CECIL WARBURTON
Cambridge
March, 1912
CONTENTS
| CHAP. | PAGE | |
| I. | A Survey of the Field. Evidences of spider industry. Where to look for spiders. Variety of habits | [1] |
| II. | What is a Spider? The Arthropoda and their divisions. Arachnida. Characteristics of a spider. Spinnerets and their use | [5] |
| III. | The Circular Snare. Foundation lines. The spiral with its viscid beads. The building of the snare. Why the spider is not caught in its own snare | [13] |
| IV. | The Mental Powers of Spiders. The human standpoint. Instinct. Sight. Hearing. Smell. Taste. Memory and “educability” | [20] |
| V. | Trap-snares and Balloons. Variations of the circular snare. The snare of Hyptiotes. Webs of Theridion and Linyphia. The iron railing and its aeronauts. A race congress. Gossamer. Geographical distribution | [30] |
| VI. | Agelena. Its web. The spider and its behaviour in captivity. The platform and its carpet. The construction of the cocoon. Instinctive, not intelligent | [38] |
| VII. | Water-Spiders. Marine spiders. The fresh-water spider. The diving bell, and how it is filled with air. Behaviour of the male. Winter and summer houses | [47] |
| VIII. | Crab-Spiders.—Mimicry. The appearance of crab-spiders. Their haunts. Protective coloration and resemblance. Habits correlated with structure. Probable origin of “mimicry” | [52] |
| IX. | Wolf-Spiders. General habits. Semi-aquatic species. Nomads and settlers. Structure. Eyes. Lycosa picta. A colony in full swing. The burrow. Egg-bags. Recognition of cocoons. Want of discrimination. The Tarantula. Its haunts and habits. The death-stroke. The burrow and its parapet. Sunning the cocoon. Carrying the young. Poisonous properties | [58] |
| X. | Jumping Spiders. The Zebra Spider. Its structure. Its wonderful eyes. Hunting its prey. The use of the drag-line. Sight in jumping spiders. Love dances. Sham-fights. A remarkable piece of research | [76] |
| XI. | Theraphosid Spiders. Sub-division of the Order. Mandibles. Atypus and its nest. Its habits. Aviculariidae. A giant spider. Trap-door nests. Method of burrowing. “Bird-eaters,” and their habits. Dugesiella. Poor sight but remarkable sense of touch. Psalmopoeus in captivity | [87] |
| XII. | Stridulation. How sound is produced in Arthropoda. Its purposes. Popular mistakes. Spines and Keys. The purring spider | [105] |
| XIII. | The Spinning Apparatus. Spinnerets. Their mobility. Spools and spigots. Glands. Arrangement in Epeira. No interweaving of lines. Functions of glands. Spinning operations. The Cribellum. The feet of spiders | [110] |
| XIV. | The Enemies of Spiders. Cannibalism. Egg parasites. Moulting. Starvation. Body parasites. Solitary wasps. A gruesome fate | [120] |
| XV. | Concluding Reflexions. The “use” of spiders. Wide range of habits. Complexity of instincts. The mystery of the egg. The storage of energy. Economy in diet. Conclusion | [126] |
| Literature | [133] | |
| Index | [135] |
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
| Frontispiece. The Banana Spider. | ||
| FIG. | ||
| 1. | A Spider, a Mite and a Harvestman | [9] |
| 2. | The Garden-spider and its snare | [15] |
| 3. | Stretching the viscid line | [19] |
| 4. | Preparing for flight | [35] |
| 5. | Agelena at work | [44] |
| 6. | A Crab-spider | [53] |
| 7. | Wolf-spiders | [64] |
| 8. | A Jumping Spider | [77] |
| 9. | The eyes of a Jumping Spider | [78] |
| 10. | The love dance | [84] |
| 11. | Stridulating “keys” | [108] |
| 12. | Spinnerets | [114] |
| 13. | Spiders’ feet | [119] |