hould not think of
closely connecting the two Spiders.

But high above shapes tower tendencies, those main characteristics which
our methods of classification, so particular about minute details of
form, ought to consult more widely than they do. The two dissimilar
Spiders have exactly similar ways of living. Both of them prefer to hunt
by day and never leave their webs; both sign their work with a zigzag
flourish. Their nets are almost identical, so much so that the Banded
Epeira uses the Silky Epeira's web after eating its owner. The Silky
Epeira, on her side, when she is the stronger, dispossesses her belted
cousin and devours her. Each is at home on the other's web, when the
argument of might triumphant has ended the discussion.

Let us next take the case of the Cross Spider, a hairy beast of varying
shades of reddish-brown. She has three large white spots upon her back,
forming a triple-barred cross. She hunts mostly at night, shuns the sun
and lives by day on the adjacent shrubs, in a shady retreat which
communicates with the lime-snare by means of a telegraph-wire. Her web
is very similar in structure and appearance to those of the two others.
What will happen if I procure her the visit of a Banded Epeira?

The lady of the triple cross is invaded by day, in the full light of the
sun, thanks to my mischievous intermediary. The web is deserted; the
proprietress is in her leafy hut. The telegraph-wire performs its
office; the Cross Spider hastens down, strides all round her property,
beholds the danger and hurriedly returns to her hiding-place, without
taking any measures against the intruder.

The latter, on her side, does not seem to be enjoying herself. Were she
placed on the web of one of her sisters, or even on that of the Silky
Epeira, she would have posted herself in the centre, as soon as the
struggle had ended in the other's death. This time there is no struggle,
for the web is deserted; nothing prevents her from taking her position in
the centre, the chief strategic point; and yet she does not move from the
place where I put her.

I tickle her gently with the tip of a long straw. When at home, if
teased in this way, the Banded Epeira--like the others, for that
matter--violently shakes the web to intimidate the aggressor. This time,
nothing happens: despite my repeated enticements, the Spider does not
stir a limb. It is as though she were numbed with terror. And she has
reason to be: th