Page:The Life of the Spider.djvu/85

The Banded Epeira Straight threads radiate at equal intervals from a central point. Over this framework runs a continuous spiral thread, forming chords, or crossbars, from the centre to the circumference. It is magnificently large and magnificently symmetrical.

In the lower part of the web, starting from the centre, a wide opaque ribbon descends zigzag-wise across the radii. This is the Epeira's Trade-mark, the flourish of an artist initialing his creation. 'Fecit So-and-So,' she seems to say, when giving the last throw of the shuttle to her handiwork.

That the Spider feels satisfied when, after passing and repassing from spoke to spoke, she finishes her spiral, is beyond a doubt: the work achieved ensures her food for a few days to come. But, in this particular case, the vanity of the spinstress has naught to say to the matter: the strong silk zigzag is added to impart greater firmness to the web.

Increased resistance is not superfluous, for the net is sometimes exposed to severe tests. The Epeira cannot pick and choose her prizes. Seated motionless in the centre of her web, her eight legs widespread to feel the shaking of the network in any direction, 81