andIhavedistinctlyseenthethreadfromthespinnerslengthenedbytheanimalwhileyetstationary，aspreparatorytoitsfall。Ifthegroundisclearbeneath，theEpeiraseldomfalls，butmovesquicklythroughacentralpassagefromonetotheotherside。Whenstillfurtherdisturbed，itpractisesamostcuriousmanoeuvre：standinginthemiddle，itviolentlyjerkstheweb，whichitattachedtoelastictwigs，tillatlastthewholeacquiressucharapidvibratorymovement，thateventheoutlineofthespider’sbodybecomesindistinct。
ItiswellknownthatmostoftheBritishspiders，whenalargeinsectiscaughtintheirwebs，endeavourtocutthelinesandliberatetheirprey，tosavetheirnetsfrombeingentirelyspoiled。Ionce，however，sawinahot-houseinShropshirealargefemalewaspcaughtintheirregularwebofaquitesmallspider；andthisspider，insteadofcuttingtheweb，mostperseveringlycontinuedtoentanglethebody，andespeciallythewings，ofitsprey。Thewaspatfirstaimedinvainrepeatedthrustswithitsstingatitslittleantagonist。Pityingthewasp，afterallowingittostruggleformorethananhour，Ikilleditandputitbackintotheweb。
Thespidersoonreturned；andanhourafterwardsIwasmuchsurprisedtofinditwithitsjawsburiedintheorifice，throughwhichthestingisprotrudedbythelivingwasp。Idrovethespiderawaytwoorthreetimes，butforthenexttwenty-fourhoursIalwaysfounditagainsuckingatthesameplace。Thespiderbecamemuchdistendedbythejuicesofitsprey，whichwasmanytimeslargerthanitself。
Imayherejustmention，thatIfound，nearSt。FeBajada，manylargeblackspiders，withruby-colouredmarksontheirbacks，havinggregarioushabits。Thewebswereplacedvertically，asisinvariablythecasewiththegenusEpeira：theywereseparatedfromeachotherbyaspaceofabouttwofeet，butwereallattachedtocertaincommonlines，whichwereofgreatlength，andextendedtoallpartsofthecommunity。Inthismannerthetopsofsomelargebusheswereencompassedbytheunitednets。Azara[10]hasdescribedagregariousspiderinParaguay，whichWalckanaerthinksmustbeaTheridion，butprobablyitisanEpeira，andperhapseventhesamespecieswithmine。Icannot，however，recollectseeingacentralnestaslargeasahat，inwhich，duringautumn，whenthespidersdie，Azarasaystheeggsaredeposited。AsallthespiderswhichIsawwereofthesamesize，theymusthavebeennearlyofthesameage。Thisgregarioushabit，insotypicalagenusasEpeira，amonginsects，whicharesobloodthirstyandsolitarythateventhetwosexesattackeachother，isaverysingularfact。
InaloftyvalleyoftheCordillera，nearMendoza，Ifoundanotherspiderwithasingularly-formedweb。Stronglinesradiatedinaverticalplanefromacommoncentre，wheretheinsecthaditsstation；butonlytwooftherayswereconnectedbyasymmetricalmesh-work；sothatthenet，insteadofbeing，asisgenerallythecase，circular，consistedofawedge-shapedsegment。Allthewebsweresimilarlyconstructed。[1]Venda，thePortuguesenameforaninn。