Among the insects, Masterman describes a gregarious spider which, when
full-grown, has a black body half an inch in length--with a row of
bright red spots on the side of the abdomen--four eyes, remarkably
strong mandibles, and stout hairless legs an inch in length. They
construct in concert huge webs, generally between two trees, ten or
twelve feet from the ground. In a garden, among trees forty feet apart,
these spiders had extended two long cables, as thick as pack-thread, to
form the margin of each web, the lower being only four feet from the
ground; and between them was a light, loose network perfectly divided
into webs, each presenting about two square feet of surface. Each of
these sub-webs was occupied by a spider from sunset to a little before
sunrise. Six nets contained two thousand of the creatures. They often
change their location; and a double stream was always passing along the
cables, apparently strengthening them as they came and went.
Sometimes three or four would be lying in wait within a few inches of
each other, the one crawling over or under the other's body without
hesitation. Soon after sunrise they left their webs, and, retreating to
the shade, formed two or three large masses as big as a hat under the
thick foliage of a jessamine-tree. There they remained motionless till
sunset, when the black lump crumbled to pieces. The process was a
curious sight to witness. Then, in a leisurely way, the spiders
scattered themselves to their aerial fishing. The air swarmed with
mosquitoes, which were caught in great numbers. Larger flies, and
especially moths, were at once pounced upon and devoured; a dozen often
feeding amicably on the body of the same insect, consuming not only the
juices, but the abdomen. When a part of the web was broken, the nearest
spider gathered up the loose threads, rolled them into a ball, and ate
it. The great difficulty seemed to be how they could convey the first
thread, often sixty or seventy feet long, from one tree to the other.
This was done by a spider from a tree to windward forming a long line,
which blew out and caught in the leaves of a neighbouring tree to
leeward. This it tightened, and then crossed hastily backwards and
forwards on the line, adding to its thickness on each journey, till it
was strong enough to support a web. The spiders thus employed were
apparently all young, for as they increased in age the ferocity of the
race appeared. There was then a sanguinary battle,--the few survivors,
probably females, devouring some of the slain to provide for a future
brood, and then dying also.