The dimensions of reproduced limbs are in inverse ratio to the extent of the injury
previously inflicted on the parts; thus, palpi and legs detached at the axillary joint and coxa
are usually symmetrical, but diminutive, when reproduced; while those amputated at the
articulation of the digital with the radial joint, and near the middle of the tibia or of the
metatarsus, on being restored are always very much larger and unsyrametrical; in point of
fact, the development of the new limb depends upon the capacity of the undetached portion
of the mutilated part; for if a leg be amputated near the middle of the metatarsus, the coxa,
femur, and tibia will be of the same dimensions as those joints of the corresponding leg on the
opposite side, but the metatarsus and tarsus will be very diminutive; should the excision be
made near the anterior extremity of the tibia, then the size of the coxa, femur, and genual
joint will be normal, but that of the tibia, metatarsus, and tarsus will be very abnormal. These
curious results plainly demonstrate, that not only reproduced limbs in their totality, but that
particular'joints also, are limited in their dimensions by the capacity of the undetached portion
of the mutilated part in which they are developed, and that restored legs and palpi are never
symmetrical except when developed in the undetached coxa and axillary joint respectively.
At the penultimate moult of male spiders the digital joints of the palpi become very
tumid, in much the greater number of species, by a sudden and rapid advance towards
development in the sexual organs, and should’ these parts be detached during the interval
which elapses between that and the succeeding moult, though the palpi, indicating by their
organization that the animal has arrived at maturity, may be reproduced, yet the sexual organs
are always absent; but when palpi, which had been amputated before the penultimate moult,
are reproduced, the sexual organs, perfect in structure, are reproduced also.’
If a leg of an immature Tegenaria civilis be detached at the coxa four or even six times
consecutively, it may be restored at each succeeding moult the spider undergoes, and this
frequent renewal of the same part seems to warrant the conclusion that a reproduction of the
limbs of the Araneidea generally, irrespective of mutilation, actually occurs whenever a change
of integument takes place.
Sometimes the stump only of a partially amputated leg is produced at the succeeding
moult, especially when the injury has been inflicted but a short time previously to the change
of integument, and as the formative process in this case must have made considerable progress
before the excision of the part was effected, there is nothing extraordinary in the result; but
it is deserving o f notice that a similar consequence occasionally ensues when the partial
amputation of a leg takes place very soon after a change of integument, before the formative
process can be supposed to have commenced.1
Little appears to have been done for the purpose of determining the longevity of spiders
with some approach to accuracy; that of many species evidently does not exceed the brief
space of twelve months; others enjoy a more prolonged term of existence; and the life of
Tegenaria c-ivilis and Segestria senoculala has been ascertained to extend through a period of
four years.8
Anomalies in structure may sometimes be observed among spiders, especially as regards
the number and size of the eyes, but they seem scarcely to have engaged the attention of 1 2
1 ‘Annals and Magazine of Natural History/ second series, vol. i, pp. 176, 177.
2 Ibid., i, p. 178.
arachnologists; this is the more extraordinary as the number, disposition, and relative size of
the organs of vision constitute important elements in the classification of the Araneidea/
Under the guidance of their respective instincts, a high degree of skill and industry is
displayed by spiders in the construction of their retreats. Many species occupy holes formed
by themselves beneath the surface of the earth, some of which, of a cylindrical shape, are
lined with a compact tissue of silk, and have the entrance closed by a valve provided with a
hinge, which can be opened and shut at pleasure. Other species fabricate in the crevices of
walls, the crannies of rocks, beneath stones, on the leaves of vegetables, and under the exfoliating
bark of trees, tubes, cells, or domes of silk, on whose exterior surface soil, minute
pebbles, and other heterogeneous materials are frequently distributed. Theridion riparium
fabricates a slender, conical tube of silk, of a very slight texture, measuring from one and a
half to two and a half inches in length, and about half an inch in diameter at its lower extremity.
It is closed above, open below, thickly covered externally with bits of indurated earth, small
stones, and withered leaves and flowers, which are incorporated with it, and is suspended
perpendicularly, by lines attached to its sides and apex, in the irregular snare constructed by
this species. In the upper part of this singular domicile the female spins several globular
cocoons of yellowish-white silk, of a slight texture, whose mean diameter is about one eighth
of an inch, in each of which she deposits from twenty to sixty small, spherical eggs, of a pale,
yellowish-white colour, not agglutinated together. The young remain with the mother for a
long period after quitting the cocoons, and are provided by her with food, which consists
chiefly of ants.3
Various spiders run fearlessly on the surface of water, and some even descend into it
spontaneously, the time during which they can respire, when immersed, depending upon the
quantity of air confined by the circumambient liquid among the hairs with which they are
clothed. In this manner Argyroneta aquatica is enabled to pursue its prey, to construct its
dome-shaped dwelling, and to live habitually in that liquid. There are, however, a few species
of small size, Neriene longipalpis and Savignia frontata, for example, which, though they do
not enter water voluntarily, can support life in it for many days, and that without the external
supply of air so essential to the existence of Argyroneta aquatica under similar circumstances.
It is probable that this property may contribute to their preservation through the winter,
when their hybemacula are liable to be inundated.
For the purpose of securing their prey, spiders have recourse to divers expedients.
Numerous species run rapidly about in quest of those objects which constitute their food ;
others, approaching their victims with great circumspection, spring upon them from a distance;
some lie concealed in flowers, or among leaves, seizing such insects as come within their reach;
and many species procure a supply of nutriment by means of complicated snares of their own
fabrication. Glossy Jines intersecting each other at various angles, and in different planes,
disposed, apparently, without any regular plan, compose one kind of snare. Another consists
of a thin, horizontal sheet of web, having in connexion with it above, and in some instances
also below, a number of slender lines arranged as in the preceding snare. A third kind is
1 Ibid., vol. xi, pp. 165-167.
2 1 Researches in Zoology/ p. 356.
8 I Report of the Third Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science/ p. 446.