Fig. 60.
Most of the Theridiidæ make cocoons of loose silk, held up in the web by numerous threads. Some hang the cocoon by a stem, [Fig. 61].
The large species of Argiope makes a big pear-shaped cocoon hanging in grass or bushes, [Fig. 62]. A stem of loose brown silk is first made, and under this the eggs attached (at any rate this had been done in one which had been abandoned unfinished); then a cup-shaped piece is made under the eggs; the bunch of loose silk is spun over all, and finally the paper-like shell.
Fig. 61.
Fig. 62.