled the web like a charming frame to a picture.! Again, one may see the round webs of Epeira spun among lilies,? and hung within full blossoming sprays of honeysuckle. Indeed, at every point in Nature where flowers appear, there also appear spiders erecting their domi- ciles, weaving their snares, and spinning their cocoons. In like manner many of the wandering tribes spend their lives in arboreal situations, continually stalking their prey, and plying the varied industries characteristic of their species among grasses, shrubs, blossom- ing trees, vines, and beds of flowers. Are they utterly unconscious of the color effects among which they continually move? Or if, on the other hand, they have some sense of color, in what degree is it possessed ? These are interesting questions, and to some extent they have been solved, although much remains to be proved. It cannot, of course, be known that the light waves of various lengths, whose vibrations result in color, produce upon the spider’s organ of vision effects similar to those known to man and many of the higher mammals. But that some effect is produced seems clear, and that this is analogous to the color sense in man, we may perhaps safely assume; for we can only think and speak of the sensations of spiders in terms of our own conscious states. The late Prof. Paul Bert claimed that all animals see the rays of the spectrum as we do; that beyond this they see nothing that is unseen by us, and that, in the extent of the visible region, the differences between the illuminating powers of the different color rays are the same for them as for us.2 He rests these conclusions on experiments made on a small fresh water crustacean belonging to the genus Daphnia. Sir John Lubbock dissents from this generalization as too sweeping and based upon an insufficient foundation,+ but, as the result of numerous experiments with Daphnia pulex, concludes that while it would be impossible to prove that these crustaceans actually perceive colors, to suggest that the rays of various wave lengths produce on their eyes a different impression other than that of color, is to propose an en- tirely novel hypothesis. At any rate, he thinks that he has shown that they do distinguish between waves of different lengths, and prefer those which to our eyes appear green and yellow.° On the other hand, M. Merejkowski denies to the crustaceans any sense of color whatever. He thinks that they distinguish very well the intensity of the ethereal vibrations, their amplitude, but not their number. In the mode of their perception of light there is a great difference On Crus- taceans. 1Vol. I., page 344, Fig. 335. * Thid., Fig. 104. ’ “Archive de Phisiologie,” 1869, page 547. 4“Ants, Wasps, and Bees,” page 220. ° Sir John Lubbock: “On the Sense of Color among some of the Lower Animals,” Linnzan Society’s Journal Zoology, Vol. XVII. (1883), page 214. See also “Senses and In- stincts,” page 228. ee COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. 343 between the lower crustaceans and men, as well as between those animals and ants. While we see the different colors and their different intensi- ties, the inferior crustaceans neither behold any color or the different variations of intensity therein. We perceive colors as colors, they per- ceive them only as light.! Mr. Alfred R. Wallace does not admit that the fact that the lower ani- mals distinguish what are to us diversities of color, proves that their sen- sations of color bear any resemblance to ours. The insects’ capacity to distinguish red from blue may be and probably is due to preceptions of a totally distinct nature.? We have much testimony that insects have a decided color sense. Most important and decisive are, perhaps, the remarkable investigations of Sir John Lubbock, whose experiments indicate that ants are Color oa , Sense of *Msitive to the ordinary colors of the solar spectrum. It be- Insects, Comes probable, moreover, that the ultra violet rays must make themselves apparent to ants as a distinct and separate color, of which we can form no idea, but as unlike the rest as red is from yellow or green from violet. He adds, that as few of the colors in Nature are pure, but almost all arise from the combination of rays of different wave lengths, and as in such cases a visible resultant would be composed not only of the rays which we see, but of these and the ultra violet, it would appear that the colors of objects and the general aspect of Nature must present to ants a very different appearance from what it does to us.* Lubbock has also shown that bees have a decided preference between colors, and that blue is distinctly their favorite, although yellow is much liked.4 He also demonstrates that wasps are capable of distinguishing color, although they do not seem to be so much guided by it as bees are.° The fact having thus been established, that among two classes of the Arthropods, namely, the Crustacea and the Insecta, there are found genera which show a decided color sense, prepares us to expect the same fact in the case of the Arachnida, and indeed of all other Arthropods. The best sustained and most conclusive experiments upon spiders them- selves, of which I have knowledge, were made by Professor Spiders: and Mrs. Peckham in the neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wiscon- Peck- sin. Their method of procedure was as follows: A cage was hams’ é Bixpert- constructed, formed of four differently colored compartments, ments, ®ll made of glass and opening freely into one another. The cage was placed on a table on,a covered porch, with the wall of the house on one side, while the other sides were exposed to light. A 1“Tes Crustacés inférieurs distinguent-ils les couleurs?” (Do the inferior crustaceans distinguish color?) Par M. Merejkowski. 2 Wallace, “Tropical Nature,” page 238. 8“ Ants, Bees, and Wasps,” page 220, 4 Thid., page 310. 5 Tbid., 316, 6 “Some Observations on the Mental Powers of Spiders,” Journal of Morphology, Vol. I., Deceniber, 1887. i i 344 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. spider was then admitted to the cage and, after having become sufficiently domesticated, was gently driven into a specially colored compartment, say the blue. It was then left without interference to select such position as it might prefer in any one of the four differently colored compartments. When the spider had changed its position and remained therein a suffi- cient time to indicate a preference for the color under which it rested, it was again disturbed and moved to another color. If, for example, it set- tled within the red compartment, it was transferred to the yellow, and so on, a record being made of the various changes and preferences. his process was continued during several days, in which several hundred ex- l periments were made. As a result it was found that among all SONHSIS: dia spiders experimented with 181 preferred the red, 32 the yel- Prefer ; Red. low, 11 blue, and 13 green. The preference of the spiders for red was thus decidedly marked, resembling, although in a more marked degree, the preference of ants for the same color, as demonstrated by Sir John Lubbock’s experiments,! which appear to have suggested those of Professor Peckham. A test case was made which gave a striking result, quite in confirma- tion of the experiments as above described. An individual of Lycosa nigroventris, which had shown a strong preference for red; choosing that compartment 383 times out of 41, was temporarily blinded by covering its eyes with paraffine. When put within the cage it was found that the spider remained quiet in whatever compartment it was placed until it was driven out. If placed in the blue compartment, with its eyes as close as possible. to the red, it showed no inclination to enter, al- though this color had before proved so strongly attractive. Its prefer- ences, or rather its locations, during the resulting experiments, are recorded as follows :— Preferences after blinding: Red 6, yellow 6, blue 6, green 5. Preferences before blinding: Red 33, yellow 5, blue 0, green 3. Such results leave scarcely any room for doubt that in some way the spider had been influenced by a color sense, since, while it possessed normal vision it expressed a most decided preference for the red color, but when temporarily deprived of vision settled indifferently and about equally in all the colors represented in the series, there being no stronger preference for red than there had been in previous experiments for the blue compartment, which it had entirely shunned. These results seem to justify the conclusion that there exists a color sense in certain spiders. It is to be remarked, however, that in all the cases recorded, and ap- parently in all experimented upon, the individuals were chosen from the Lycosids alone. These spiders undoubtedly have a keen sense of sight, although I am inclined to think that in this respect they are inferior to *“Xnts, Bees, and Wasps,” page 189. COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. 345 some other groups. Their habit keeps them during much of their life concealed within earth burrows, or little caves excavated and fitted up by them under stones, logs, and like surroundings. They move over the ground or water, where they stalk their prey, and are not as apt to be found in arboreal situations among flowers, blossoms, and leaves, as other tribes of the Wanderers, the Saltigrades and Laterigrades, There is one well known species of Laterigrade spider, Misumena vatia, whose habits have awakened in my mind the query whether it might not be influenced by a decided color sense in the selection of certain sites. Most araneologists have observed this species stationed upon yellow flowers, as the golden rod and the brown daisy which is popularly known in our section as “black eyed Susan.” Misu- mena lurks upon this flower with its legs spread out within the very centre, and so closely corresponding in golor to its floral site that one must look closely ere he discovers it. The yellow centre of the common ox eyed daisy is also a lurking place for this spider. I have found the same spe- cies nestled within the petals of a half opened tea rose, and then its color also corresponded with its environment, being white, with various delicate shades of green and pink. (Plate III., Fig. 2.) In these cases we are forced at least to face the question, was the spider moved in such selec- tion by the color of the flower? If we say yes, then we are also con- strained to the conclusion that, in some way, the aranead must have been conscious of the fact that its peculiar color harmonized with the color of the flower which it sought as a stalking point for the capture of its prey. It is doubtless true for the most part that light is perceived by spiders, and arthropods generally, by the eyes, and not chiefly by the skin. Sir John Lubbock has shown, by a series of ingenious experiments, that ants perceive the ultra violet rays with their eyes, and not, as suggested by Graber, by the skin generally. These experiments haye been repeated and the conclusions verified by an observer so careful and experienced as Dr. Auguste Forel.! Nevertheless, it seems to me probable that there is some, and it may be considerable, perception of light by the skin of spiders. The abdomen of spiders is included within a soft integument which is frequently covered heavily with hairs. May it not be that this soft skin is far more sensitive than the hard chitinous enclosure of the abdomen of insects? May it not, therefore, be that such a spider as Misumena vatia is led to settle within those flowers which correspond in color to itself, by that comfortable feeling which results from the harmony of an individual with its environment, and which may be caused, for all we know, by the fact that the yellow rays of the flower are perceived by and agreeable to the sensitive skin of the spider? In thinking of the power of spiders to distinguish the various hues, may we not be justified in calling into play Misume- na vatia. 1 Lubbock on the Senses of Animals, page 211. ee IO eee ee 346 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. this sensitiveness of the entire skin, instead of limiting the perception to the eyes alone? There is indeed another theory which may be suggested, namely, that the color surroundings of the spider, in some manner not now explicable, so rapidly influence the organism of the creature that a change of color is produced in harmony with its environment. Can we suppose, in this case, that the spider possesses the power to influence at will the chromat- ophores or pigment bodies, so that they may change her color with chang- ing site? There is another explanation of the above peculiar habit of Misumena. Many insects are strongly attracted by yellow colors, and as insects are the chief food of spiders, it is natural that the familiar resorts Seeking of insects should be the places most affected by spiders. ‘That pees insects have such attraction to colors has already been shown, esorts. and that they are drawn to yellow colored flowers has been fully established by Miller in his remarkable volume on Alpine flowers.! ‘This author gives a table recording the numerous visits of various insects to flowers of different hues; and a study of the table shows that butterflies, bees, flies, and gnats, and other insects manifest a strong preference for yellowish white and for yellow flowers. With such a fact as this in view, we may, perhaps, conclude that the habit of Thomisus and Misumena to frequent flowers of the character above described, resolves itself into the well known instinct of all animals to seek their food in those resorts where the supply is most abundant and accessible. This explanation does not, of course, exclude the fact that the spider, in seeking such favorable site, may be guided by its sense of color, but it reduces it to a subordi- nate rank. VII. Walckenaer ? advanced the idea that the form of the cocoon corresponds with that of the abdomen of the mother. This is in some measure cor- f rect, for the abdomens of spiders have most frequently an oval Relation shape, and this is substantially the shape of the cocoon. But a fig when one comes to compare the shapes of the abdomens of in- coons, dividual spiders with the shapes of their cocoons, the excep- tions are so numerous and decided that no such generalization can be accepted. The same author suggested that some correspondence exists between the color of the cocoon and that of the mother’s abdomen. The facts, however, at least as far as American spiders are concerned, will not sus- tain this theory, except in a general way. For example, the colors of the abdomen of Argiope cophinaria are yellow, black, white, and brown. 1 Miller, Alpen Blumen, page 487. * Aptéres, Vol. I., page 147. COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. 347 The colors of her cocoon are yellow, white, and brown. Argiope argy- raspis has yellow, black, and silvery white upon her abdomen, Her co- coon is yellow and white. Argiope argenteola has an abdomen whose colors are metallic white or silver, yellow, and black. Her cocoon is green or yellow, or a combination of green and yellow on the outside with a white tuft within. ‘The Insular spider has for its abdominal colors yellow, orange, and brown. Her cocoon is a uniform yellow. The Bifid spider has for its prevailing colors a light greenish hue intermingled with a livid yellow and a little brown. Her cocoon is a dull green color. The prevailing colors of Orbweavers’ cocoons may be said to be yellow and white. Sometimes the yellow shades into green, sometimes into brown. _. The dark or blackish cocoons, when examined carefully, are Prevailing found to owe their shade to the compactness of the threads of Spider p . ma Colors. Which they are spun and the presence of gum. The above colors, namely, yellow and white, are the prevailing ones among Orbweavers themselves. The yellows sometimes shade into green, oftener into brown, livid, and orange. The white frequently becomes metallic, having a silver sheen. There is, therefore, some basis for suggesting a correspondence between the color of a cocoon and that of the spider, or abdomen of the spider, which spins it. The harmony is more apparent, as far as my observation extends, among Orbweavers than other araneads; but there are not enough facts in hand to justify a generalization. Turning from the Orbweavers to other tribal groups, we find that the exceptions are so many and striking that they appear at once to wholly disparage the theory.* Most Citigrades and Tunnelweavers, and many Tube- weavers, are dark colored, but their cocoons are quite uniformly white. For example, the well known American tarantula, whose large cocoon is a white ovoid ball three inches long, has a dark reddish brown and black coat. Tegenaria medicinalis is a quite dark, almost black spider, but she spins a white cocoon. The same is true of Tegenaria persica, whose clus- tered cocoons are white when originally spun, although the mother covers them with dirt, and thus soils the appearance. The Speck- led 'Tubeweaver is a dull creature, yet she spins a beautiful white cocoon, although she also mars its whiteness by adding extraneous mate- rial. With many of the Drassids the same rule obtains. Without multi- plying examples, this may be said fairly to represent the color relations of American araneads to their cocoonery. An examination of the colors of European cocoons, as given by Walck- enaer, Blackwall, or Simon, or by Staveley,! in her tabular arrangement of cocoons and eggs, will show that the same fact obtains among the spi- ders of Great Britain and Ireland. We learn from this table that a great Cocoon Colors. 1 British Spiders, pages 269-275. e— 348 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. majority of British cocoons are white; green or greenish, yellow, and yellow brown being the other colors represented. These colors are distributed quite indifferently of the maternal colors. The color of the silk extruded from the spinnerets of spiders of all tribes in the construction of snares is, with few exceptions, white, some- times having a steel blue tint, and often a lustre which gives it the appearance of spun glass. There are some exceptions to this rule, as, for example, the round web of Nephila is uniformly woven with yellow silk; and perhaps a wider study of the spinningwork of araneads will show that there are other exceptions, and perhaps many of them. : The differences of color in the spinning silk of araneads appear in the construction of the cocoon. Many cocoons are composed of white silk, per- haps it may be, said the majority of them, but others again show some pretty varieties of color, and in some species several hues of silk will be used in weaving one cocoon.! Among Orbweavyers the colors used in cocooning are principally white ; but one frequently finds yellow in various shades, green, and sometimes brown. A few Lineweavers make colored cocoons, and among Tubeweavers may be found a few species whose cocoons are various shades of red, some- times quite bright. I often find these cocoons in the shape of little plates, with the convexity upward, attached to bark and stones, and showing a very dainty appearance, but have not been able to fully identify them with the species making them. An examination of the spinning glands of spiders under the micro- scope will show, in some species at least, as Argiope cophinaria, several colors represented in the liquid contents. The causes controlling the secre- tion of these specially colored silks are, of course, physiological, but one cannot presume to guess even what they may be. Color of Silk. VIII. The forms in which the coloring materials are arranged constitute the various patterns or marks that characterize spider species. These patterns are most varied and prominent upon the dorsum of the abdo- men, although the venter and the sternum are also sometimes highly colored. While there is much variety in the arrangement of these patterns, there is, on the whole, a general tendency to form a folium or leaf shaped outline, scalloped on the outer margin. This folium outline appears to have some orderly relation to the little pits or points of muscular attachment, and, in a general way, may be said to be regulated by those sections of the abdomen which have commonly been held to Color Patterns. 1 See Chapter IV., page 80, and Plate IV., Figs. 3, 4, 5. COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. 349 indicate a segmentation. In other words, some writers are disposed to con- sider the abdomen as segmented, and, in a rough way, the symmetrical divisions in the pattern folium may be said to outline the articulations of the segments. The cephalothorax is most frequently uniform in its color, commonly with longitudinal stripes of different shade. It follows, in a general way, the coloration of the legs, which it resembles in its chitinous character, the entire fore part of the body having the hardness which is characteristic of the enclosing walls of insects. The ab- domen, on the contrary, is enclosed in a soft skin, a fact which exposes it to injury, and causes its rapid decay after death, one of the principal difficulties in the way of preserving specimens of spiders. On the cephalothorax there are often several longitudinal bands, one on each side, near and indeed quite surrounding the margin, and two drawn from the suture of the caput backward. ‘There is also frequently a band of color in the median line from the middle of the eye space backward. The legs are usually colored like the cephalothorax, and are generally uniform in hue, except that at the joints there are rings of color usually darker than the rest of the leg. The feet are nearly always black or blackish. In order to determine if possible the structural causes producing color in spiders, I made studies from a number of dissections of various species chosen with special regard to variety and brillianey of colors. Among these are Argyroepeira hortorum, Argiope argyraspis, Ar- giope cophinaria, Argiope argenteola, Epeira insularis, Gastera- cantha cancer, and Phidippus morsitans.' I do not speak of the results positively, for the studies are in a field where trained histologists alone are competent to decide. But I venture to give some indications of what appeared to me, in the hope that others may follow the path suggested, and reach positive determinations. The metallic white upon the cephalothorax of Argiope argyraspis is produced chiefly by a vast number of white hairs. These are packed closely one upon another and reflect white light, the combined reflections forming the metallic appearance of the object. The metallic hues of the abdomen of Argyraspis are produced in part by closely thatched white hairs that reflect white light in the manner of those upon the cephalothorax. The black transverse bands on the ab- domen are produced by amorphous granules of black pigment just beneath the skin, which thin out towards the margin of the band, becoming yellow as they diminish. There appears also to be a diffused yellow stain in the chitine, and, in addition, white pigment bodies which resemble the chro- matophores that give the color in frogs and lizards, for example. Cephalo- thorax and Legs. Causes of Color. Metallic Hues. ‘T had purposed to include in this yolume a plate of colored drawings representing, in a general way, the indications of these studies, but sundry disappointments and delays have compelled the postponement of this plate to the third volume. ee eee ee aia a ee 350 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. In Argiope cophinaria the metallic color of the cephalothorax is pro- duced by hairs in the same way as with Argyraspis. ‘These hairs are wavy; there appear to be two kinds, one flattened, with a wavy outline, having somewhat the appearance of cotton fibre, which may, however, be produced by irregular cavities or spaces within the hairs. Others again, present a similar appearance, but are cylindrical. On the abdomen of Cophinaria the colors are produced chiefly by pig- ment granules beneath the epiderm, the chitinous layers of which are arranged in beautiful undulating lines. The pretty orange color upon the thigh of Epeira insularis is pro- duced chiefly by vast numbers of pigment granules lying beneath the epiderm, the secreted layers of which are arranged in diamond shaped figures. Argyroepeira hortorum, the most beautifully colored of our indigenous spiders, makes a fine object for mounting in order to show colors. The hairs have little or nothing to do in producing these varied The hues, which are due to green and yellow pigment granules, and ig to what appear to be chromatophores. These chromatophores are white for the most part, though some of them are yellow tinted, and they yield a strong white reflection, which, it seems to me, is a chief agent in producing the brilliant silvery white of this aranead., In the case of Phidippus morsitans the color of the abdomen is due to several causes. The black shades with dark green metallic reflection on the sides are produced chiefly by dark green pigment granules under- neath the skin, and in part by black hairs. The white spots on the sides of the dorsum are composed of peculiar white lanceolate hairs laid one upon another. They are marked by longitudinal striations on the surface, which give it, under the lens, the appearance of a minute ear of Indian corn. The little yellow lunettes of color on the dorsum near the apex appear to be composed of somewhat similar hairs, of nearly the same shape, but a little more elongated, yellow in color, and these, instead of longitudinal grooves, have slight feather like projections or papille irregu- larly distributed over the surface.! The remarkable metallic green on the mandibles of this species is pro- duced by a method quite different from any of those above named. ‘The surface of the mandibles is broken up into a number of rugosities, ar- ranged, though somewhat irregularly, in arcs of circles. These ridges appear to act as prisms, refracting the light; and to this evidently is due the brilliant metallic color which has attracted the attention of all obsery- ers of the species. Under a microscope the minute lunettes and waves of green light are readily distinguished; but the natural eye does not separate Argiope. ' These hairs in the color patches on the abdomen of P. morsitans appear to be of the type of Mr. Wagner’s clubshaped hairs. (Fig. 297.) COLOR AND THE COLOR SENSE. 351 the several groups of refracted rays, and perceives them as an unbroken band of metallic green color. These cursory examinations appear to suggest that the structural causes of color in spiders are probably the following: First, color stains diffused throughout the tissues; second, pigment granules of various hues Pam, distributed beneath the skin; third, pigment bodies or chromat- Bao ophores; fourth, the reflection of light from the surfaces of Causes. thickly overlaid or thatthed hairs; fifth, by hairs of various col- ors and peculiar forms, in some degree analogous to the scales of the Lepidoptera; sixth, certain colors, particularly the brilliant metallic colors, are produced by refraction of light from broken or ridged surfaces of the epiderm, that appear to act as prisms. Little attention has been paid to the structural causes of color in spiders, and scarcely more to the form of the color hairs, and the manner in which they are grouped and overlaid in order to form the various color spots and pattern outlines produced exclusively or in part by them. The subject might well repay the careful study of the microscopist, and it may often be found that these color hairs will show many varying forms, correspond- yy. s10, Fic. 31. ee ee Ing with genera or even species. Micaria longipes. Mr. Emerton says } that the hairs or Fias. 310 and 818. White scales from spots Z onabdomen. FG. 311. Scale from hind- “scales” usually found on the Drassidee erhalfofabdomen. F1G.312. Scale from and Agalenide are feathered.? Each scale, — *°m* of *Pdomen. (After Emerton.) as far as he had noticed, is uniformly colored. Along the edges of the red spot in Geotrecha crocata, for example, red and black scales are mixed, but each scale is either all red or all black. The scales of Micaria longipes* are either white or brown. The irides- cence of the abdomen, which is very marked in certain lights, he had seen on the individual scales. In general form these hairs resemble those which I have seen on Phidippus:n morsitans. Color Scales. 1In a ister to the author. 2 fie New Eng. Dr pasties plate i iii., F ig. 3, e. 8 Td., plate iii, Fig. 1 PART V.-HOSTILE AGENTS: THEIR INFLUENCE. CHAPT Hy Self. MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. Tre subject of mimicry among spiders, as with other animals, is most interesting and yet most difficult to treat. I accept the word as one gen- erally used among naturalists, to express certain resemblances, more or less complete, between a spider and surrounding objects in Nature. I do not include within the word the idea that the volition of the spider controls these resemblances, except in a very limited degree, which will hereafter be pointed out. The theories of the origin of mimicry, which have been discussed by many naturalists, appear to me to rank little higher than more or less ingenious suggestions unsupported by facts sufficient to justify them as scientific inferences. But at present this condition of things seems unavoidable, and by patient and careful accumulation of facts chaos may at last yield to order and well defined law. Among spiders the various kinds of mimicry may be divided into the following: First, industrial mimicry of plants and other objects or envi- ronment; second, form mimicry of animals; third, form mimicry of envi- ronment; fourth, color mimicry; fifth, cocoon mimicry; and sixth, death mimicry. The last of these will be considered in another connection. If The most remarkable examples of industrial mimicry of surrounding objects are to be found among the Trapdoor spiders, as recorded in the charming pages of Moggridge, some of whose figures I have Industrial thought well to reproduce in Plate II. of this volume. These Mimicry . . ; a artnet: animals, which make burrows in the earth, whose openings are ronment, Closed by doors swung upon a hinge of thickened silk, are in the habit of covering the outside of their doors with dry leaves or living moss, so that they resemble the surrounding site, in which they are placed so closely that even Mr. Moggridge, when looking for them, was often deceived. Perhaps in no case is the concealment more complete than when dead leaves are employed to cover the door, In some instances a single withered olive leaf is placed in to cover the trap. In others several leayes are woven together with bits of wood and roots, as seen at Plate II., Figs. 1 and 2, (352) MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. BDO which represent the projecting entrance of a nest of Nemesia meredionalis at Mentone. Fig. 1 shows the door closed and well disguised by re- semblance to the dry olive leaves which cover the ground in the vicinity of the nest. Fig. 2 shows the same tube with the door thrown open. The effectiveness of this disguise is at once apparent. It may be questioned, however, whether it is made with deliberate intent at mimicry. The spi- der’s purpose in attaching leaves to the outer surface of its door is doubt- less protective. But may it not be that, moved by ordinary self protective instinct, it simply took the first available material, without regard to mimetic resemblance ? I may illustrate this by referring to my studies of the parasol or cut- ting ant of Texas.’ My first experience of a formicary of these insects was discouraging. I had encamped in its vicinity on the strength of Kate information that it was a large and active hill; but at a morning visit it seemed utterly abandoned, not a sign of life or activity anywhere present. The mound was dotted over with forest chippage, bits of twigs, dried leaves from an overhanging live oak, but no entrance into the nest appeared. Returning to the place in the evening I found that vigorous life had succeeded the semblance of death. Numerous openings appeared all over the surface of the mound, out of which myriads of insects were pouring, streaming away into the surrounding country, engaged especially in harvesting leaves from the immense live oak tree that over- hung. The change was readily explained by subsequent studies. I found that the ants are in the habit of closing up their doors after their night’s work, and when the upper part of the tubes which lead into the main formicary have been filled to the distance of about an inch with various chippage and sand, piles of dry leaves and twigs are erected above the open- ing. These chips form a part of the permanent property of the ants, for I observed that the same pieces were used day after day. The mimicry in this case was complete. The surface of the mound was made to re- semble a bit of natural soil covered over with piles of dried leaves and twigs. It effectually deceived me, although I was on the lookout for the insects. Yet I have never thought that the ants designed to produce such a mimetic harmony. They simply gathered such dry leaves and other ma- terials as were convenient, and the fact that these so closely resembled the surface of the mound was accidental. May it not be that some of the striking resemblances in the doors of Trapdoor spiders are produced in the same way ? Striking illustrations of this mimetic resemblance are shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 of Plate II. Fig. 3 represents a moss covered sod, pierced by the tube of the nest of Nemesia coementaria, the door of which is entirely concealed from view, and only discovered by one who happened to cut " Proceedings Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1879, page 33, sq. si pag q 7 — ee —_-™S~s—ss so — a a 354 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. through it in digging up a plant. The moss on the trap grew as vigor- ously, and had “in every way the same appearance, as that rooted in the surrounding earth, and so perfect was the deception that Mr. Mog- Mimetic ridge found it impossible to detect the position of the closed oa _ door, even when holding it in his hand, No doubt many nests escape observation in this way, and the artifice is more surpris- ing because there is strong reason to believe that this door garden is delib- erately planted with moss by the spider, and not the effect of mere chance growth. Figs. 4 and 5 represent a section of earth covered with a delicate moss, which includes the trapdoor of Nemesia ccementaria. The door is shown open at Fig. 4 and closed at Fig. 5, and the concealment of the door, although not so striking as in Fig. 3, is nevertheless quite manifest. In the case of Trapdoor spiders which make a thin or “wafer door,” as Moggridge calls it, there is but a thin coating of earth on their upper sur- face, since it is rare to find any of the larger mosses or lichens growing upon them. But, as if to compensate for this deficiency, a variety of for- eign materials is employed, which are scarcely ever found in the thick cork doors, such as dead leaves, bits of roots, straw, of grasses, etc., and Mog- eridge had seen freshly cut green leaves, apparently gathered for the pur- pose, spun into a door which had recently been constructed.? There is the widest possible difference between nest and nest in the de- gree of perfection in concealment; and although, as a rule, the surface of the upper door harmonizes well with the general appearance of its surroundings, there are some individual nests in which it readily catches the eye and even attracts attention. Mr. Mog- gridge saw nests in mossy banks where the door, being made of nothing but earth and silk, showed distinctly as brown patches against the green. These doors even when surrounded by earth were often easily detected, because when they dried up, as they quickly did, they became much paler in color than the earth of the bank which retained its moisture.* Thus it seems that the simple instinct to cover in the door, and so protect the artificer from exposure to weather and enemies, was the domi- nant motive. Material was chosen from the immediate vicinage suitable and convenient for closure, and no purpose appears in the act to select such material as would disguise the nest. In other words, a sense of se- curity by means of sheltering barriers dominated the spider's mind, and security by means of mimetic harmony or protective resemblance appears to have had no place at all. Some support for this opinion appears to me to be derived from Mr, Moggridge’s statements as to the mode in which some of these Trapdoor spiders work. He fastened back the doors of several tunnels, in order to test the mode in which the inmate would deal with this difficulty. In one Self Pro- tection. 1 Trapdoor Spiders, page 97. 2 Ibid., page 103, * Tbid., page 103. MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. ; 38D5 case he observed that a new covering had been cleverly extemporized out of three fallen olive leaves, taken from the vicinity, which were loosely spun together and attached by one or two threads to the margin of the tube. This formed an admirable concealment, but did not move freely as a door, the web being too imperfect. Two days later, however, it was completed, and had become a perfect door, moving on a hinge just within and below that of the former door, which still remained as it had been fastened. The other nests remained in the same condition as before, only that a little moss had been dragged into the mouth of one tube, which had been partially closed with its own lip. Moggridge further states that Trapdoor spiders, Nemesia meridionalis, will make use of various objects strewed near their nests, in order to build up a new door. This he tested by placing bits of scarlet braid Nearby along with particles of moss and fragments of leaves, in a circle ee around the opening of the tube, and about two inches away from it. Nevertheless, it is apparent that these Trapdoor spiders do exercise some discrimination in the choice of materials, for Mr. Mog- gridge observed several instances in which, when the door of the cork nest had been removed, if the door had been originally covered with moss, it would again be used in its reconstruction, even though the mouth of the tube were then surrounded by bare earth. Thus, in reasoning upon the power of the spider to disguise the en- trance to its habitation by mimicking surrounding natural objects, we are brought in contact with this apparent defect of rational action. This point Moggridge further illustrates by a case in which he had cut out a little clod of mossy earth about two inches thick and three inches square on the surface, containing the top of the tube and the moss covered cork door of Nemesia ccementaria. He found, on revisiting the tube six days later, that a new door had been made, and that the spider had mounted up to fetch moss from the undisturbed bank above, planting it in the earth which formed the crown of the door. Here the moss actually called the atten- tion of an observer to the trap, which lay in the little plain of brown earth made by the digging. He subsequently saw many examples of the same sort, and purposely removed several cork doors from mossy banks, in order to observe this point.? If in the above cases the spiders appear to have been guided by the simple wish to protect themselves with the first available material, in other cases the mimicry seems to be due to the natural secret- ae iveness of animals seeking prey. Mr. Moggridge detected the iveness, /@™ains of insects, and especially ants, in the nests which he ex- amined in situ. Frequently, however, one may open several in succession without finding any of this débris, and at other times it will * Trapdoor Spiders, page 121. * Tbid., page 120. 356 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. only be detected beneath the bottom of the tube, layers of silk having been spun over successive layers of refuse. The horny crops of ants form by far the largest proportion of these remains, and Moggridge was struck by the number of instances in which, while digging out ants’ nests at Mentone, he found Trapdoor burrows, especially those of Nemesia mander- stjerne and Nemesia moggridgii in their midst, the tubes often traversing the very heart of the ants’ colony, and coming into close contact with their galleries and chambers. In these instances the trapdoors had almost always escaped his notice, and, indeed, they so closely resembled the surface of the ground that even when he knew, from having accidentally cut across the tube below the eround, that one of these doors must lie near a given spot, yet he could only discover it by following the passage below upwards, ‘This perfect concealment the discoverer thought of essential importance to the spider’s success in life, for if they once alarmed the whole colony of ants and let them know the exact whereabouts of their lurking place, they would soon learn to avoid it.? The fact of mimetic resemblance in the tubular snare of the Purseweb spider has already been alluded to. I have seen hun- dreds of these in various parts of Florida, and have before me several score speci- mens. These are covered on the outside with particles of sand, and even more free- ly with the brown wood mold which has accumulated in large quantities around the trunks of trees in Floridian forests where the spider abounds. The resemblance of the tube to the bark of the tree against which it is planted is close, much closer, i in most cases, than is represented in the Pram: ith / Tila dete Deneibae MS Pe drawing Plate IL, Fig. 7. As the spider seudidiops opifex. (After Simon.) A is dependent for her supply of food upon the number of insects that crawl upon her tube, we may suppose that she derives considerable advantage from this resemblance, imas- much as it allows her to creep upward to where her victim rests, or encourages the victim to crawl towards the point where she lies in wait to fling her web around it. An example of nest architecture among Trapdoor spiders which may be classed in the same category as the above, is a species which Mr. Ku- gene Simon describes as Pseudidiops opifex. (See Fig. 314.) This aranead Purseweb Spider. ! Trapdoor Spiders, Supplement, page 237. MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. 357 constructs a tube with a trapdoor opening, in every respect resembling that of species which burrow in the ground, except that the tube is placed upon the bark of various trees and ordinarily lodged within Tree the furrows of the same. Mr. Simon! found specimens of these are upon trees of Venezuela, South America, and I have seen a num- : ber of examples in the collection of the British Museum at Ken- sington, London. ‘These were of various ‘sizes, some of them with doors no larger than a pin head, yet perfectly constructed and exact miniatures of that made by the adult. The utility of this mimicry is apparent. The insects which alight and walk on trees, must often go over and around this trap, which in appearance and texture so closely resembles its site. Thus opportunity and facility are afforded the spider, waiting at its partly open door, to seize its prey. I. Among spiders, the form of other animals is sometimes mimicked. The most striking example is that of the little group of araneads which, by stricture of the abdomen and shape of the head, are made to Form resemble the form of certain ants. Simonella americana Peck- saree ham is an example of this form mimicry. (Fig. 315.) One mals. specimen of this spider is recorded as haying been found run- ning among leaf cutting ants.? Certainly there is a sufficient resemblance between the two creatures to permit one to think that a spi- der so formed might run upon the ground among a marching or working column of these emmets without any great fear of detection, provided the ants had no better means of discovering the presence of friend or foe than their eyesight. As a matter of fact, however, their principal means of observation in this respect appears to be a the sensitive antenna. Having closely studied the habits of the leaf cutting ants, Atta fervens,? in Texas, I cannot MS: An outline A : - side view of Si- readily think that any spider, or any other creat- monella america- Ant, like | ure at all obnoxious to these ants, whatever might eer tape Spiders. ham.*) be its form, would have been permitted to remain in the way of the immense swarms of insects that issue in the evening from their formicary, and go forth upon their predatory expeditions into the surrounding foliage. Another of these ant formed spiders, which belongs to our indigenous fauna, is Synemosyna formica Hentz. (Fig. 316.) The figure is drawn from a specimen sent me by Professor Peckham, but the species is quite widely distributed over the United States, having been originally de- scribed by Hentz. Yet another spider which certainly bears a striking 1 Ann. Soc. Entom. de France, 1889, page 220, plate i, Fig. 3. 2 Spiders of the Subfamily Lyssomane, Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci., 1888, page 252. ’ Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1879, page 33. * Proced. Nat. Hist. Soc. Wisconsin, 1885, plate i, Fig. 1. SO — es a er 358 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. resemblance to hymenopterous insects, is drawn from a specimen sent me by Professor Peckham, and was collected in South America. (Fig. 317.) I do not know the particular genus to which this species be- longs. The number of species having this characteristic form appears to be quite limited in any given lecality, particularly of temperate climates; but there are probably many more than has been supposed, for Professor Peckham informs me oder syne, that he has at least seventy-five species in his private col- mosyna for- ection. ik ak According to Mr. Cambridge, the most striking instance of resemblance among British spiders is that of Micaria scintalans, found in some abundance in the Isle of Portland. ‘Dis spider so nearly resembles a large ant which abounds in th same locality, that it requires the second look of even a practiced eye to vie sure whether it be really spider or ant. The advantage, or ‘ protective effect,” afforded to one thus resembling another is not always easy to be understood at once, se eae often consist in the protection from certain Sangety to which A Britis Specimen steccnlnn ‘the ants of Poranls “being: ‘of a hard ae horny nature, may not be a favorite food for those enemies which would find an agree- able morsel in the softer and more succulent spider. ‘The latter, therefore, would deceive, and -so-escape such enemies, from its resemblance to the dis- tasteful ants. In other cases (and, possibly, also in the one just mentionéd) Cambridge thinks the resemblance may give the resembler a chance of ob- taining its prey more easily. Thus, in the south of Africa there is a spider resembling an ant even more closely than the Portland species. The habit of this ant is to feed on honey dew along with mul- titudes of insects of other orders. ‘These latter have no dread nor suspicion of the ants, which, in fact, have a common object in view, and do the other in- sects no harm. But then, under cover of the close resemblance to the ants, come the spiders, who, un- suspected and unresisted, regale themselves at their leisure upon the defenseless insect. Having recorded the facts, it may be well to con- sider some of the theories advanced to account for them. In general, it may be said that this mimicry is considered as protective. Its use is, first, to enable the mimic to more readily obtain necessary food among its natural prey; or, sec- Fie. 817. An ant like spider ond, to protect it from natural enemies, particularly ee ee (as in this case of form mimicry) from some enemy that especially threatens its existence. Darwin applies to these analogical resemblances, or adapt- ive resemblances, as he calls them, his theory of natural selection. He Darwin’s Theory. MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. 359 cordially adopts the opinion expressed by Mr. Bates concerning the remark- able mimicry between the genera of butterflies, Ithomia and Leptalis, as they are found in Brazil.!_ Mr. Bates concludes that the Leptalis first varies, and when that variety happens to resemble in some degree any common butterfly inhabiting the same district, this variety, from its resemblance to a flourishing and little persecuted kind, has a better chance of escaping destruction from predaceous birds and insects, and is consequently oftener preserved, the less perfect degrees of resemblance being from generation to generation eliminated, and only the others left to propagate the kind. In this connection. Mr. Darwin remarks: ‘Insects cannot escape by flight from the larger animals, hence they are reduced, like most weak creatures, to trickery and dissimulation.”? In what sense can it be true that a resemblance in form, which must be the result of influences oper- ating upon the very germ of life, acquired by and transmitted from an- cestors, is traceable to the volition of the creature, and is an act of delib- erate “dissimulation and trickery”? Whatever may have been the origin of adaptive resemblances, certainly at the outset we may exclude any such supposition as this. In the nature of things the cause of structural re- semblance is beyond the individual control of the mocking or mimicking species. The most striking example of the mimicry of animal forms among spiders, as has been said, is that of Ant spiders, of which Simonella ameri- cana is an example. The theory which accounts for this on the hypothesis of natural selection supposes that, through the nat- ural tendency to vary, a spider in a brood acquired a slight re- semblance to an ant. This slight resemblance protected the spiderling so much as to give it an advantage over its fellows during the attacks of birds that feed upon spiders, but do not feed upon ants. This protected individual, having matured, transmitted its peculiarity to offspring, some of whom, by the same tendency to variation, exaggerated the ant likeness; and so, by infinitesimal increments, in the course of time Simonella amer- icana and other species more or less closely resembling ants were produced. Concerning this theory it may be remarked, first, that the real difficulty seems to be in the supposition that such a slight variation as is supposed could possibly be of any advantage to an individual spiderling Value of in the midst of a large brood. The dangers to which these are Sa a exposed are not chiefly from birds. They are very small, soft bodied creatures, exposed to many perils. As soon as they set up housekeeping, and even before it, they are preyed upon by their own order, for large spiders unceremoniously eat. little ones, and small spiders eat less ones. Among | Wanderers like Simonella and other Attide, the —— : a === — Ant like Forms. 1 Bates, “ Naturalist on the Amazon.” 2 “Origin of Species,” Chapter XIII., page 386. * =o a 360 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. young stay with the mother until they are somewhat grown, and then have shelter beneath rocks or other secluded positions where birds are not apt to find them, although, of course, some birds do mouse around and pick up insects in the most secluded spots. I imagine, however, that the dangers threatening young Attide are much greater from certain insects and individuals of their own order, than from birds. I can, therefore, hardly conceive what advantage it would be under such circumstances for the spider to resemble an ant, even if we were to suppose that such a minute resemblance as the hypothesis requires at the outset, would be of advantage in any case. In point of fact, the theory is not workable, as it seems to me. Any change of form to be effective must occur in the first stages of life. But a minute resemblance could be of no advantage, as the discriminating powers of enemies, whether insects, birds, or spiders, are hardly so acute and delicate as to make an infinitesimal variation of much importance in screening one individual spiderling in the midst of a brood. In short, if we are to suppose that the birds are the real ene- mies, or any other creature that is indisposed to feed upon ants, it seems necessary, in order to justify anything like this theory of the origin of mimicry, to suppose that the variation of the spiderling was, at the outset, so great as to give it at least a reasonable likeness to the ant. The theory takes for granted an accuracy of eyesight on the part of birds that close observers will scarcely be willing to admit. How far can birds distinguish color? This is a question which has scarcely yet been fully solved. How far can insects distinguish color? How far can birds and insects distinguish between such minute variations in form as that which the above theory seems to require? In accounting for the origin of cocoon mimicry we suppose that the eyesight of birds and wasps is so defective as to form and color as to permit them to be deceived by a difference as little marked as that which exists between the cocoon of the Tailed spider, for example, and the spider herself. But, in accounting for the mimicry of ant like forms, we are compelled to re- verse this attitude, and suppose the eyesight of birds and raiding wasps to be so accurate that it can distinguish between a slight variation on the part of one spider of a brood towards an ant, and the normal form of other spiders of the brood, and distinguish so accurately that it will avoid the ant resembling spiderling and take others. Whatever theory of the origin of mimicry we adopt, certainly must be free from inconsist- encies such as this. Moreover, the greatest destruction, as far as I am aware, wrought by birds upon young spiders is accomplished under circumstances that pre- clude any such an element as above. Immense numbers of spiderlings, including, I believe, all species of Saltigrades, possess the acronautic habit, and while they are flying through the air upon their tiny mimic balloons they are devoured by swifts and swallows, who skim the air and gather Sight of Birds. MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. 361 these flying spiders into their crops, where they have been found in quan- tities. Certainly, a resemblance of an ant form could be of no avail here. Again, the theory compels us to assert that ants are not subject to de- struction by birds. Of course, unless this be true we can conceive of no : advantage in the mimicry of an ant form as protecting the spi- age der against birds that seek to devour it. Its safety lies in the at Ants. ics P : ’ fact that it is covered from harm by its likeness to an insect which birds avoid. On the contrary, I know that some birds certainly do eat ants, and eat them greedily. Mr. Carl Voelker, of Carlingdale, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, is a taxidermist of large practical experience, and with a fondness for natural history which prompts him to make and note observations upon the gen- eral habits of birds and other animals. He has informed me that the flicker, Picus auratus, at certain seasons of the year—in the spring, for example—will station itself upon a dead stump, which in our American woods is frequently infested with ants, and feed greedily upon them as they pass to and fro. This he has observed many times, and_ believes that at certain seasons this bird lives entirely upon ants. He has seen two species devoured by them in the manner above described—a_ little black ant and one about twice as large. The pileated woodpecker, Picus pileatus, feeds quite habitually upon the large black Pennsylvania carpenter ant, Camponotus pennsylyanicus. He has frequently taken these insects, in various stages of decomposition, out of the crops of these birds, at one time having counted nearly seven hundred in the crop of a single woodpecker. The bird not only takes the ants in the summer, but also in the winter, and Mr. Voelker has seen them stationed upon trees, pecking at the gangways or gates into the for- micaries until they had been hammered open, and then extracting the ants while they were in a torpid state. As some of these homes in forest trees are extensive bits of architecture and are inhabited by vast numbers of insects, the amount of food thus obtained must be considerable. In the forests of Pennsylvania I have seen formicaries of the carpenter ant six feet in length and occupying the entire central part of a goodly sized tree or branch. The European woodpecker, Picus ater, according to the same gentle- man, who has observed the same species in Germany, subsists Ee a entirely upon ants, and the same fact is true of another Euro- Retre pean species, Picus virens, popularly known as the Grass Wood- pecker. Mr. Voelker has seen this bird on the hills of Germany digging into the soil, and feeding eagerly, not only upon the larvee, but upon the ants themselves. It is generally known that the ordinary barnyard fowl will devour ants without hesitation. Mr. Voelker states that once he was engaged in the woodyard of his country residence in breaking up a log of decayed wood ——— <—" = ee ss Oe el 362 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. which had served as a formicary for a large colony of ants. The insects with their larvae and pupx were scattered over the ground, and the chick- ens, getting scent of the game, flocked one after another from the barn- ian in such numbers and with such greedy persistence that he had to ease his labors out of regard to the safety of his fowl. The chickens de- ie the larve and pupe and the ants. The same gentleman says that he has found particles of ants in the stomachs of grouse, although it is possible that they may have picked up the ants while feeding upon the larvee, which latter may have been the chief object of desire. The various song birds of America, as the mocking- bird, catbird, thrushes, etc., eat the larve of ants, as is well known, but Mr. Voelker had never discovered particles of the ants themselves in their crops. Mr. T. B. A. Cockerell! notes that Dr. Riley records that sparrows (Passer domesticus) feed on certain Aculeta, Halictus, Typhia, Myzine, and ants. Mr. Cockerell himself had found ants in the stomach of Sialia arctica shot in Custer County, California. The stomach of a woodpecker shot by Rey. A. Wright in the same locality contained a number of ants, the majority apparently Formica fusca, with a few of Formica integra. I can certify by my personal observations, as well as by reports of others, that some of the native birds of Fairmount Park (Philadelphia) feed upon colonies of Formica integra, which are found in the neighbor- hood of Rockland on the Schuylkill River and elsewhere. It is well known that birds of all kinds are fond of “ant eggs,” by which popular name is meant the pupe of those ants whose larve enclose themselves within a cocoon, These ant pup are gathered in immense quantities from the mounds of Formica exsecta, F’, fusca, F. rufa in various parts of Europe, and are regularly sold in the markets as food for pet birds. These eggs, if nothing else, would invite the attack of birds upon ant hills, and would thus lead directly to devouring the ants themselves, who invariably rally to defend their nurslings. Certain game birds are extremely fond of ants. In the summer of 1887, while visiting Mr. E. C. Cornwallis at Linton Park, Kent, England, I was taken by my host to the gamekeeper’s lodge, on the grounds of English which several hundred, perhaps a thousand or more, young par- Game j - ; ; ‘ Birds. tridges were being raised for the purpose of stocking the shoot- ing park. These little fellows had been hatched out under barn- yard fowl, and were, when I saw them, turned loose upon a bit of sloping ground that was literally honeycombed with the nests of a small species of ant, apparently a Lasius. The whole slope had been torn up in order to procure these nests as food for the young partridges. Mr, Cornwallis gave Other Birds. 1 Entomological News, Philadelphia, May, 1890, page 65, MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. 363 a peculiar whistle, which was at once recognized by the flock of chickens, who hurried together at the call, as tame birds always do when summoned to feed. The gamekeeper tossed them several bits of sod containing ant nests, which the birds attacked, tore in pieces, and in a moment had de- voured all the insect contents. Simonella americana is not much larger than these ants, and certainly there would be little protection from such voracious creatures as these in the mimicry of ant forms. I have no doubt, although I cannot speak positively, that our American quail are equally as fond of ants as these English partridges; and as they are ground birds, their habits of feeding would make them destructive enemies of all ant spe- cies burrowing in the earth. Again, it is well known that in the warm districts of South America, and in other parts of the earth, there is a family of birds who are such persistent destroyers of ants that they take their family name Bae Wee from this habit, and are known as the Formicariide.! ‘These ant thrushes, Pittas or Pittide, are also an Old World group, being found in the Malay Islands. The Great ant thrush, which is also called the Giant Pitta, is a native of Surinam, and is a bird about the size of the English rook.? I have heard, although I cannot now cite the authority, that in Africa, | when the Driver ants go out upon their excursions, during which they will prey upon all sorts of insects and small vertebrate animals, ant thrushes, or some species of ant devouring bird, hover over the raiding column, upon which they make their assaults, devouring immense numbers of the drivers. Such are some of the facts which have fallen to my notice, or under my eye; and while it is probably true that some birds avoid ants as articles of food, I imagine that nearly all animal feeding birds will pick them up whenever they have an opportunity. Such being the case, we can hardly admit the force of an argument which is based upon the supposi- tion that the form of an ant would protect a spider, or any other creature, on account of the disrelish of birds for ants. If we were inclined to accept the theory of natural selection, as above outlined, as an origin for mimicry of ant forms, it would seem to me more rational to suppose that the particular enemy against which the Are mocking form is protected, is not the bird, but the wasp and Wasps. = ; te Mim- ichneumon fly. My chapter on the Enemies of Spiders shows ickead? What depredation is wrought among araneads by various mem- bers of the wasp family. As far as I know, wasps do not inter- fere with each other, or with ants, who closely resemble them, being, in fact, members of the same order of Hymenoptera, Anything that would 1 Alfred Wallace, “Geographical Distribution of Animals, Vol. IL, page 296; Wright, “Animal Life,” page 271. 2 “Wood’s Natural History,” page 341. *T think that this, or a similar fact, was told me by an African missionary to the Congo region. a ————= ss lh CU CU CU —= 364 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. be likely to deceive these inveterate spider enemies would undoubtedly be a protection to spiders of all tribes. But then, with such a theory in mind, we are met at once by the fact that those spiders which are most frequently found within the clay cells of mud dauber wasps, and those which these insects most frequently col- lect as food for their larvee, are the Sedentary groups such as Orbweavers and Lineweavers. They do indeed take the Thomisoids, especially those that lurk on flowers in pursuit of prey, and which, in turn, sometimes rapture the wasps. The Saltigrades are also taken; but if I may judge from my own observations, they are least numerously represented of all the tribes except perhaps the Lycosids and the Tunnelweavers. This seem- ing immunity is evidently not due to any likeness of Attide in general features to wasps, but simply to their manner of life, which, in large meas- ure, screens them from assault, and enables them to escape. Now, the question must rise in considering such a theory, why does not natural selection operate for the protection of those spiders which obviously need protection the most ? Is it not remarkable that during all the ages in which the forms of Orbweavers have remained substantially unchanged, as well as the forms of wasps, and during which period the habits of both creatures must have been the same, Nature has refused to work in the direction of protecting the exposed Orbweavers by providing them some analogical resemblance such as that which we remark in the case of Simonella americana? It seems to me illogical to expect a general law to account for the origin of certain peculiarities in Nature, and yet to exclude this general law or force from operation within the whole field of life with the exception of one very small section. It seems further illogical to hold that this general law would have failed to operate not only in the cases where it seems to be most necessary, but in those wherein all the circumstances are best ar- ranged for its most effective operation. While spiders thus abundantly prey upon ants, sometimes the condi- tions are reversed, for when the opportunity presents, the ants will feed upon spiders. In certain cases this takes the shape of a system- atic raiding of the whole section, as, for example, according to Mr. Cambridge, the large red ant of the woods, Formica rufa, destroys spiders so completely, that in localities thickly inhabited by those insects, he had generally found it almost useless to search for spiders.1 Whether or not any ant like species are found among Sedentary tribes I do not know. But it entirely passes my imagination to conceive what possible advantage could accrue to an Orbweaver, for example, from resem- blance to an ant. Orbweavers, and yet more frequently Lineweayers, prey upon ants; but it is not necessary that there should be any resemblance to Ants Hat Spiders. ‘ Spiders of Dorset, Vol. I., page xxxi. MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. 365 the emmet in order to accomplish the destruction of vast numbers of them, as I can fully testify. As the Orbweavers and Lineweavers do not leave their snares to capture prey and move among the ants after the fashion of the prowling Saltigrades that do mimic ant forms, the fact of ant re- semblance, should it exist among them, must have a quite different solu- tion. One could suggest, in their case, a protective value in resemblance to wasps, but none at all as against ants. Ti: Another style of mimicry among spiders is resemblance to forms of objects among which they live, as with Tetragnatha extensa, This aranead has a long and narrow body, of a cylindrical shape, not unlike Local, or g small twig in appearance. Its colors are delicate green, yellow, Mimicry . . . of Envi- and gray, thus increasing its resemblance to the plant. But the ronment. ™ost striking feature of the mimicry is the habit of drawing to- gether the four hind legs until the joints closely approximate each other, stretching them straight backward, and treating the two pairs of fore legs in the same way, stretching them out forward. (Plate IIT., Fig. 6.) Thus the spider is extended along the stem of the plant in a straight line, so that her body closely resembles the object upon which she lies. ‘The habit prevails in all known species of the genus. In this case, although we concede that Tetragnatha has had no control over her own particular form and its resemblance to a small twig, we must allow that her action is a matter of personal volition, and appears to be exercised with deliberate purpose to conceal her presence. Yet, the behavior of the spider frequently compels one to wonder how the supposition of mimicry can be harmonized therewith. For example, the Peckhams record that a male Tetragnatha grallator,! when touched as he hung in the web, ran to a branch, whereon he stretched himself. In this position he was almost indistinguishable, as his color was exactly like that of the branch to which he clung. The branch was gently shaken, but instead of keeping quiet he ran a little way and then stretched out again. This he repeated, stupidly betraying himself as often as the branch was touched.? One would think that Nature, having taken pains to produce such a_ striking protective mimicry, would not have failed to make it useful by imparting a corre- sponding instinct that would adapt behavior to opportunities. A Laterigrade spider, Tibellus, which has at least one quite common representative in the United States, has a habit not very different from Tetragnatha. Tibellus oblongus is‘ abundant in many marshy places in the south of England. It has an elongated oval body, with longish legs, and is of a uniform dull yellowish hue; it is an exceedingly active spider, Tetrag- natha. ''T. elongata Walck, 2 Mental Powers, page 411. a 366 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. and, when running in autumn among the dull yellowish, decaying grass and rushes, looks much larger than it really is. All of a sudden one loses sight of it, and unless he is aware of its habits, is puzzled to know what can have become of it; but there it is close by, stretched out at full length along the similarly colored stem of grass or rush, with its first and second pairs of legs put forward in a straight line, and its third and fourth pairs stretched in the same way backwards, so as to be scarcely distinguishable from the stem itself.? In the case of Tetragnatha the mimicry of the twig on which she lies appears at first sight very striking. I have no disposition to undervalue the character or protective benefit of this mimicry, But it must pone be remarked that, in point of fact, she simply assumes the posi- abit. P : : ; tion which she habitually takes when hanging on her web. Both this genus and Uloborus stretch themselves out upon the central part of their orb, or upon a string suspended from it, with their feet ap- proximated in precisely the attitude above described as taken by them when they stretch along the under part of a branch. We are therefore compelled to inquire how far this attitude of Tetragnatha may be a de- liberate attempt to shield herself, and how far it is the natural result of habit prompting her, when attempting to screen herself, to drop into the form natural because most common to her. The value of the form need not be questioned, but in considering its origin we are required to con- sider the habitual attitude of the spider upon her web as well as the atti- tude of mimicry upon a twig during her occasional excursions. Some other spiders have the habit of stretching themselves like Tetragnatha upon foliage and twigs, as, for example, the Orchard spider, although not to the same extent as Tetragnatha. (Plate III., Fig. 6, above.) The ordinary, or at least the common, position of Epeiroids, when rest- ing outside their nests or snares, is to draw up the legs so that the two front pairs are humped up above the head and are nearly in a plane with each other and the spider’s face. The hind legs are drawn up against the abdomen. The spider thus forms a little roundish bunch and as thus seen is not unlike one of the knots, warts, or excrescences frequently seen upon plants. This habit universally pre- vails among spiders, and one who follows their actions for a little while will be certain to observe it. Thus they remain perfectly still, and at a casual glance might be taken for a knot or other excrescence upon the bark of a tree or plant, as in the case of Epeira strix, represented Plate III, Fig. 4. The mimicry of a wart, knot, or bud, or other natural irregularity, would seem to be quite as useful as the special mimicry of Tetragnatha, since it would be as likely to deceive the eye of a prowling enemy. In Mimick- ing Knots ’ Cambridge, Spiders of Dorset. MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. 367 this bunching habit spiders, Orbweavers at least, follow the influence of habit, for when at rest within their nests they almost invariably draw themselves up in the manner described. However, the position is contrary to that generally assumed by spiders making vertical orbs when hanging in wait for prey upon the orb. Then the legs are stretched backward and forward, not, indeed, in a straight line like Tetragnatha and Uloborus, but somewhat in the position of a St. Andrew’s cross or the letter “x,” as heretofore described. IV. Color mimicry in spiders is supposed, first, to facilitate taking prey, thus promoting the life of the species, and, second, to protect the mimic from assaults of enemies, who are deceived by the close resemblance either to surrounding objects or to some animal obnoxious to the assailant, An interesting example of color mimicry is the common spider Misumena vatia. ‘This spider is generally yellow, mottled upon the abdomen, and with darker rings on the legs. It will often be found spread out upon the yellow heart of an ox-eyed daisy, or in like position upon Coreopsis (Plate IIL, Fig. 1) or golden rod. Here it re- mains and preys on insects frequenting the plant. It certainly closely re- Color Mimicry. ‘sembles the flower upon which it is ambushed, and the ordinary observer might well fail to notice its presence. On one occasion I found this spe- cies concealed underneath one of the outer petals of a half opened rose, and, curiously, it had its prevailing yellow greatly modified by a pinkish cast of color, more closely resembling the rose upon which it was lodged. (Plate III., Fig. 2.) Mrs. Treat gives an account of a Laterigrade that appears to be Misu- mena vatia, whose lurking place was in the heart of roses, and was so nearly the same shade of color as the flower as to make it dif- ficult to see her. When the rose began to wither she took up position on a fresh one. The spider was first observed in July, and remained on the same bush about three weeks, and then moved to a bright red tea rose, whose stamens were more conspicuous and numerous than the other, and which was visited by a greater number of insects. Misumena went to the centre of one of the flowers, but the stamens were of a deeper yellow than her body, and the surrounding petals made her easy to be seen. She seemed to know this as well as the looker on, and, although more game visited these roses, she did not stay long. The ob- server thought the spider conscious that her safety depended upon the re- semblance, and therefore returned to her old home among the petals of the light colored rose. She made no web to entrap prey, but depended wholly upon strategy and muscular strength. When waiting for prey she cuddled down in the centre of the flower, and erected her long fore legs in such position that Misume- na vatia. ‘te ie an —— sil canal 368 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. it was almost impossible to distinguish them from the imperfect scattering stamens. If a wasp or humble bee alighted near her, she dropped her stamen like legs and crouched down and concealed herself as much as possible; but when these formidable insects departed, she resumed her ex- pectant attitude. Now a pretty butterfly comes flitting down, all unconscious of danger. Misumena is perfectly motionless, but at the proper moment oes shoots out her legs and grasps the insect in fatal embrace. The Soares butterfly is often four or five times her own weight, yet she manages to prevent her victim from mounting with her into the air, probably by holding firmly with her hind legs to the flowers.! The remains of night flying moths were often observed scattered near this individual, which had evidently been captured during the night, but her most frequent game was dipterous. The fact, however, that she does prey so frequently upon night flying insects is a good indication that she is able to acquire all the food needed without the aid of mimie colors. I quote another popular account of the habits of a spider which I take to be the same species. The description is from the pen of an intelligent observer, but not a naturalist, who simply records, with great astonish- ment, a first experience of a hitherto unknown fact, and therefore without any predisposition to see a case of mimicry in a casual resemblance. The account is taken from a description of a walk in the vicinity of Media (a few miles from Philadelphia), and was published in a Friends’ educational journal. ? “In Bare Hill meadow was a garden of flowers such as no man ever planted or ever shall. Asters, Golden rods, and Composite generally, were Ete massed in such profusion that the meadow was like Joseph’s coe aie coat, of many colors and bright ones. In some places the herb- Flowers, #g¢ was higher than our heads, and passage through it was difficult. Over all towered the spires of the purple Boneset or Queen-of-the-meadow, so beautiful and graceful when seen thus, so coarse and clumsy when examined closely. On a head of this species, and among its purple flowers, we noticed a little purple spider with oval body and peculiar markings. So closely was the color of the spider adapted to that of his dwelling that we should have overlooked him entirely if he had not moved, “Shortly we found on the white panicle of the Boneset proper a spider similar in size, shape, and markings, but pure white in color. We then examined the Golden rods and found a third similar spider thereon of a yellow color. A close examination of our flower garden revealed a number of these variously colored insects, each simulating the color of its habitat. * Mrs. Mary Treat, “My Garden Pets,” page 13. *“The Student,” Philadelphia, Fourth Month, 1889, page 335. “The Banks of Crum,” L. Chalkley Palmer. PLATE SOME HYMENOPTEROUS ENEMIES OF SPIDERS. 1, EURYPELMA HENTZII. 2, PEPSIS FORMOSA. 3, ELIS 4-NOTATA. 5, PEZOMACHUS DIMIDIATUS. 6, PEZOMACHUS GRACILIS. 8, TRYPOXYLON POLITUM. 4, PEZOMACHUS MEABILIS. 7, CHALYBION C/ERULEUM ' actin “4 ~ a, (GPa } ry ic b, Sage wal, -- 7 MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. 369 It would be strange if all these were one species, differently colored accord- ing to the place they dwell in, and having power to change from purple or white to yellow at will; yet this seemed probable to us. Or was it that a species had developed these different varieties, each adapted to live on a certain plant? However this may be, the arrangement evidently resulted in a twofold advantage, in that it enabled the spiders to escape the peering eyes of birds, and at the same time to lie in wait unperceived for the insects of various sorts that frequent such flowers in great num- bers. In no case, it may be added, did we see a purple spider on a yellow flower, or vice versa,” Mr. Cambridge has observed and recorded like facts of Misumena vatia in England! He says: “TI find this spider very commonly in the blooms of the great mullein, Verbascum thapsus, to which the pale yel- ae F lowish hues of the spider are well suited for its concealment in nelish é : F 5 Species, the yellow blossoms. An allied spider, Thomisus onustus, found on the heather blooms, and upon some other pink flowers, is beautifully tinted with pink, chiefly in its younger and feebler stages. The Rey. C. W. Penny (of Wellington College, Wokingham) tells me that he has found examples of this spider on yellowish blossoms, and that these examples are generally of a yellowish hue, quite devoid of the pink color of those found on pink blooms. I am inclined to think that this is not invariable, inasmuch as I have found here the more mature exam- ples, which are generally devoid of pink coloring, also on the pink heather blooms. The protective resemblance of color would not be so necessary, in the above instance, for the protection of the more mature as for that of the younger spiders, and therefore we might expect to find the former on flowers of any color growing where the spiders are found; while I have certainly only met with the younger pink colored spiders on the pink heather blossoms.” It is important to note the above exception as to adult forms, Most other Laterigrade spiders known to me are of a dull gray or brownish color. As they are frequently found resting upon the bark of trees, over which they prowl seeking their natural prey, their resemblance to the color of the bark is quite striking, and might serve to protect them alike from the observation of enemies and of victims (Plate IIT., Fig. 3.) Among the Citigrade or ground spiders, the same fact may be noted. ere Their colors are generally neutral or dull grayish, mottled or Mimick- striped with black. They thus blend easily with the colors of i the ground and stalks of plants and grasses among which they Ground. frequently move. Some of these spiders when found in littoral sites take upon them the color of their surroundings. For ex- ample, the Turret spider, which I have observed along the seashore from 1 Spiders of Dorset. — Sa 370 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Cape Ann southward, burrowing in her characteristic perpendicular holes, has in such sites a color quite corresponding with that of the white sand in which she dwells.1 The same species taken further in the interior is found of a darker hue, thus resembling the soil in which it lives. This would appear to be a decided example of the adaptation of color to envi- ronment, or, as better stated, the influence of environment upon color. Cambridge refers to like facts as marking English species. A Lateri- grade, Xysticus sabulosus Hahn, so exactly resembles both in form and color the little bits of gret, yellowish black, and red brown mottled stone, found on the bare patches where turf has been pared off the heaths, that until the spider moves it is almost impossible to detect it. Lycosa herbi- grada, a gray spider marked with black and brown markings, is another instance of exact adaptation to the gray, sandy heaths where it occurs; while Philodromus fallax is equally well concealed by the perfect adapta- tion to the coloring of the dull yellowish, sandy spots where alone it is met with. The common and beautiful English Epeira cucurbitina, found on rose and other bushes, in gardens and woods, is of a clear, bright green color with a brightish red spot at the hinder extremity of the abdomen ; this spider, when, as it often does, it sits tucked up between the green shoot and the axil of the leaf, looks exactly like a young bud just ready to burst.? Mimicry and the survival of the fittest have been suggested to account for this interesting habit. It is argued that those spiders, among the nu- merous broodlings hatched out from the eggs, whose colors most closely resemble those of the flowers alluded to above, are the ones which survive, by reason both of the degree of protection against enemies derived from their likeness to colors of the flower, and their facility to capture prey because of the same resemblance, which would naturally conceal their presence. In other words, those spiderlings which by any chance happen to find lodging upon yellow flowers, or flowers most closely colored like themselves, are the ones which survive the perils of spider babyhood and grow to adult age. Before one fully accepts this theory it will be well to consider certain difficulties. ‘The most perilous age of spiders, as is well known, is that which immediately follows exode from the cocoon. In a multi- tude of cases in which these little ones entered life far removed from any flowers corresponding with their normal color, how are we to account for their preservation? Certainly they did live and retain their natural colors in spite of the absence of golden rods, black- eyed Susans, ox-eyed daisies, and flowers of like hue. Moreoyer, one is compelled to establish the fact that the opening up of these flowers cor- Natural Selection. Difficul- ties. ‘See my notes on “The Turret Spider on Coffin’s Beach,” Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1888, page 333. ? Spiders of Dorset. MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. OTL responds with the entrance of the little fellows into life, and that the pe- riod of flowering is contemporaneous with their growth. It seems neces- sary, in order to sustain consistently the theory of survival, that a yellow spiderling should have a yellow environment from the outset, and that a white and pink spider should have a corresponding site from exode to maturity. But, in point of fact, when we find the adult Misumena upon a half opened rose, as in the cases above mentioned, we know that the rose was opened up but yesterday, whereas the spider must have been several weeks in maturing. This is true of all cases, or certainly of most cases, in which we find adult spiders domiciled or ambushed upon flowers. We are therefore compelled to the conclusion that the color did not nourish the spider by providing for it a protective site, but that the spider sought the flower and settled upon it, either accidentally or of choice. Epeira parvula is a spider remarkable for the variations it presents in the dorsal markings of the abdomen. It is widely distributed through- out the United States from ocean to ocean, and everywhere has Hpeira the same characteristic. I have usually found it upon its orb parvula. waiting for prey, but like other Epeiras it undoubtedly rests — upon adjacent objects. The Peckhams cite this species as an example of protective resemblance in spiders.!. It is a common spider in Wisconsin, and the Peckhams most frequently saw it on cedar bushes, where its color harmonizes with the color of branch and fruit. During the day it usually rests on the branch near its web. The back of the abdomen is a peculiar bluish green, exactly like that of the lichens growing on tree barks. The bluish color is broken up by waving black lines, which imitate the curl- ing edges of the lichens. I reproduce the drawing given by the Peckhams to illustrate this resemblance. (See Plate III., Fig. 5.) Undoubtedly, the resemblance in this case is striking, but I take it to be simply an accident of the situation. Parvula is found everywhere and upon all sorts of foli- age, even where cedar bushes and lichens are not found. It is necessary to remember this, although, of course, it does not gainsay the fact that among Wisconsin cedar bushes it may have received some benefit from the resemblance which the Peckhams note. The suggestion has been raised that there may be some protective value in the brilliant metallic colors which are possessed in a high de- gree by some species of spiders. I have no observations to offer on the subject, but quote a remark of Mr. A. G. Butler, of the Kensington Museum. He says that metallic colors are not a source of protection from birds, as birds know nothing of the nature of metal, and whatever is brilliant and shining they make for at once, to see whether it is good to eat.” Metallic Colors. ' Observations on Sexual Selection, page 83. * Jour, Royal Micros. Soe., 1889, page 633. - 372 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. V. Examples of cocoon mimicry are furnished by certain American Orb- weavers, as, for example, Cyclosa caudata and Cyclosa bifureca. These spiders make cocoons which in general shape and color closely fine resemble the mother. The cocoons are hung in a connected se- ’ vies within the orb, a rather exceptional disposition. The mother clings to the lower cocoon of the string, and might easily be confounded with her cocoon. The conical shape of Caudata’s cocoon is paralleled by the compressed apex of her abdomen, which has given her the name of the Tailed spider. Her color also, a grayish white mottled with blackish mark- ings, increases the resemblance between her and her egg sac, which is com- posed of whitish silk covered over with the scalpage or débris of slaugh- tered insects. Cyclosa bifurea is colored green, and her cocoon has a greenish hue. (See Plate IV., Figs. 10, 11, 12.) The suggestion has been made that placing cocoons of this particular form within the limits of the spider’s snare, has a tendency to deceive attacking insects, such as raiding mud dauber wasps or arachnophagous birds. Professor Peckham alludes to the fact that Caudata, when a vibra- ting tuning fork is placed near her, instead of remaining steadfast upon her snare, drops from it in the way common to Orbweavers, and thus be- trays her position and exposes her person.1. The implication is that, were the resemblance really protective, the spider would have held steadfast and not acted as she did. On the contrary, it seems to me that this fact does not really break down the force of the suggestion that such mimicry may be protective. For we must conceive that a raiding bird or wasp, if deceived at all by the appearance of the cocoons hanging in the snare, would flutter from one cocoon to another until at last the spider would be reached at the end of the string. The vibration of the wings of a bird or insect would be the spider’s warning of the nearness of an enemy, and her chance of safety would certainly be to drop from her web at once. Of course, if the assailant should first strike the spider herself her opportunity to escape would not be great; but supposing that there is about an equal chance that the assailant would strike one of the cocoons, think- ing it to be a spider, in that case the mother has a fair opportunity to escape, and her chances are in proportion to the number of cocoons in the string. Mr. Peckham’s experiment, therefore, instead of showing against the suggestion that the cocoon mimicry is useful to Caudata, seems to me to be entirely in harmony with it. In this connection it is to be noted that the young of Caudata are in the habit of hanging upon their orbs little puffs of silk closely resembling Cyclosa caudata. 1 “Mental Powers of Spiders,” page 395. eee ar 374 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. the cocoons of an adult mother, and in the same position upon the orb. These cocoons are also covered with the disjecta membra of minute insects killed by the spiderlings. How shall we account for this strange Young imitation of a maternal habit by the young? Are these puff balls “dummies”? Is their purpose to deceive assaulting ene- mies, and thus protect their maker? I know no examples of a similar habit, except certain Gasteracanthas, that sometimes spread like objects at various points upon their webs, and a single case of Acrosoma rugosa, whose orb I found to be decorated in like manner. Vig. 318 represents Caudata, much enlarged, clinging to a new made cocoon, while two others hang above, covered with the disjecta membra of slain victims. In nature the cocoons are often much more thickly covered than here shown. A slight viscidity of the silken fibre of the sacs evi-. dently assists this habit, although the scalpage is tied or lashed to the surface by minute threads. By the time the maternal cares of the spider are ended, if the season be one fruitful of insects, not only all the cocoons, but the connecting parts of the supporting string, will be hung thickly with this ghastly crop. Dr. Martin Lister! observed the habit in Cyclosa conica, a European species that corresponds closely with our Caudata, of thus stringing the débris of its prey along the central vertical line of its snare. In attributing the act to a sort of “pride of the chase” (venationis gloriola), he gave a reason perhaps as near the truth as some other theo- ries. It is at least sufficiently startling to find in the habits of an aranead such a striking analogue of the customs of our savage human fellows who decorate their persons, lodges, and villages with the scalps and skulls of the unhappy victims of war and cannibal feasts. I am inclined to believe that the habit is for the most part protective of the young, being intended to guard the egg sac from the assaults of parasitic enemies. If so, it is a convenient substitute for chopped straw, mud, gnawed wood, ete., with which other araneads defend their eggs from enemies. But it has the dis- advantage of depending wholly upon the somewhat uncertain chances of the chase. ‘These chances, however, are the best, and indeed the only ones at her disposal. The habit of suspending her cocoons within her viscid orb well nigh estops her from descending to the ground or adjoining plants to procure dirt or chippage, as species can readily do that attach cocoons to various surfaces. I have seen only one case in which Caudata’s cocoons appeared to be daubed with particles of mud. The general and special habits are thus happily harmonized. In addition to this the habit may also serve as a protection to the. spider herself. At all events, as she hangs at the tip of one of these orna- mented cocoons she is with some difficulty distinguishable from them, Scalpage. 1 Hist. Animal Angl., page 33, 34, Tit. 4. ——— ll MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. 375 since the colors of her body, as well as its shape, correspond well with the colors of the egg sac. We might, therefore, regard this as a case of protective mimicry. This scalpage is never in the shape of re- picnic served stores of food, as Lister seems to think, and therefore Leven ® cannot be cited, as by Kirby and Spence,! to show that Conica blance. iS “more provident than its brethren.” Those distinguished en- tomologists should have known that spiders do not feed upon the hard shells of dead insects. : This mode of disposing of the fragments of her feasts is not limited to Caudata’s cocoons. Like her English congener Conica, as described by Lister, she hangs those remnants upon her snare. I often see orbs through the middle of which are stretched, above and below the hub, a perpendic- ular ribbon of open fibre. Along this will be attached two or three little conical balls above and below the hub (see Fig. 319), composed of the members of dead insects cut into fine particles and lashed together by threads. May we venture to suppose that this also is a case of mimicry, that is to say, a purpose to set up “ dum- mies” to distract the attacks of hymenopterous and other enemies from her own person? I have met a like behavior in Acrosoma rugosa. The web was a small one, five inches in diameter, spun between the branches of a fir tree. Around the margin Acro- the remains of seven flies were threaded, much ae in the fashion above described. Three of these rugosa, were above and three below the centre. They appeared to be mere shells, not fresh insects trussed up for ,., 919 pats of future use, as one often sees when flies are plenty. They — insect debris in had not. simply become thus entangled when cast out from — S*ut™te’ssnere. the web, for three of them were fastened above the centre, at which the spider sits, and the four below were arranged along the are of a circle in such order and position as to indicate design. I never met this peculiarity in the snare of Rugosa except in this one case, and have not observed anything like it in any other species. As a habit it exists in Caudata alone. The young of Caudata, as I have frequently noticed, have precisely the same curious habit that marks the adults, to string along the central band of their webs fluffy, loose bunches of silk, covered with little particles of trapped insects, which increase in size as she grows. Mrs. Mary Treat has observed the same habit.2 The transmission and early possession, in full .force of such an exceptional and remarkable habit, is peculiarly note- worthy, and, except on the theory of protective mimicry, it perhaps would be difficult to suggest any useful purpose in the habit. A gentleman 1 Introd. Ento., I., 421. 2 “My Garden Pets,” page 42. g 376 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. friend, who heard this statement, suggested that the spiderlings might be “playing mother” and dandling their rag baby cocoons as our children do their dolls! Since the spiderlings thus have the habit, it may perhaps be consid- ered as primarily for personal protection, and it is interesting to find it transferred to the protection of the cocoon. Or, if we suppose that the habit arose primarily to protect the cocoon, it is even more interesting to think that it has been carried over by heredity to the young for their own protection. It is impossible not to suspect that this habit may have arisen from the prevalent custom of trussing up newly caught flies for food. In the cases of Cyclosa caudata (Fig. 318) and Cyclosa bifurca (Plate IV., Figs. 10 and 11) one must allow a striking resemblance between the general appearance of the cocoons and the mothers who make them. But when one comes to inquire if the like resemblances prevail generally among spiders, he finds that these two species, and a few others, stand in a small group by themselves, As shown in the preceding chapter on Color, there is little resemblance between the great majority of spi- der mothers and the cocoons which they make, either in general shape or color. However, it must be remembered that the value of cocoon mimicry would naturally be limited to those species which hang their cocoons in or upon their snares, and to those which brood their cocoons or watch upon or near them while the young are being hatched. Of course, there would be no util- ity in such a resemblance in species that make their cocoons and forthwith abandon them or die. Ney- ertheless, if we glance over the list of mothers that Fic. $20, Collections of insect hang their cocoons in their snares, it becomes ap- debts in the orb ofa young parent that even with them cocoon mimicry must Cyclosa caudata. rae eer ° be limited. Argyrodes trigonum, as she hangs bunched in her retitelarian web (Fig. 109, page 113), might be said to have some resemblance to her basket shaped cocoon. The familiar The- ridium tepidariorum is also a good example of resemblance between a mother and her cocoons, both in general shape and color, (See Chapter V., page 112, Fig. 107.) Uloborus plumipes is not unlike her cocoons as she hangs with bunched and elongated legs beneath her orb. (See Fig. 104, page 109.) In fact the Peckhams cite this species as an example of deceptive resemblance.'| In Wisconsin these observers found Uloborus invariably Vian J FE SS ere; igany, ASS mS aii SB << SS “SaaS LLL PN Ae Observations on Sexual Selection, page 76, pl. iy. ——_——— SC oe . r , MIMICRY IN SPIDERS. 377 building in dead branches, where its wood brown or grayish color resem- bles small pieces of bark or bits of rubbish entangled in deserted webs. They also perceive a case of cocoon mimicry in her habit of so disposing her grayish cocoons along the web as to look like a mass of rubbish. The protective resemblance in this species, therefore, is twofold: that of the spider to particles of dead wood entangled in its snare, and to the dry branches among which the snare is spun; and again, that of the spider to her cocoon. When Uloborus is found, however, as I often have found it, in the midst of green laurel bushes or other verdant environment, the fact of a protective resemblance disappears. If we concede the cause of mimicry as urged by the Peckhams, we must go still further, it seems to me, and suppose that the spider is endowed with a power, in one locality, which forsakes her in another, and it may be a nearby one. Theridium serpentinum! (Fig. 108, page 112), with her glossy brown colors, can scarcely be considered as bearing a striking resemblance to the snow white cocoons which she hangs within her snare; and Epeira laby- rinthea (Fig. 85, page 100) can by no stress of imagination be reckoned as bearing a resemblance to her cocoons. 1 This species Dr. Marx catalogues as a synonym of Teutana triangulosa Walck. “Cata- logue of the Described Araneze of Temperate North America,” Proceed. U. S$. Nat. Mus., 1890, No. 782, page 521. a CA AIP bt 2. ENEMIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON HABIT. We have considered the means by which maternal instinct secures the life and growth of the spider young. It is necessary to study the natural methods by which excessive reproduction is held in check, for Nature presents to the observer a more or less continuous series of favoring and adverse circumstances, a “ balance of power,” so to speak, by which on one hand life is protected, and on the other is devoted to destruction. In each case there is equal regard for the common good and the general har- mony of Nature. ure The perils which beset the spider are many, serious, and diversified. They besiege the very gate of being and cease not their relentless vigil until the coveted life has been yielded. The “natural death ” of the aranead is a violent one; comparatively few spiders, per- haps, outside of those mothers who perish from inanition shortly after the act of cocooning, have any other. It is this fact which compels the great fecundity of the female, inasmuch as otherwise the species could not be preserved. It is possible for one to conceive how the protective habits which have been heretofore described might have gradually resulted from the mother’s struggle with her own enemies and those of her progeny. But it is far otherwise when one asks, could this struggle have so reacted upon the structure of the animal as to thus modify its organs of reproduction? If no other obstacle presented, there would remain the seemingly insurmount- able difficulty of accounting for the continuance of the species at all dur- ing the long interval required for the supposed adjustment of the organs. However that may be, we shall see that there is need for all the eggs laid and young hatched, and all the protective instincts and industries by which these ends are secured. There is, of course, more or less irregularity in the operation of un- friendly agents, which are themselves subject to laws of variation. In such case there is a corresponding variation in the security of the species, and so of their increase. The effects of a season unfavorable to spiders or favorable to the growth of some enemy, or, on the contrary, advantageous (378) Diversi- fied Perils —— ee —— ENEMIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 379 to the one and inimical to the other, may be seen in the number of ara- neads in that or the succeeding year. This is also true of the abundance or lack of a natural food supply. For example, the boat houses, fences, and ° outbuildings at Atlantic City fairly swarm with Epeiroids, especially Sclop- etaria and Strix. This abundance is probably caused by the presence of greenhead flies with which the district is infested and which, affording an excess of food for the adult and partly grown spiders, relieves them from the necessity of preying upon their own species, which thus increase enormously as compared with sections a little distant. But with these and such like exceptions, and notwithstanding all other variations, the distribution of a given orbweaving species in a given sec- tion will be found surprisingly uniform from year to year. The balance of hostile and unfriendly influences is held well poised by Nature’s even hand. The enemies of spiders may be divided generally into those which assail the animal itself and those which affect its eggs, Among the enemies of spi- ders, as of all other creatures, may be placed the changes of the sea- sons. ‘The araneads’ power to endure cold is great, but an unusually cold and moist winter will destroy many. Heavy rains prove fa- tal, especially to the young, and to females great with eggs—beating down the foliage in which they are ensconced, or sweeping the creatures themselves to the ground. The extreme tension of the abdominal sac under the distended ovaries makes fatal a shock that otherwise would work little harm. It is well known that toads and lizards take kindly to a spider diet. In southern Florida I once found a young lizard, while in the act of shedding its skin, and with the white moult still adhering to it, devouring a large Tetragnatha. (Fig. 321.) Many birds relish spiders and pursue them at all seasons, plucking the Sedentary species out of their very webs. In the autumn, when the broods of younglings are all afloat upon their little aérial ships, swallows and swifts, birds that take their prey upon the wing, have been seen skimming the tiny balloonists into their bills as they coursed the air. A specimen shot for examina- tion showed the accuracy of the observation by the presence of spiderlings in the crop. It may be said in brief that all the larger animals with ‘Season Changes. Fic. 321. A moulting lizard eating a spider. Animals. i i es . 380 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. insectivorous habits embrace the aranead nations also in their menu. Mon- keys eat them; Hentz discovered a rat eating Oxyopes viridans; * and we have an account, which may pass for what it is worth, of even sheep upon the Steppes of Russia devouring certain ground spiders.? Many spiders while yet immature fall victims to the voracity of their own species. I have elsewhere considered the charge of cannibalism as lodged against spiderlings while yet within the cocoon, show- ing that as a rule their cradle life and earliest babyhood are largely exempt from the perils of internecine hunger. But when once the solitary habit of the race has compelled the individuals to sep- arate and dwell apart, Nature relaxes her restraining influence and hunger converts all available objects into legitimate prey. After this period it is not possible to defend our aranead friends against the charge of canni- balism, even of the most revolting kind. Brothers and sisters eat each other up without hesitation, and since, naturally, fellow broodlings are likely to pitch their tents and spin their snares in closest contiguity, it comes to pass that many of every brood are devoted as sacrifices to the growth and development of the few surviv- ors to whom Nature has committed the perpetuity of the species. Out- side of these limits, everywhere, spi- ders will prey upon their kind as opportunity allows, even the hours allotted to courtship and amatory em- brace not being wholly exempt from the perils of this general tendency. Canni- balism. LiL Perhaps the most persistent and : destructive natural enemies of spiders Fic. 822, A wasp plucking an Orbweayer from are certain hymenopterous insects be- ee longing to the large family of wasps known popularly 4s mud daubers and diggers. It has often been remarked by ordinary observers that wasps can visit a spider’s web not only with impunity, but as a successful assailant of the occupant thereof. This fact has crept into literature, and is embalmed by Goethe in a striking allusion to his father. ‘“Willingly,” he writes in his autobiography, “as I have made myself familiar with all sorts of 1 Spiders of the U. S., page 46. * Walckenaer, Apt., Vol. I., page 172. : ‘ | ENEMIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 381 conditions, and many as had been my inducements to do so, an excessive aversion from all Inns had, nevertheless, been instilled into me by my father. This feeling had rooted itself firmly in him on his trav- Goethe els through Italy, France, and Germany. Although he seldom ge ronbar. poke in images, and only called them to his aid when he was Wasps. ‘I Bes, y sie eae very cheerful, yet he used often to repeat that he always fancied he saw a great cobweb spun across the gate of an Inn so ingeniously that the insects could indeed fly in, but that even the privileged wasp could not fly out again unplucked.” But the number of those who, hay- ing observed the scathless incursions of “the privileged wasp” into cob- web domains, also know the purpose thereof, is exceedingly small. Yet it is inspired by one of the most common and interesting instincts in the insect world. If we follow the wasp a little space backward from her cobweb raid, we shall see her fluttering over the muddy margin of pond, puddle, or stream. She is seeking mortar, which, gathered between her mandibles, she carries away through the air. Following her flight, we find her engaged upon the broken face of a cliff, the rugose surface of a wall, or the rough boards or beams in angle or cornice of some house, stable, or outbuilding. She carefully spreads her mortar, smooths it, rounds and arches it, until, after many successive visits to the mud bed, she has built a cell about an inch long and three-eighths to half an inch thick. (Fig. 328.) The middle of this cell is a hollow cylinder, within which the mother wasp, for such the little ma- son is, deposits a single egg. It is at this point that the raids upon spider webs begin. The egg in course of time is to become a ravenous, flesh eating worm, an arachnophagous larva; a soft, legless, whitish maggot, with a somewhat horny head and a strong pair of jaws, but no other weapons whatever. The food which Nature foreordains for it is living spiders, and those spiders the mother proceeds to capture and entomb within- her mud daub nursery. On this errand she may be seen hawking over and near cobwebs of various sorts, venturing within the meshed and beaded snares that prove fatal to most incomers, and sometimes even to herself. She rarely fails in her errand. If the aranead occupant, expectant of prey, sallies forth to seize the in- truder, it finds itself a captive, not a captor. For the wasp shakes the silken filaments from feet and wings, turns upon the spider, seizes and stings it, bears it to her cell, and thrusts it therein. She does not Jimit her hawking to cobwebs, but flutters over flowers, burrows among leaves, creeps with nervous, twitching tread along branches of trees, wherever spiders dwell or hunt, and with relentless cunning, zeal, and ferocity snatches those creatures away to add to the growing store Fic. 323. The nidus of the mud dauber wasp. 382 AMBRICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. within her egg nest. At last the cavity is filled, the circular opening sealed up, and the spiders left literally entombed alive within that clay sarcophagus. If one at this stage should break open the mud dauber’s cell, he might dispute the statement that the imprisoned spiders are alive. To all ap- pearances they are dead. In point of fact they are simply paralyzed. The effect of the poison injected by the wasp’s sting within the tissues of her victim is such that all activity is at once and completely suspended, with- out destroying life. Thus, when the larval waspkin awakes to the pangs of hunger, it finds itself in the midst of a generous supply of the very food which Nature intended for it. The mother whom it is never to know, and who already perhaps has paid the last debt to Nature, had con- sumed her closing days in providing for the offspring which she was never to see. I have found these larve, fat, white grubs, in the midst of their “preserved meats,” feasting thereon, and have wondered at their enormous appetite and the greedy vigor with which it was satisfied. (Fig. 324.) Thus, before the era of man, Nature, in the J person of a wasp, had solved the problem of preserving animal flesh without impairing its value as food. A like discovery by the human species, with due application to the edible do- Fic. 824. A athe feeding upon mestic animals, would solve an important prob- lem in commercial economy which has only been distantly approached by the ice chambers within which great trans- portation lines convey butchers’ meats. It would be interesting to know the nature of the poison which pro- duces such remarkable effects, but one cannot hope that it will ever be procured in sufficient quantity to permit analysis. How long the virus may preserve its peculiar effect before death results, or whether a spider once stung can recover health, and to what extent sensation is retained, have been points of inquiry and of some ex- periment, On two occasions I kept under observation spiders rescued from the jaws of wasps. One specimen was a species of 'Tubeweaver, which I took from a blue wasp; it lived about twa weeks. The other species was a large female Wolf spider, taken by a friend and sent to me October 5th, 1875. It lived until the 17th; twelve days. During this period the creature remained entirely motionless and the limbs retained any position in which they were placed. These examples indicate that there is no recovery from the poison, and that death is suspended for about two weeks. I do not know the exact period required for the deyelopment of the wasp egg to a feeding larva, but it is something longer than two weeks. Tn some cases I have found the spiders within the wasp’s nidus dead and Wasps Poison. ENEMIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 383 shriveled, the egg probably having proved infertile. Again, a few spiders would be dried up, while others were plump and edible, a condition in which more frequently most of them are found. It is certainly one of the unhappy possibilities in the destiny of the spider that it may be con- strained to abide in a living death within this dark vault awaiting the awakening appetite of a voracious worm. It is to be hoped that a kindly Nature has so far tempered this hard doom as to deprive the entombed creature of all consciousness of her condition and consequent suffering therein. Indeed the evidence is well nigh conclusive that sensation is wholly suspended at the prick of the insect’s sting. ITI. With the single exception, perhaps, of one small order, Neuroptera, no order of insects is exempt from the attacks of the all devouring wasps. Some provision their nests with grasshoppers, some with cockroaches, some with snoutbeetles of various kinds, some with ants and bees, a few with different kinds of bugs, frog spittle, insects, and plant lice; a great num- ber of them with various kinds of two winged flies, and a still greater number, perhaps, with the larve of various moths.! Most observing coun- try lads have noticed the assault of the handsome digger wasp, Sphecius speciosus Drury (Sphex), (Fig. 325), upon the so called “locust,” the cicada or harvest fly, and I have dug that insect, Cicada pruinosa, out of a burrow of this wasp in the terrace of a West Philadelphia yard. Those wasps which prey upon spiders comprise many distinct species belonging to widely separated genera. Some of these gather many spi- ders into one cell, others only one. The insects heretofore noticed are of the former class, the species most destructive in this region being prob- ably the common indigo blue mud dauber, Chalybion ceruleum Linn. (Sphex). (Plate V., Fig. 7, natural size.) The larval cells of the blue mud dauber are commonly laid in small masses, one on top of another. (Fig. 323.) The cells of the common mud dauber are composed of one or more layers or tiers of clay tubes, arranged one above another or side by side like a set of Pan’s pipes, and cemented to some surface protected from the weather. One such specimen, collected in the autumn (Fig. 326), I kept in my cabinet, and about the beginning of July following, a num- ber of black digger wasps, T'rypoxylon politum Say, escaped therefrom. Fig. 325. The Cicada wasp (Sphecius speciosus.) * Walsh, American Entomologist, Vol. I., No. 7, 1869, page 126. a 384 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. I obtained no other species from these nests, but cannot affirm that no other escaped.! It may be a question, perhaps, whether the mud daubs were made by Chalybion or Trypoxylon; but we have the great authority of the late Benjamin D. Walsh that the latter species is really a guest wasp, not building and provisioning any nest for itself, but laying its eggs in the nest built and provisioned by the former, thus appropriating for its own future progeny the spider store laid up by the industrious Chalybion for its young.? It is curious and suggestive to trace this use and wont from the guest wasp and the cuckoo up to the human species as represented alike by the imperial “annexers” of Europe, Africa, and the Orient, and the “land grabbers” of the Indian Territory, the “squat- ter sovereigns” of the border, and the “claim jumpers” of Rocky Mountain mining districts. Among the wasps that provision their nests with single spiders is the common blue digger wasp, Chlorion veruleum Drury (Sphex), which, un- like species hitherto alluded to, bur- rows in the earth. It excavates its egg nest in an incredibly short time, sometimes consuming not more than a minute or a half minute, and then places therein a single egg together with a spider, which is generally a large one. With its front pair of feet it then scrapes back the dirt which it had withdrawn, frequently stopping to pat it down with its abdomen. When the hole is filled the surface is smoothed to the level of the sur- rounding soil. The large and beauti- ful Elis 4-notata Fabr. (Scolia), (Plate Po akin ot ips te a ae as, i a) dna NR Lycosids, especially Lycosa tigrina, and the small Priocnemus pomilius Cresson has been taken while carrying a Laterigrade, a species of Xysticus, in its jaws. Another example of wasps that store single spiders is the large and beautiful Pepsis formosa Say (Pompilus), an inhabitant of the Southwestern States of North America, where it is popularly known as the “tarantula killer.” (Plate V., Fig. 2.) This name is given because of its habit of storing its burrow with that most Tarantula Killer. 1 The figure here given (Fig. 326) was drawn from a series sawed out of a shed at Bell- wood, Pennsylvania. * American Entomologist, Vol. I., page 183. —_—s l ENEMIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 385 formidable of our spider fauna, Eurypelma hentzii. (Plate V., Fig. 1.) I have seen this insect in Texas hawking for its gigantic victim, which showed by its hurried and excited action full consciousness of its peril as it fled with eager and trembling speed before its pursuer. The late Pro- fessor Buckley, of Austin, describes an encounter on Texas soil between these two formidable creatures. , . The tarantula killer is a bustling, unquiet insect, always in motion, fly- ing now here, now there, and when running on the ground its wings are in a state of constant vibration. Should it discover a tarantula it begins in- stantly to fly in circles in the air around its victim. The spider, as if knowing its fate, trembles violently, standing up and making a show of fight, but the resistance is feeble and of no avail. The spider’s foe soon discovers a favorable moment and darts upon the tarantula, whom it wounds with its sting, and again commences flying in circles. The injured spider is thrown into a tremor, and often becomes at once paralyzed, though the influence of a second, and even a third, wound is sometimes necessary. Sooner or later the spider becomes powerless when the victor approaches, carefully feeling its way to see if its work has been effectually done. It then begins to drag the tarantula into a hole which it has pre- viously dug in the ground, wherein it is covered up after the deposition of an egg.'| The courage and address thus shown in assault upon so for- midable an animal, and the strength and perseverance required for its sub- sequent entombment, are of the highest order and surely evoke admiration, however much we may pity a foe doomed to so hard a fate as to be par- alyzed, buried alive, and afterward devoured by a greedy grub. In estimating the ravages wrought among spiders’ by the various tribes of wasps, it must be remembered that in the above and all like cases, the mother wasp, although depositing but one egg in each nidus, has a num- ber of eggs, more or less, to dispose of. As she never ceases her’ work until every egg is duly deposited and its future offspring provided for, the vast destruction carried into the aranead hosts during the period of ma- ternal activity may better be imagined than expressed. IV. The thought had occurred to me while examining the contents of mud daubs, that certain species of spiders were preferred by the wasps as pro- vision, and that possibly certain species of wasps affect certain alee spider species. In case of the true Diggers, who store but a sin- ae Shes gle individual, there is no doubt a narrower range for selection, and even a specific choice, as with the Tarantula killer and the ee apaeyet aaa But not so with mud daubers. I have found avery ' Proceedings Amer. Ento. Soc. (Philadelphia) Vol. I., page 188. See also an account by Dr. G, Lincecum, Amer, Entomologist, Vol. I., No. 6, page 111. 386 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. ereat group of our indigenous spider fauna represented in broken cells. The most numerous are Orbweavers, many species of which I have col- lected from mud dau It is, however, true that in the gatherings of any individual wasp there is apt to be a preponderance of a single species of spider. Thus it would seem that a wasp starting out with Epeira strix, for example, is apt to devote herself chiefly to collecting that particular species. So with other species. Can it be that the mode of capturing her first victim, itself some- what a matter of chance, so impresses itself upon the “brain” of the wasp that she almost mechanically drops into the same mode for subsequent capture, and thus finds herself habitually hunting along the trail of the domicile and hiding place uncovered in her first capture ? Next to Orbweavers, Laterigrades perhaps have been oftenest found by me in mud daubs. The species most frequently seen is the large yel- low, white, or variegated species, Misumena vatia, which lurks for its prey on flowers, the mimicry of whose colors (see Chapter XII.) seems, in this case, not to be a “protective ” resemblance. Here again, where this spider is found it usually predominates, as though the wasp, making her original capture upon the habitual feeding grounds of the species, had gained what might be called an “experience” and followed in the lines of her first finds. I find some confirmation of my own impression in the opinion ex- pressed by Mr. John Abbot, who observed the habits of American spiders in Georgia as early as 1792. He says that wasps generally confine their hawking to one species, when in search of spiders with which to store their mud daub nests.1 If we now turn from the more arboreal species to those which during the day will be found chiefly upon their webs, we shall observe a strong tendency in the same general line of habit. That vigorous and destructive Retitelarian, Theridium tepidariorum, so common in our outhouses, when found within a mud daub will be the prevailing species. Such Orbweayers as Argiope argyraspis, Tetragnatha extensa, Epeira labyrinthea, or Argy- roepeira hortorum, which habitually hang upon their webs and must be thence seized by the raiding wasp, I have found subject to the same gen- eral tendency. It is needless further to multiply examples. I disclaim the purpose of indicating here an inflexible conclusion, or even one sus- tained by’ satisfactory evidence. But the facts which have fallen under my notice do justify one, if not in inferring, at least in suggesting, what future observers may find worthy of careful study. The line of inquiry certainly points along fields full of interest. A brief reference to some of the special characteristics of a few of the spider species preyed upon by the mud dauber wasps will give a better 1 Walckenaer, Hist. Nat. des Insectes, Aptéres, Vol. I., page 174. ENEMIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 387 idea of the skill and acumen of these creatures in their raids. For ex- ample, there is no species with stronger secretive tendencies than Epeira strix. Its ordinary hiding place in a rolled leaf is so carefully Charac- selected and separated from its snare that I am continually teristics thwarted in search for it. Yet the mud dauber finds it. So with of Cap- 5 i ’ : eke Fives: the Laterigrade spider Misumena vatia. Its mimicry of the va- rious colors of the particular flowers upon which it lurks, is sur- prisingly exact, although for the most part it affects yellow and pinkish white colors, Yet it is precisely this species which the wasp, in her in- dustrious quest among leaves and blossoms, most frequently falls upon. I confess myself equally puzzled and interested at the facts which here present themselves. If one were at liberty to do so, he might fancy that this curious hymenopter feels some trace of that noble rage which inspires the breast of the huntsman, and, scorning more inglorious game, devotes herself to that which most excites her enterprise and evokes her skill. I have admired the intensity of action shown by the blue mud dauber when hunting spiders among bushes. It fairly jerks itself along from leaf to leaf and from stem to stem, prying under every corner and thrusting its antenne beneath leaves, peeking into every cranny, angle, and nook where a spider could possibly be reposing. I do not wonder, after watching one of these creatures stalking its prey, that even the most secretive of our araneads fails to escape the detective skill and quenchless ardor of the remorseless insect. The solitary wasps, diggers, and mud daubers are not the only ones whom maternal instinct makes hostile to spiders. The social or paper making wasps may be included in the same list. The digger wasps appear to feed upon vegetable matter exclusively, although they provide animal food for their larve. It is difficult to ac- count for the development of such a habit and such a taste. How could the insectivorous habit have come to a larva! by heredity from a nectar feeding ancestry? On what principle can one explain why a mother with such a taste should provide for a sarcophagous offspring? Evolutionism has here a series of facts that lay formidable obstacles in its path. If, now, we could show in the digger wasps some such facts as appear in the life of the social wasps, we might, perhaps, escape the difficulty. These insects also feed upon the honey and pollen of flowers, but the opportunity to acquire a taste for animal food is sufficient, for they di- rectly feed their larvee as do bees and ants, not leaving them to serve themselves as do the young of the mud daubers. That food consists chiefly of desiccated insects, but spiders contribute a portion to the larval bill of fare. The assaults of hornets upon the flies swarming in country kitchens are well known to American housewives; the webs of spiders are raided for the same purpose. ‘These captives are chewed into juicy pulp and fed by mouth to the white worms that occupy the regular cells Social Wasps. 388 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. of the beautiful paper nest. Now, in the act of reducing spider flesh to pulp it is natural to suppose that a taste for such food might be ac- quired (and, perhaps, it is even gratified) in sufficient strength to lay the foundation, at least, for an insectivorous habit in the progeny. But our mud dauber does not feed her own larve at all; the far away originals of her species could have had no reasonable origin for a faintest suggestion of arachnophagous necessity in her progeny, and how then did she begin her persistent harvesting of spiders? It is, perhaps, possible to conceive that it may have come by the long, roundabout way of an insect chewing hornet or rust red wasp, but whether it is worth while to go so far to get so little, the advocates of the development theory must consider. The point in which the author is here specially interested is that the social wasps also are to be ranked with the enemies of spiders. Ni; It has been stated that all spiders are addicted to cannibalism, no species scrupling to prey upon individuals of its own order. As a rule, however, every species takes aranead prey, as it does insects, Nest Par- otter its own characteristic modes, But the habit of cannibal- asitism. . : : , F 5 ism has a peculiar manifestation in the case of several species belonging to the Retitelaria. One of these is a beautiful California spi- der, first sent to me by Mr. ©. R. Orcutt, which is conspicuous by bright metallic silver markings upon a black triangular body. It is a small creature, but is evidently possessed of unusual cunning and ferocity. My knowledge of its habits is received from Mrs. Eigenmann, who forwarded to me living examples of both sexes. I have named the species (in lit- teris) Argyrodes piraticum.! The spiders were established on what seemed to be foundation lines of their own, which were attached to the broad foundation lines of a large orbweb of a species of Epeira. In one case an Argyrodes was found in the act of preying upon a large Orbweaver which she had encased within a silken enswathment and trussed up on its own web. It seemed remarkable to the observer that the The little silvery spider could slay and eat a creature so much larger Pirate : : : ; Spidey. than itself, and, indeed, nothing short of actual observation would justify belief. My informant has found this pirate spider upon the snares of Gasteracantha, Argiope argenteola, and Zilla x-notata, as well as upon orbs of various species of Epeira. It takes its station quite habitually upon the outskirts of the snares of these Orbweavers, from which point it makes its raid upon the lawful owner of the web, and perhaps, also, as Mrs. Eigenmann thinks, feeds upon the excess of insects which may often be found adhering in considerable numbers to the viscid portions of the orb. 1 Tt has probably been described, but I cannot identify it. ——— ENEMIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 389 This genus is represented by a species, Argyrodes trigonum,! common in the neighborhood of Philadelphia and throughout the Eastern States. It makes the usual nest of crossed and netted lines common to its ee . tribe, but is also parasitic in its nesting habits, for I have found eitnet it on the retitelarian section of the Labyrinth spider’s web, where it had made itself very much at home. I have also found it upon the webs of other species, as Linyphia communis and a small The- ridium, and the upper intersecting supports and lines of Agalena neevia. Mr. Emerton? has observed the same tendency to nest parasitism, having found 'Trigonum in the upper part of the web of Linyphia scripta and also among the upper cross threads of Agalena nevia. There is no record, however, as far as I know, of this species actually preying upon its hosts, and the creature must be endowed with unusual cunning if it really suc- ceeds in doing so. The most decided example of this particular habit is found in a Line- weaving spider described by Professor Hentz as Mimetus interfector. Hentz found the species in Alabama; I have found it in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and elsewhere; and Emerton has collected it in Massachusetts and Connecticut. According to Mr. Simon the species also occurs in southern Europe. Hentz says that Inter- fector spins a web resembling that of Theridium, but prefers prowling in the dark and taking possession of the snares of Epeira and Theridium after murdering the proprietor. This singular depredator is not rare, and was usually found by its dis- coverer in houses, which enabled him to make many observations upon its manners. The first specimen observed was a female, which had made two cocoons under a table in his study, near and among the webs of sey- eral individuals of Theridium tepidariorum. The cocoon of Mimetus is oblong, and tapers equally at both ends, which are secured by many threads connected with a retitelarian web. The mother was watching the young, which were issuing from the lower one of her two cocoons. Thus she appears to possess in a strong degree that maternal solicitude which marks so many of her order. A second observation discovered a very different state of feeling as to the young of other species, for she was observed devouring the eggs of : Theridium tepidariorum, most probably after having eaten the ee mother. A third specimen was found dead in the web of some species of Theridium, which no doubt had killed it, an illustra- tion of the fact that sometimes in her predatory expeditions she man- ages, like human robbers, to “catch a Tartar.’ A fourth Interfector was Mimetus inter- fector. ' Argyrodes argyrodes Wlck. * Notes in Hentz’s Spiders U. S., page 153. 5’ New England Spiders, Family Theridide, page 17. * Arachnides de France, Vol. V., page 29. 390 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. found eating the same Theridium that had devoured her predecessor. Such observations indicate a marked hostility existing between these two powerful examples of their family—a sort of aranead feud. Professor Hentz sometimes enclosed specimens of these spider eaters with other araneads in a glass jar, in order to watch their motions. ‘The moment another spider was thrown in, Interfector showed by its attitude that it was conscious of the presence of an enemy. For a moment it moved its first and second pairs of legs up and down, and then slowly approached its victim, and generally killed it. A Theridium tepidariorum thrown into the jar manifested great terror, but in a little while, or, as Professor Hentz puts it, “after some seeming reflec- tions upon fortitude and necessity,” it prepared for the mortal combat, and cautiously advanced towards the Mimetus, which began to move more slowly. Theridium, when near her adversary, threw out a long thread on which were several globules of transparent fluid. This partially succeeded, for Mimetus was caught by one leg, and while Theridium retreated for ob- servation it was dragged about for a long time before it succeeded in free- ing itself. The battle presently was renewed, and this time Theridium was conquered and eaten.! From these interesting observations it appears that this formidable spe- cies of Theridium is a favorite object of attack with Mimetus. It is one of the most powerful and ferocious of its kind, being able to overcome and destroy the largest insects, and, as we have shown (Vol. I., Chapter XIII), even to entrap and destroy a small snake and a half grown mouse. The courage, ferocity, and combative skill of the adversary which is able suc- cessfully to meet and vanquish it are thus at once manifest. I have found Mimetus interfector parasitic upon the snares of other spiders in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, but have never witnessed an actual at- tack by her. On one occasion I found her ensconced upon the snare of an Orbweaver, having evidently destroyed the occupant. Mimetus syllepsicus, according to Hentz,? has the same piratical habit as her congener Interfector. This spider was found in the tent of Epeira labyrinthea, which it had no doubt killed. The webs and cocoons of its victim were untouched, and the squatter seemed perfectly at home in its new domicile. It strikes one as a remarkable development of instinct which has formed within a tribe and families having fixed sedentary habits a disposition to leave the snare and go, like the Wandering groups, to seek prey, and especially to raid the nests of fellow araneads therefor. But it may be noted that the piratical destroyer confines its raids to species whose nesting habits, in whole or in part, are sim- ilar to its own. That is to say, Mimetus finds its best pre- serves and hunting grounds upon the netted cross lines of Theridium and Spider Duels. Origin of the Habit. 1Spiders of the U. 8., page 138. 2 Spid. U. S., page 140. . by Mai wae lS ENEMIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 391 Agalena and the mazy annex of Labyrinthea, or the foundation lines of Orbweavers, which somewhat resemble her own retitelarian forms. The same remark applies to Argyrodes piraticum. It is found upon the com- pound snare of Zilla, which combines the orbweb with the retitelarian, and stations itself for its piratical raids upon the netted outlying and foundation lines of other Orbweavers. The same observation holds good as to Argyrodes trigonum,as far as its nesting parasitism is concerned, for she finds congenial raiding grounds within the netted lines that over- hang the funneled sheet of Agalena and the orb of Labyrinthea. Un- doubtedly she feels more courage, confidence, and vigor within an environ- ment which gives her the sense of being upon her native snare. It is possible for us to conceive that the habit may have originated from the facility thus presented for obtaining a foothold and home upon the webs of its neighbors. Having done this, it only needed a favoring opportunity, many of which must have presented, to throw the host of the web into the power of its guest. An act so advantageous would be likely to be repeated and persisted in; we have thus an easy way to the development of a fixed habit from what at first may have been an acci- dental feature in the life of ancestors. Even if this conjecture should be adjudged plausible, I cannot free myself from the wonder that so mani- festly convenient a mode of securing food should have been fixed upon by so few of all the numerous species and innumerable individuals of the great Retitelarian tribe. Al We pass now to note the parasitic enemies of Orbweavers and others of their order. Mr. Blackwall has shown that immature spiders, Epei- roids and others, are infested by the larvee of Polysphincta car- bonaria, a hymenopterous insect belonging to the Ichneumonide. This parasite is always attached to the upper part of the abdo- men, near its union with the cephalothorax, and, although it proves a source of constant irritation, is secured by its position from every attempt of the spider to displace it. Being without feet, it appears to retain its hold upon its victim solely by the instrumentality of the mouth and a viscid secretion emitted from its caudal extremity. But one larva has ever been seen upon a single spider. The ichneumon probably deposits its eggs on the spiders in the au- tumn, attaching one egg to each individual. In the spring, towards the end of May, having gone through its final moult and increased consider- ably in size, the larva becomes restless and rapidly destroys the spider, which it abandons after having reduced it to a mere corrugated skin. It then attaches itself to some convenient point, the cork of a bottle if it be in confinement, and begins to spin its cocoon, which it completes in a day or two. This cocoon is of yellowish white silk of compact texture, and Body Parasites. tee | ze 392 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. measures one-third of an inch in length and one-tenth in diameter. It is of an oblong quadrilateral figure tapering to its extremities, one of which is more pointed than the other. It is lashed to its site by numer- ous fine silken lines. In about one month the perfect insect appears. Blackwall found this parasite on four species of Epeira and two of Liny- phia.'| The same author figures Hermeteles fasciatus and H. formosus, ichneumon parasites on Agalena brunnea.? A correspondent of “Science Gossip” gives an interesting note with draw- ings. of an ichneumon wasp larva that preys upon a small spider in Cey- lon, India. The spider usually attacked is a small black ani- mal, with globose abdomen, that spins a loose irregular web on the under surface of leaves. The ichneumon wasp appears to oviposit upon female spiders only, the males being much smaller and unable to support the wasp grub. The egg is fixed to the abdomen of the spider close to its junction with the cephalothorax. The newly hatched larva immediately pierces the skin, and commences to absorb the juices of its host. The spider continues to feed, and re- mains apparently in good health until the parasite is full grown, when the latter destroys its victim, leaving nothing but the empty skin. The larva then commences to spin a flask shaped silken cocoon, at- tached generally to the under side of a cinchona leaf. It builds up the cocoon gradually, complet- 7 ne Pochette ing the walls as it proceeds, forming first a cup shaped receptacle, which is lengthened by regular additions to the open edge, and finally closed. A specimen under observa- tion completed its work in forty-eight hours.* It is an interesting fact, to which Blackwall has called attention, that immature spiders infested by the larva of Polysphincta carbonaria do not change their skins. In what way the parasite can affect the animal thus to cause a suspension of so ordinary a function is not known, but the . economy of the fact is apparent. If the moulting were to proceed, the parasitic larva would probably be cast off with the skin and would inevi- tably perish, thus causing a failure of its manifest end in Nature, which is to conserve the life of its kind both directly and indirectly—directly by feeding upon the body of the spider, and indirectly by checking the undue increase of that deadly enemy of insect tribes. Spiders are also attacked by parasites within the body. A full grown specimen of Epeira cinerea,® sent me by Mrs. Treat, had been dropped into alcohol to kill it. Immediately there issued from the abdomen a white An India Parasite. ‘Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., Vol. XI., 1843, pages 1 and 2, and Spiders Gt. Br. & In, page 352. 2 Spiders Gt. Br. & Ir., pl. xii, A A, BB. * KE. Ernest Green, Science Gossip, July, 1888, pages 159, 160. * Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., Vol. XI., 1843, page 4. ® Epeira cayatica Keys. ’ Larve. ENEMIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE, 393 ichneumonid larva one-half inch long. The spirit bath had evidently dis- turbed the creature when near the period of emerging, and being affected ; by it, it at once cut a way through the skin of its host, and Parasites wriggled out of the body into the alcohol, where, of course, it was Within destroyed. ‘The site of this lar its host corresponded the Body, “stroyed. e site of this larva upon its hos p closely with that of the parasitic guest described by Blackwall, on the upper part of the abdomen. In size the two larve are nearly equal, and they probably belong to at least the same genus, Menge has added to our knowledge of the parasites infesting spiders, and I present a brief abstract of his observations.! Micriphantes, The- ridium, Bolyphantes, and other species found crawling on the ground are infested with a cinnabar red species of Dermanyssa. But one of these is usually found on an individual, seldom two, and hardly ever three. It is fatal to the smaller varieties alone, and only infests the larger varieties while young. He found Mermis allicans on a Water spider (Argyroneta aquatica), and saw it, escape from the body and tumble about in the water. During the latter part of June he took a fe- male of Clubiona putris within its little silken sac on a stem of heath, and confined it for observation. A week thereafter it had disappeared, while within the sac, on a few horizontal threads suspended in the centre, lay a yellowish white pupa about five millimetres long, which had eaten the spider except the legs and a small part of the skin. In another week a winged insect, probably Henops marginatus or Oncodes pallipes, emerged from the pupa. During the brief adult life of this insect it takes no nourishment, but soon finds its mate and deposits its eggs upon the spider. Immediately after hatching, the maggot makes its way into its host’s body, probably through the rima prudendi. The same author describes two other parasitic larvee which he failed to bring to maturity, but which probably also belong to the Hymenoptera. The first was found August 27th, upon the posterior part of a full grown female Arctosa cinerea, taken in the sand under fallen leaves; it was naked, reddish white, without feet, two mil- limetres long. It astonished the observer to note that the large spider re- mained perfectly quiet while the larva nibbled its way into the body, when a movement with the legs would have removed it. On the second day the spider was quite dead, and the larva was then four millimetres long. Eight days thereafter the larva had devoured the entire abdomen, the inner cephalothorax, and the thigh of one hind leg; it had increased about one-half in size, had satisfied its hunger, but was very uneasy. It was placed in sand to mature, and there overspun itself, but never further developed. Another larva was found, July 28th, on an immature male of Miranda Menge on Parasites. Parasitic 1 Menge, Preussische Spinnen, under Parasites of the Spider. 394 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. adianta, a species of Orbweaver. The parasite was two millimetres long, a yellowish green color, and smooth, except slight warts upon the back. At first the spider seemed to feel little inconvenience from its guest, but on the fourth diy it sat motionless, and on the fifth it had been de- voured, only a small bit of skin remaining, while the caterpillar lay curled up in a half circle, grown to twelve millimetres in length and two millimetres in width across the middle of the body. Subsequently it made a cocoon on the heath, but developed no further. None of the above larvee moulted, which, according to Menge, is characteristic of parasites within the body, a habit that shows quite as striking adaptation as does freedom from moulting in an infested spider. One of the most common superstitions heard among persons unin- formed in natural history, is that a horse hair, when placed in the water under certain conditions, will turn into a snake. I have heard this fact averred by eye witnesses, who believed confidently that they had seen the hair: suddenly come to life and wiggle off through the water. This astonishing statement is explained by that most interesting and least enjoyable of natural facts, parasitism. Crickets, grasshoppers, and spiders are known to be the hosts of a species of our common Gordius, the same probably as that described a num- in oi!” ~ piesa: “2 DET OF years.ago by Prof. Joseph Leidy as Gordius Parasitic Gordius (Fra.328) aquaticus.! From this eminent naturalist I have re- rere Pet seutu- ceived a specimen of Lycosa scutulata, from which a eng eye Gordius was taken. I have figured the spider just as I received it, it being very much damaged when it came to my hand; the parasite is also drawn, both figures natural size. (Figs. 328 and 329.) Gordius. VII. We have thus far considered the foes which assail the life of the spider after it has escaped from the cocoon. This does not complete the doleful record. Her cradle life is beset by even more formida- ble perils. The maternal instinct which, in the spider mother, prompts to cunning protection of her eggs in admirably wrought cocoons, inspires the Ichneumon fly to penetrate the silken bars and wards, and place the eggs of her parasitic young upon the spider’s eggs. Our knowledge of the parasitic Hymenoptera preying upon cocoons of spiders has yet to be much enlarged, but we know that the genus Pezomachus is one of the most persistent guests, and that she carries vast ravages into the aranead ranks. A few notes will be given, culled from many observa- tions upon the destructive habits of this genus. Parasites on Eggs. 1 Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1850-51, page 98. | ' —— ll ——s Tl eon ENEMIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 395 The outer case of a cocoon of Argiope cophinaria was taken at Atlantic City during winter (1883), and opened June 6th following. It was then pierced with several round holes. The lower part of the flask sae was occupied by a number of white cocoons of a parasitic hy- arasit- : = : ian menopterous insect. They were each three-eighths of an inch long, were grouped in a bowl shaped*mass quite around the bottom of the egg sac, and were covered with a delicate white silken floss. Many of them were pierced at one end with a hole corresponding with the one on the outside of the spider’s cocoon. (Fig. 330.) From these holes the insects, probably a species of Pezomachus, had made their escape, leaving their mahogany colored shells within their white pupa cases. Some of the Ichneumonid cocoons were without the single large opening, but had minute punctures not much larger than pin holes. These were doubtless the exit holes of a species of Chalcidian.! Thus the larve of the parasitic Ich- neumons were themselves preyed upon by a parasite. However, in each case some individuals of the original host escaped the parasitic destroyer. The Chalcidians did not destroy all the Ichneumons, as the exit holes attested; and, notwithstanding the entire lower part of the spider’s egg sac was occupied by the hymenopterous en- campment, whose white tents pushed up against the brown wadding spun by the mother spider, a large number of young spiderlings occupied the field. They were active and apparently healthy, scrambling ye. 330, cocoon of Argiope cophinaria, among the woolly fibres of their home opened to showthe pupa cases of a brood i Sor of parasitic Ichneumon flies. quite down to the cocoons of their invaders. Whatever ravages the Ichneumons may have made among the spiderlings, there were certainly enough of them still left. I have found other cocoons of Cophinaria similarly occupied with some of the perfect Chalcids entan- gled in the spider silk. These are, not the only examples of peaceful occupation of a cocoon by the Orbweaver’s young along with various “squatter sovereigns” of the parasitic tribes. I received from Mrs. Eigenmann, San Fran- Treble cisco (August, 1883), a specimen of Epeira accompanied by what Parasit- : ry. ian was supposed to be, and probably is, the cocoon. The adult spider, a female, is black, with faint dorsal foliated marks, and Science, 1873, page 258. a Oe 396 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. of these were alive within the cocoon, a flossy ball of blackish colored silk different from any I have ever seen. In the centre was a small agglu- tinated mass of white parasitic cells, similar to those above described, to which a number of infertile spider eggs still clung. ‘These cells were probably those of an Iechneumon, Pezomachus dimidiatus Cresson (Plate V., Fig. 5, female, x 4), an example of which was found, dead, clinging to the padding of the spider’s egg sac. They had evidently burrowed within the mass of Epeiroid eggs, destroying a number but leaving still many to hatch out. Within these parasitic cocoons, which were all empty of their original occupants, were several Dermestid larvee of various sizes. They were in an intense state of activity, but I did not observe that they preyed upon the living spiders. Besides these I found in the box two specimens of a minute Chalcidian, and several living specimens of a small spe- cies of ant, apparently an undescribed Solenopsis. Thus this family consisted of the original spider hosts, their proper parasitic guests Pezomachus, the para- Fic. 331. FiG. 331. Cocoons of Pezomachus gracilis ina site’s parasite Chaleidian, the universal Laterigrade spider’s cocoon. Fic. 332. Spi- der cocoons; one healthy, one infested. destroyer the Dermestid larvae, and that inquisitive interloper the ant. It has not been my fortune to see a more miscellaneous natural combination than this. Pezomachus does not limit herself to any single group of spiders, but apparently preys upon all. I succeeded in hatching several, both male and female, of Pezomachus gracilis Cresson (Plate V., Fig. 6, female, eis x 4) from cocoons of.a Laterigrade spider. Two cocoons found uae on the banks of the Schuylkill, attached to the inner side of the bark of a tree, were joined together as at Fip. 332. One of these was completely occupied by Ichneumon cocoons. The spider’s cocoons are made of very stiff silk, and are covered more or less thickly with minute daubs of mud. Through this covering Pezomachus had penetrated and lodged her eggs upon the spider eggs within. In due time they were hatched, devoured the eggs, the shells of which were within. Five pupa cases of the parasite occupied the interior. (Fig. 331.) In the adjoining cocoon were healthy young spiderlings and a few eggs. The cocoon of Epeira apoclisa of England is spun of yellowish silk, of a loose texture, about half an inch in diameter, and contains about two hundred and twenty spherical eggs. From this cocoon, on the 18th of July, Blackwall took both sexes of a small Ichneumon fly, the female of which is apterous, and on another occasion he obtained specimens of the same insect from the cocoon of Epeira um- bratica. ! English Parasites. 1 Spiders Gt. Br. & Ir., page 327. ENEMIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE. 397 October, 1884, Mr. F. M. Webster sent me from Oxford, Indiana, a parasitized cocoon, evidently of some Saltigrade species, which appeared to be that of Phidippus morsitans. The cocoon contained within the outer flossy case about eighty cells or pupa cases and a num- ber of mature black hymenopterous insects about one- eighth inch long. (Fig. 334.) ‘The cells were ovoid, gray, blackish at the closed end, probably from excre- tions from the enclosed lar- ve, One end was cut open, showing where the insects had escaped. (Fig. 333.) With the exception of a few . b> F Fic. 333. Magnified cell of parasitic hymenopter, probably Aco- hard, dry, yellowish brown loides saitidis. Fra. 334. Saltigrade cocoon, with parasitic examples all the eggs of cells enclosed, somewhat magnified. The fly on the edge is ’ about natural size. the spiders had disappeared. The specimens were sent to Mr. L. O. Howard, who thought them to be Proctotrupids, belonging to the subfamily Scelionine, and seeming to form an entirely new genus.? This gentleman has lately published * a description of a hymenopterous parasite on spiders sent to him by Mr. L. Bruner, of Lincoln, Nebraska, : which was collected from the eggs of a Saltigrade, Saitis pulex. igen The eggs of this spider are a little more than a millimetre in Guests. Circumference, and each egg harbors but one parasite, which issues by splitting the egg case open, rather than by gnawing a hole. This insect belongs to the same family and subfamily and is prob- ably the same species as that col- lected by Mr. Webster. Mr. How- ard has named it Acoloides saitidis, and a copy of the drawing of the insect is given at Fig. 335. In the same connection Mr. Howard de- scribes, under the name of Brus americanus, a new species, a mi- Exes 5b: FIG. 836. nute wingless Scelioninz, from spec- Fic, 385. Acoloides saitidis, a hymenopterous parasite +; ae