If an aperture for ingress and egress, for purposes of feeding, were left in the wall of such a chamber, there would arise in a rudimentary form what is known as the tubular nest or web; and the next important step was possibly the adoption of such a nest as a permanent abode for the spider., Some spiders, like the Drassidae and Salticidae, have not advanced beyond this stage in architectural industry; but next to the cocoon this simple tubular retreat - whether spun in a crevice or burrow or simply attached to the lower side of a stone - is the most constant feature to be observed in the spinning habits of spiders.
As a rule terrestrial spiders guard the cocoon in the permanent burrow, as in the trap-door spiders, or in the silken retreat which acts as a temporary nursery, as in the Salticidae.
Most curious of all is the courtship of the males of some species of Salticidae, or jumping spiders, which are decorated with plumes or coloured stripes or iridescent patches.
In several families of spiders, but principally in those like the Clubionidae and Salticidae, which are terrestrial in habits, there are species which not only live amongst ants, but so closely resemble them in their shape, size, colour and actions that it requires a practised eye to distinguish the Arachnid from the insect.
Amongst the orbweavers of the family Argyopidae there are species belonging to the genera Cyclosa and Cyrtophora which closely resemble small snail-like gastropods as they cling to the underside of leaves with their legs drawn up. Other members of the same family - like Araneus coccinella, and Paraplectana thorntoni- imitate beetles of the family Coccinellidae which are known to be distasteful; and certain genera of the family Salticidae (Homalattus and Rhanis) closely resemble small hard-shelled beetles.