Chapter V: Part 5

$Linyphia (Bathyphantes) nebulosa.$--Length a sixth of an inch. Color light brownish yellow, with gray markings (fig. 338). Some are almost white, and others are dark, with the black spots covering a large part of the body. The cephalothorax is dark on the edges and has a dark middle stripe, forked toward the eyes. The abdomen has six or seven pairs of irregular dark spots, more or less connected with a dark middle line. The under side of abdomen and sternum have black spots which, in dark individuals, run together, making these parts entirely black. The legs have dark rings on the ends and middle of the femora and tibiæ. The spines are long and darker than the skin. The epigynum is folded twice, so that only part of it is seen extending out from the under side of the abdomen (figs. 340, 341). The palpus of the male (fig. 339) has large and complicated appendages at the end. In general shape it is rounder than in the next species, and the angle at the base of the tarsus is less prominent. This spider is common in cellars and other damp and shady places about houses. It is common in Europe and is perhaps imported. The web is flat, like that of _L. phrygiana_, and often large for the size of the spider, sometimes covering a pail or box a foot wide.

$Linyphia (Bathyphantes) minuta.$--One-eighth of an inch long, a little smaller than _nebulosa_. The cephalothorax is yellowish brown, darker at the edges, but without any middle line. The dark markings of the abdomen nearly cover it, so that it appears dark gray with light markings instead of light with dark markings, as in _nebulosa_. The legs are light brownish yellow, with dark rings on the ends and middle of the femora and tibiæ. The epigynum is folded twice, as in _nebulosa_ (fig. 343). The male palpi (fig. 344) have a general resemblance to those of _nebulosa_, but there are some distinct differences. The tarsal hook is very large and has a longer and narrower point than _nebulosa_. The tarsus has on the outer side near the base a conical point roughened with short ridges. This is more prominent in this species than in _nebulosa_. It lives in cellars and similar places often in company with _nebulosa_.

$Linyphia (Drapetisca) socialis.$--This very distinct species is marked with gray and white and is often found on the bark of trees without any web. It is a tenth to an eighth of an inch in length. The cephalothorax is white with black edges, a black spot in front under the eyes, and a black mark in the middle, from which indistinct lines radiate toward the edge. The abdomen is widest just behind the middle (fig. 345). It is white, mottled with gray, and has a black stripe on each side and several pairs of black spots in the middle, connected with a middle line. The legs are white, with a gray ring at the end and middle of each joint. The spines are long on the legs and palpi (fig. 347). The mandibles have an oblique dark stripe and several long hairs in front and a row of teeth in front of the claw. The epigynum (fig. 346) is large and extends obliquely backward away from the abdomen and curves inward again at the end. It lives all over the northern part of this country and Europe, under leaves and sometimes on trees, where it is occasionally found on the bark without any web.

$Linyphia (Helophora) insignis.$--An eighth of an inch long, as long as _socialis_, but more slender. The cephalothorax and legs are light yellow, and the abdomen gray or white, sometimes without markings and sometimes with gray stripes at the sides and two or three pairs of gray marks across the hinder half (fig. 348). The cephalothorax of the male is twice as wide across the middle as at the head. The legs are without markings. The epigynum (fig. 350) is long and straight, extending backward close to the abdomen for half its length. The tibia of the palpal organ has a short, pointed process, extending directly outward from the side (fig. 348). They live in flat webs among low plants.

$Linyphia (Diplostyla) concolor.$--About a twelfth of an inch long, a little smaller than _nigrina_, with long slender legs, and the abdomen slightly pointed toward the spinnerets and not much larger than the cephalothorax. The color is light yellow brown, the abdomen gray without any markings. The epigynum (figs. 352, 353) has a long, slender, flexible process on the outer edge that extends backward to the middle of the abdomen, and under it is another shorter one not easily seen. The tarsus of the male palpus (fig. 351) is longer and more tapering than that of _nigrina_. Adults of both sexes are common under leaves in winter all over the northern part of the country.

$Linyphia (Diplostyla) nigrina.$--A tenth of an inch long. Cephalothorax and legs light yellow brown. Abdomen dark gray or black, with five or six transverse light markings, usually in the male and often in the female broken into pairs of spots (fig. 355). The abdomen is high in front and a little pointed behind (fig. 354). The epigynum (figs. 356, 357) has two flexible processes, one over the other, extending backward, the tip of the inner one extending beyond the outer. The tarsus of the male palpus (fig. 356) is short and truncated, with its tube twisted in a circle around the end. It lives under leaves in winter.

THE GENUS ERIGONE

The Erigones are all very small spiders, and for this reason few of them will be described. They live, for the most part, near the ground in grass, moss, and dead leaves, with small webs like those of Linyphia, and are seldom seen unless carefully searched for. There is one season of the year, however, when the Erigones appear in immense numbers. This is during the fine weather that comes after the first frosts in October and November, when they, in company with the young of many larger kinds of spiders, come to the tops of posts and fences and, turning their spinnerets upward, allow threads to be drawn out by ascending currents of air, until sometimes the spiders are lifted off their feet and carried long distances. Though not so easily seen, the same performance is going on at the tops of grass and bushes, and at times the whole country is covered with threads of silk, and the threads in the air tangle together into flakes, which at length fall, sometimes from great heights. This appearance is called in England "gossamer" and in Germany the "flying summer" and the "old woman's summer." Why the spiders spin the thread and what use it is to them to be blown about are unknown. At the time of the autumn flights great numbers of these spiders may be seen on fences and doorsteps in city streets wherever there is a neighboring park or grass plat, and the spiders probably live the rest of the year among this grass near the ground.

$Erigone longipalpis$ and $dentigera.$--These spiders are a tenth of an inch to a twentieth of an inch long and generally dark brown in color, with the cephalothorax smooth and shining. In some, especially the larger males, the cephalothorax is bright orange and the legs partly of the same color. The females vary considerably in size, but are otherwise much alike. The peculiarities are in the males. The head is about half the length of the cephalothorax and abruptly raised and rounded on the top (fig. 361). Along the sides of the thorax are small pointed teeth of various sizes in a single irregular row (fig. 362). The mandibles are very much thickened in the middle and have a row of teeth on the front outer side (fig. 364). The palpi of the males are sometimes as long as the whole body and of a complicated shape. The femur is curved upward and forward and has a row of little teeth on the under side. The patella and tibia are together about as long as the femur. The patella has at the end a straight tooth directed downward with a short point (fig. 361). The tibia is widened at the end, where it spreads around the base of the tarsus. The maxillæ are much thickened and the bases of the palpi spread wide apart (fig. 365). The palpi are usually carried doubled up in front of the head, with the curved ends of the femora just below the eyes and the palpal organs over the ends of the mandibles. The legs of Erigone are only moderately long, and they walk easily, like the small Drassidæ. They move slowly and are not easily frightened, so that at the time of flying they can be closely watched.

$Erigone autumnalis.$--This is one of the few species of Erigone that can be distinctly separated from the others. It lives in the same places and is found with _longipalpis_ in the autumn flights. It is only a twentieth of an inch long, but can be distinguished by its light color and bright yellow head. The palpi of the males have the tibia shorter than the patella and the tooth on the patella turned more forward than in _longipalpis_, with a longer and sharper point tapering from the base to the tip (fig. 367).

$Ceratinella lætabilis.$--This is about the same size as _fissiceps_,--a sixteenth of an inch long,--but much darker colored, and the males do not have horns or humps on the head. The cephalothorax and sternum are dark brown, and the legs dark orange. The thickened circle on the abdomen (fig. 368) is dark orange brown and the thinner parts gray. In the female the thick circle is usually wanting and the whole abdomen dark gray, with lighter spots around the muscular marks. There are also hardened spots around the stem of the abdomen and under the spinnerets in both sexes. The head is slightly elevated behind the eyes, a little more in the male than in the female. The male palpi (figs. 369, 370) are shorter and stouter than those of _fissiceps_. It lives in dead leaves and moss, sometimes under stones, and is sometimes found flying in the autumn.

$Ceratinella fissiceps.$--These little spiders are among the smallest species, measuring only a sixteenth of an inch in length. The cephalothorax and abdomen are short and round, and the abdomen has a round thickened spot on the back, more deeply orange colored than the part around it. The head is black around the eyes, and a black line extends backward half the length of the cephalothorax. The head of the male extends forward over the mandibles, carrying with it the front middle eyes, and above it is a rounded hump with the hind middle eyes. The pairs of lateral eyes are opposite the crease between the humps (figs. 371). The female has at the same point a slight crease across the head and an elevation before and behind it. They are very common on low bushes in summer and under leaves in winter, and are occasionally seen in the autumn flights.

$Cornicularia directa.$--The males and females are of the same size and about a twelfth of an inch long. The cephalothorax is brown, varying in different individuals. The abdomen is gray, with the muscular spots lighter than the rest. The cephalothorax is long, narrowing gradually toward the head. In the males there is a slender horn extending forward between the eyes, a little thickened at the end and covered on the upper side with stiff hairs in rows (fig. 376). Under this horn is a smaller one about half as long and close against it (fig. 375). In females the horns are absent, but the shape of the head and arrangement of the eyes are the same, except that the eyes are closer together. There are several other species of Cornicularia, some with similar horns and others with single horns on the heads of the males. They are found under leaves in winter, on plants and fences, and among the flying spiders in autumn.

$Ceratinopsis interpres.$--Length about a tenth of an inch. Color bright orange, with a little black around the eyes and the spinnerets. In the female the height of the head equals the length of the mandibles, and in males it is greater. The size of the sexes is about the same. The upper middle eyes are a little larger and farther apart than the front middle pair, and between them is a flattened space covered with stiff black hairs, longer in the male than in the female (fig. 377). The male palpi have the femur as thick as the femur of the first leg and the tibia very short and wide, with a little recurved point on the front edge. They live on low bushes in summer and under leaves in winter.

THE EPEIRIDÆ

The Epeiridæ are the makers of the familiar round cobwebs. Like the Therididæ and the Linyphiadæ, they live always in their webs or nests back downward or, when in the round web, head downward. The cephalothorax is generally short, as in Therididæ, and low and wide in front, with the eyes near the front edge, the lateral pairs close together and farther from the middle eyes than the latter are from each other. The mandibles are large and strong. The maxillæ are short, often as short as wide, and parallel or a little divergent and rounded at the ends, never pointed or turned inward. The labium is shorter than wide and rounded or slightly pointed at the end. The legs are usually long and, more commonly than in the other cobweb spiders, stout and furnished with spines.

Most of the common species belong to the genus Epeira and its allies, having rounded abdomens and stout legs, some of them with humps and spines and peculiar angular forms of the abdomen. The colors are often bright, and those of the abdomen arranged in a triangular or leaf-shaped pattern. In Meta (p. 190) and Argyroepeira (p. 191) the abdomen is more elongated and the form and marking more like Linyphia. In Tetragnatha (p. 201) the whole body is long and slender, the abdomen several times as long as the cephalothorax, and the maxillæ and mandibles, especially in the males, much elongated. The colors are more uniform and the markings faint, usually light gray, yellow, or green, like the plants among which they live. The round webs of the Epeiridæ consist of a number of radiating lines, varying in different species from a dozen to seventy, crossed by two spirals,--an inner spiral that begins in the center and winds outward, and an outer spiral that begins at the edge of the web and winds inward. The inner spiral is made of smooth thread like the rays, and dust will not stick to it. The outer spiral is made of more elastic and sticky thread, which, when it is fresh, is covered with fine drops of a sticky liquid. In the finished web (figs. 379, 380) the outer spiral covers three-quarters or more of the diameter and the inner spiral a quarter or less, but in the unfinished web (fig. 381), before the sticky thread is put in, the inner spiral covers nearly the whole of it and is cut out, piece by piece, to make room for the outer spiral.

In beginning a web, after the radiating threads are finished, the spider fastens them more firmly at the center and corrects the distances between them by several short, irregular threads (fig. 379) and then begins the inner spiral with the turns, at first close together and then widening, in some species gradually, in others suddenly, until they are as far apart as the spider can reach with the spinnerets on one and the front feet on the next, and so goes on nearly to the outside of the web, where it stops abruptly (fig. 381). The spider usually rests a moment and then begins, sometimes at another part of the web, the outer sticky spiral. In the outermost parts of the web it usually forms several loops (fig. 381, _b_ to _f_), filling in the corners until it approaches the inner spiral and finds room to pass completely around the web. As soon as the inner spiral is found in the way a part of it is cut out, and by the time the outer spiral is finished the inner is reduced to the small and close portion near the center.

While the temporary spirals are made as far apart as possible, the threads of the outer spiral are placed as close together as they can be without danger of their sticking to each other, and usually a little closer together toward the center of the web than they are at the outside. In fastening this thread to the rays of the web the spider first feels for the last thread with the first and second feet, and, having found it, turns the body slightly around and grasps the ray with the nearest foot of the fourth pair at a short distance from the point where the last thread crosses. After taking hold of the ray with the fourth foot, the spider turns down the abdomen so as to place the spinnerets against the ray and fastens the thread to it, at the same time holding the thread off with the other fourth foot to prevent its sticking to anything around it. The whole making of the web seems to be done entirely by feeling and is done as well in the dark as in daylight.

When the spider is active and the food supply good, a fresh web is made every day, the old one being torn down and thrown away. In tearing down a web (fig. 382) the spider walks out from the center on one of the rays and gathers in what web he can reach with the front feet, chews it into a ball, and drops it; then, having put in new rays in the cleared space, he goes to another part of the web and tears down another piece.

The variations between the webs of different species are chiefly in the central portion. In the webs of _hortorum_ (p. 191), _gibberosa_ (p. 177), and _placida_ (p. 178), which spend most of their time in the web, the close part of the inner spiral is very large, circular, and finely finished, usually showing no trace of the wide temporary spirals. The number of rays is very large, and there is a wide clear space between the inner and outer spirals. In Argiope the inner spiral is very large and widens gradually until it almost touches the outer spiral. It has a closely woven mat in the center and two zigzag bands of white silk extending up and down.

The webs of Tetragnatha, Meta, and Acrosoma have a hole in the middle, the irregular center being entirely removed. _Insularis_ and _trifolium_ live always in tent-shaped nests, with a thread, or several threads, leading to the center of the web. _Globosa_, _labyrinthea_, and Zilla have a similar thread from nest to web, and leave open a segment of the web through which it passes.

Insects flying through the web strike the sticky threads and, trying to free themselves, fall against others. The spider at the center of the web feels the movements of the insect and goes toward it by the nearest ray and, drawing out silk from the spinnerets, throws it around the insect until it is tied fast. Adult male Epeiridæ are seldom seen in webs of their own, but some of them do occasionally make webs. The male _E. sclopetaria_, for instance, sometimes makes a web nearly as large as that of the female and stands in it waiting for insects to be caught.

$The Three House Epeiras: E. sclopetaria, patagiata,$ and $strix.$--These are the round-web spiders most commonly found about houses, barns, and fences. They are all about the same size, a third of an inch in length, and of various shades of brown, with a distinct scalloped middle stripe on the abdomen. _Sclopetaria_ (fig. 383) has the middle stripe broken at the edges just in front of the middle of each side, so as to form two separate figures, one covering the front and the other the hinder half of the abdomen. In _patagiata_ (fig. 384) and _strix_ the edges of the stripe are usually entire for their whole length. In _strix_ (fig. 385) the middle stripe is narrower than in the others and usually lighter in color. The color of _sclopetaria_ inclines to black, with the light marks yellow. _Patagiata_ is oftener reddish brown, especially in alcohol, and the middle stripe is often dark and uniform in color, less broken by spots and transverse marks than in the others. The front legs of _sclopetaria_ are longer than those of the other species, and the front legs of _strix_ shorter and stouter. The cephalothorax of _strix_ is more plainly marked than the others, with three longitudinal stripes. There is not much difference in the markings of the under side. The epigynum has two hard brown prominences at each side, with a soft finger-like appendage between. In _sclopetaria_ and _strix_ this finger is slender and tapers slightly toward the end. In _patagiata_ it is wide at the end and flattened. In the palpi of the males there is a similar difference. Those of _sclopetaria_ and _strix_ are much alike, but that of _patagiata_ has the forked hook at the base much thicker and more curved. _Patagiata_ is a northern species, common in Canada and found occasionally as far south as Massachusetts and New York. It is also common in the north of Europe. _Sclopetaria_ is also a European species, and is seldom found far from houses. It is more common north, but has been found as far south as Norfolk, Va. _Strix_ is common all over the country, both around houses and in bushes.

The webs of these spiders have usually from twelve to twenty rays, and the inner spiral is small and carelessly finished (figs. 379, 380). The webs are made usually at nightfall, very young individuals beginning to spin soon after sunset, and larger ones beginning later, those that are full grown often waiting until dark, but some of them will occasionally spin their webs at any time of day. They stand in the web during the night, but seldom during the daytime, going then to their usual nests or hiding places, sometimes, especially with _Epeira strix_, a long distance from the web. As a rule, they have no special thread by which to enter or leave the web, but use any one of the rays which may be convenient, always injuring the web more or less; but occasionally, if _Epeira sclopetaria_ has a nest in a convenient situation, he will make the web near it and have a thread direct from the nest to the center of the web, as is the usual habit in some other species. The eggs of _sclopetaria_ are laid in the early summer in large, round, white cocoons (fig. 386), fastened in sheltered places on the walls of houses and covered with a loose mass of silk threads.

$The Angulate Epeiras.$--_E. angulata_ (fig. 389), _silvatica_ (fig. 390), _nordmanni_ (fig. 387), _cinerea_ (fig. 391), and _corticaria_ (fig. 392) all have the humps on the front of the abdomen, and in young spiders this is the widest part. _Angulata_, _silvatica_, and _cinerea_ grow to a large size. _Cinerea_ is light colored and lives in great numbers about houses and barns in northern New England. _Angulata_ and _silvatica_ are found among trees and are dark colored like bark. _Angulata_ has a yellow stripe on the sternum and yellow spots under the abdomen between the spinnerets and epigynum. _Silvatica_ has the sternum and under side of the abdomen brown, without any distinct markings. The male _angulata_ has the thickened tibia of the second leg nearly as long as the tibia of the first leg. The male _silvatica_ has the second tibia less thickened and a fourth shorter than the first tibia. The male _angulata_ has a pair of long spines under the coxæ of the second legs, but in _silvatica_ these spines are so small as to be hardly visible. _E. nordmanni_ is a smaller species, about as large as _sclopetaria_ and _strix_, with light gray colors and generally distinct marking both above and below. _E. corticaria_ is not more than half as large as _silvatica_ and might be mistaken for the young of that species, but the colors are lighter and the rings on the legs narrower and more numerous. The epigynum of _corticaria_ is nearly as large as that of _silvatica_, and the middle appendage is often wanting as if broken off.

$Epeira nordmanni.$--This is a little smaller and a little longer legged than _cinerea_ and _angulata_. The abdomen is longer than in those species and has two similar humps in front (fig. 387). The female is not more than half an inch long. The colors are white and gray or black. The cephalothorax is light gray, darkest at the sides, but without stripes. The legs have a dark ring at the ends and a lighter one in the middle of each joint. The abdomen has a distinct middle stripe on the hinder half. In front there is an indistinct dark area extending to the top of the humps and, in the middle, inclosing a bright, long, white spot, with a round spot on each side sometimes united with it. The sternum is dark brown, without any stripe. The under side of the abdomen has a middle dark area in which are four yellow spots, two just behind the respiratory openings and two farther back, halfway to the spinnerets.

$Epeira angulata$ and $silvatica.$--These spiders, which are perhaps varieties of the same species, live usually among large trees and grow to over half an inch in length. The abdomen has two slight humps on the front. The colors are dark, like the bark of trees. The cephalothorax is dark brown, with traces of darker lines in the middle and at its sides. The legs are brown, with darker rings at the ends of the joints and less distinct rings in the middle. The abdomen has a bright yellow spot in front. The middle stripe is darker brown than the rest and has a scalloped edge marked by a dark and light line, which may be entire or broken into lines of spots. The under side of the abdomen is black or brown, with sometimes several yellow spots. The sternum is uniform brown in _silvatica_ and has a yellow middle stripe in _angulata_. The males are colored like the females and are about half as large, with the legs longer, especially the front pairs. The tibia of the second legs is twice as thick as that of the first pair, a little bent, with the spines stouter and more numerous than in the female. In the male of the _angulata_ variety the tibia of the second pair is nearly as long as that of the first, but in _silvatica_ it is distinctly shorter. On the under side of the coxæ of the second legs is a conical spine, which is longest in the _angulata_ variety. The epigynum is small for so large a spider and has a long slender finger in the middle. These spiders are found singly or in small numbers, usually in the woods, sometimes in webs hung between trees high above the ground.

$Epeira cinerea.$--This large spider is common in the northern part of New England, from Maine to New York, where it lives in great numbers about barns and houses. It grows to three-quarters of an inch in length, with the abdomen proportionally larger than _angulata_ and with two small humps on the front part (fig. 391). The color is dirty white, with grayish markings and long white hairs scattered all over the body. The cephalothorax is a little darkened at the sides, but has no distinct stripes. The legs have gray rings at the ends and middle of each joint, which are hardly visible in some individuals and almost black in others. The markings are like those of _angulata_, but paler and often indistinct. The sternum is brown, and the under side of the abdomen has a central dark stripe bordered by curved yellow markings. The epigynum is small, as in _angulata_, but the finger is flattened and turned up at the end. The male is colored like the female, with the hairs on the legs coarser and darker. The tibia of the second legs of the male is not thickened or modified as it is in _angulata_. The webs resemble those of _E. sclopetaria_, and the spider has similar habits, standing in the web at night and usually leaving it in the daytime; and it has no special thread from the web to the nest.

$Epeira corticaria.$--This is a small species about quarter of an inch in length, with the abdomen angular in front, where it is as wide as long (fig. 392). The colors are generally lighter and brighter than in _angulata_ or _silvatica_. The cephalothorax has the cephalic part brown and the sides pale. The legs are marked with broken brown rings at the ends and middle of each joint. The abdomen is brown of various shades, with light markings on the front part that are often bright red or yellow. There is a narrow light line across the abdomen from the middle to each hump and around the outer side of it. In front of these light lines the abdomen is generally darker, except a light spot, sometimes cross shaped, in the middle. The hinder half of the abdomen has sometimes an indistinct middle stripe. The under side of the abdomen has the usual middle dark area, with a curved yellow mark each side of it. The finger of the epigynum is usually absent, as if broken off.

$Epeira trivittata$ and $domiciliorum.$--These spiders, which may be considered varieties of one species, are among the most common Epeiridæ, at least in the northern part of the country, the smaller variety, _trivittata_, quarter of an inch long, living in small bushes and marsh grass, and the larger variety in trees and fences. The abdomen is only a little longer than wide and is proportionally smaller than in _insularis_ and _thaddeus_. The legs are long and slender, the first pair being nearly twice as long as the body. The color is most commonly light yellow, with brown markings. Sometimes the abdomen is thickly spotted with red, especially toward the latter part of the summer, and _domiciliorum_ has usually gray and even black markings. The cephalothorax has three dark stripes not very sharply defined, and the legs have brown or gray rings at the ends of the joints. The back of the abdomen has a row of light spots in the middle, sometimes united into a stripe, and on each side of this a row of dark spots nearly surrounded by lighter color. The sternum is bright yellow in the middle, and the under side of the abdomen has a dark center and two or three pairs of yellow spots.

The males are usually smaller than the females, but resemble them in color and markings. On the under side of each femur is a single row of long spines. The tibia of the second legs is curved more in the small than in the large variety and has a row of strong spines on the inner side.

The webs are made usually just before dark, and the spider stands in them more in the night than during the daytime. Sometimes they make a thread from the center of the web to the nest, but this is not a regular habit, as it is with _insularis_ (fig. 397).

Very young spiders make proportionally larger nests, often on the ends of grasses, where their round webs are destroyed every day by the wind. Some of them mature as early as June, and others, especially of the _domiciliorum_ variety, as late as August.

$Epeira pratensis.$--This is the same size and color as _Epeira trivittata_, and lives, like that species, in grass and low bushes. The cephalothorax and abdomen are both slightly longer than in _trivittata_, and the color is more uniform. The cephalothorax is dull yellow, with a middle and two lateral stripes, but these are often absent in light specimens. The legs are colored like the cephalothorax, sometimes a little darker at the ends of the joints. The abdomen has a middle dark stripe, at the sides of which are two narrow bright yellow lines, which are sometimes bordered with red. Outside of the middle stripes are six pairs of black spots partly surrounded by yellow. On the under side the sternum has a yellow stripe in the middle, and the abdomen two curved yellow marks, which may be broken into spots. In the male the body is longer and narrower than in the female and longer than the male _trivittata_, and the tibiæ of the second legs are a little thickened and curved as in _trivittata_.

$Epeira insularis$ or $marmorea.$--The adult females are half to three-quarters of an inch long, the abdomen large and oval, and bright yellow or orange color, with brown or purple markings (fig. 398). The cephalothorax is dull yellow, with slightly darker lines in the middle and at the sides. The femur and patella of all the legs are bright orange, darker toward the ends. The other joints are white, with brown ends. The light parts of the abdomen are bright yellow marked with brown. In the middle is a narrow deeply scalloped stripe, bordered by a wide yellow line, outside of which are oblique yellow and brown markings. In the middle of the stripe is a row of light spots, each connected at the sides with two others, smaller and round, forming a large figure at the anterior end. On the under side the sternum is brown and bright yellow in the middle. The abdomen is dark brown, with two semi-circular yellow spots. The males (fig. 399) are about half as long as the females. The tibiæ of the second legs are thickened, and the spines on the inner side short and stout. The coxæ of the second legs have a conical spine near the base. This spider lives in bushes three or four feet high. It makes a tent of leaves (fig. 397), in which it usually stands out of sight, holding a thread which leads to the center of the nest. Young spiders make larger tents in proportion to their size and make them entirely of silk (fig. 400). In Massachusetts and Connecticut it matures about the first of September. It is found all over the country, and is probably a variety of the European _Epeira marmorea_.

$Epeira thaddeus.$--A small species resembling the young of _insularis_, but with less distinct markings on the back. Full-grown females are about quarter of an inch in length, with the abdomen large and round (fig. 401). The colors are orange and light yellow like _insularis_. The two front pairs of legs have the femur, patella, and tibia orange, darker toward the ends. The third and fourth legs have the femur and patella orange. The other joints are white, with dark rings at the ends. The tibia of the fourth pair has a wide dark ring at the end. The abdomen is white or light yellow on the upper side, and brown underneath, the edge of the dark color coming far enough up to be seen from above, around the sides and front (fig. 401). Under the middle of the abdomen is a yellow spot just behind the epigynum (fig. 401 _a_). In some individuals there is a trace of markings on the hinder part of the abdomen, and the under side is sometimes light, so that there is a dark ring around the middle of the abdomen. This spider makes a tent near the web and lives in it like _insularis_.

$Epeira trifolium.$--This is one of the largest species of the family, measuring from half to three-quarters of an inch long, with a large round abdomen, usually of a purplish brown color, and legs strongly marked with black rings (fig. 403). The cephalothorax is white, with three wide black stripes. The legs are white, with a black ring at the end of each joint and in the middle of the fourth femur. The back of the abdomen varies in color from dark purplish brown to light gray or white, or sometimes light yellow, and the same individual will change from light color to dark. The usual markings are four white spots and a middle row of smaller spots, with several oblique rows still smaller. All trace of the usual middle stripe is wanting except in very young individuals. The under side of the abdomen is dark brown, and the usual semicircular yellow marks are absent except in the young. The males (fig. 404) are not more than half as long as the females and slender and light colored. The markings are like those of the female, but less distinct. The tibiæ of the second legs are not thickened or modified in shape as they are in the male _insularis_. _Trifolium_ makes a large web in bushes, but seldom stands in it. It has near by a tent above the web (fig. 402) made of leaves, drawn together and lined with silk, connected with the center of the web by a strong thread, and it usually remains in this tent with one foot on the thread, so that it feels when anything is caught. The spiders mature in September, when the males may sometimes be seen about the nests of the females. In October they lay their eggs and all die before winter.

$Epeira displicata.$--Large females are quarter of an inch long, but they are usually smaller. The cephalothorax and legs are brownish yellow, without markings. The abdomen is oval and light yellow or crimson, the latter color more common in the young. Sometimes there are two white lines in the middle. At the sides of the hinder half of the abdomen are three pairs of round black spots surrounded by lighter rings (fig. 405). The under side of the abdomen is a little darker than the upper side, with no distinct markings.

The male has the legs and cephalothorax darker brown than the female, and the black spots on the abdomen larger and surrounded more distinctly with white, which sometimes forms a stripe on each side. The tibiæ of the second legs are not thickened. The webs are usually small and among leaves.

$Epeira globosa$ or $triaranea.$--Length about a quarter of an inch, the male a third smaller. The abdomen is round and as wide as long, and in the female large for the size of the spider. The front half of the abdomen is nearly covered by four white, yellow, or pink spots, partly united into a rectangular figure surrounded by an irregular black line (fig. 407). The hinder half has three or four pairs of black spots. The general color is light brownish yellow. The cephalothorax has a fine middle line from the eyes to the dorsal groove and indistinct dark marks at the sides of the head. The first and second legs have slightly darker rings at the end and middle of each joint, the third and fourth pairs at the ends of the joints only. The male is marked like the female and has the tibia of the second legs slightly curved and thickened with large spines on the inner side.

This spider makes a very large tent, out of which a strong thread runs to the center of the round web (fig. 406). From the tent a loose and irregular web extends downward, sometimes covering half of the round web (fig. 406). Opposite the thread leading to the tent, a segment of the round web is left open or partly open without any sticky threads.

$Epeira labyrinthea.$--This spider makes a large irregular web in which is a tent connected by a thread with the small round web below, much as in _Epeira globosa_. The female is a fifth of an inch long. The abdomen is oval and not unusually large, as it is in _globosa_ (fig. 408). The cephalothorax is long, dark brown in the middle and lighter at the sides, and almost white in front around and behind the eyes. The legs are white, with narrow dark brown rings at the ends of the joints and wider yellow rings on patella and femur of the first and second pairs. The abdomen is marked with four long white spots in front and a dark brown middle band behind. At the sides the abdomen is light brown or yellow. On the under side the ends of the mandibles and the maxillæ are black. The sternum is black, with a white middle stripe. The abdomen has a short middle white stripe surrounded by a large dark spot, and there are several yellow spots along the sides and around the spinnerets.

The round web of this spider is not large, generally three or four inches in diameter, but the irregular part above and partly covering it may be much larger, sometimes as much as six inches across, where the shape of the surrounding plants allows it (fig. 409). One segment at the upper part of the round web is partly open, as in _globosa_ (p. 173) and Zilla (p. 185), and here a strong thread passes to the nest, which is often covered by a large spreading tent. In the last of the summer several small, flat, brown cocoons are strung together in the irregular web above the tent (fig. 410), which is then smaller and less regularly made.

$Epeira gibberosa.$--A small and light-colored species living among grass and in bushes in open fields. The adult female is from a sixth to a quarter of an inch long, and the male smaller. The cephalothorax and legs are light greenish yellow, and the abdomen gray, or light yellow covered with lighter spots and black and yellow markings (fig. 411). The abdomen is marked with two parallel lines on the hinder half and three smaller black spots in front, the latter often absent. The parallel lines are sometimes broken up into rows of spots, and these may form part of several transverse black and yellow marks. The cephalothorax has a narrow black line in the middle from the dorsal groove nearly to the eyes. The feet are black toward the claws, and the spines of the legs are long and black. The first and second femora have a longitudinal black line on the under side. The abdomen is oval, half longer than wide. The cephalothorax is high in the middle and slopes forward toward the eyes almost as steeply as backward (fig. 412). The web (fig. 413) is horizontal or inclined, with a round well-defined central portion, in the middle of which is sometimes a round opaque screen that nearly covers the spider. In the finished web there is usually no trace of the temporary spiral, but sometimes, as in the figure, a little of it is left, showing how it starts abruptly from the closer spirals that form the center of the web. The outer spirals are very fine and close together and the number of rays unusually large, sometimes as many as sixty.

$Epeira placida.$--This is a small spider, about a fifth of an inch long, with the longest legs about a quarter of an inch. The cephalothorax is high in the middle where it rests against the abdomen very much as it is in _gibberosa_ (fig. 412). The abdomen is oval, and widest behind. The legs are comparatively short and tapering, and the femora thick. The cephalothorax is brownish yellow, with three brown stripes. The legs are the same color, a little darker at the ends of the joints. The abdomen has a middle brown stripe, narrow in front and widening to the middle, from which it extends to the spinnerets, keeping about the same width, with a row of black spots on the edge at each side and a pair of white spots in the middle (fig. 414). The sides of the abdomen are white or yellow, and underneath it is brown, with two white stripes in the middle and four white spots around the spinnerets. The male is marked like the female and has no peculiar modifications of the legs. This spider matures early, sometimes before the first of June in Massachusetts, and half-grown young are found in the autumn. The web is like that of _gibberosa_, with a large, round, and close inner spiral from which, in the unfinished web, the temporary spiral starts abruptly. The web is made in low bushes and may be vertical or inclined.

$Epeira scutulata.$--A light yellow spider, a sixth to a fifth of an inch long, with the abdomen angular behind and at the sides and as wide as long (fig. 415). The cephalothorax is half as wide in front as it is behind, and the lateral eyes are as far from the middle eyes as they are from each other. The front legs are a fourth longer than the second. The general color is light yellow, the legs darker at the ends of the joints, with long black spines. The head has a few brown or red marks behind the eyes and back to the dorsal groove, but these are often entirely absent. The abdomen is lighter across the front between the two corners, and there is sometimes a distinct white transverse stripe. In front of each corner is a black spot, and there is generally a row of small black spots around the front of the abdomen, and two rows behind converging toward the spinnerets. In the hinder rows of spots the middle pair are generally longest, and sometimes these are the only pair present. The under side has no distinct markings. The epigynum is dark at the sides, and the finger is short and flat at the end and turned a little outward. The male has the legs longer, and the cephalothorax wider behind. The abdomen is not much larger than the cephalothorax and less angular than in the female. The colors are the same as in the female, some individuals being light and some dark.

$Epeira parvula.$--A common spider all over the country, with the abdomen wide in front and bluntly pointed behind, gray and brown colors and a great variety of markings. The length is quarter to three-eighths of an inch, with the abdomen two-thirds as long and as wide across the front. The abdomen is as high behind as it is in front, and the pointed end is sometimes turned a little upward, as it is in _conica_. The front of the head is narrow, not more than half as wide as the back of the thorax. The front legs are half longer than the body. The cephalothorax is gray, darker at the sides, and sometimes with a few black spots. The legs are irregularly marked with rings and spots, and the femora are dark toward the end. The abdomen is commonly gray, with a tapering scalloped middle stripe and a distinct dark middle spot and two large light spots at the front end (fig. 416). Sometimes there is a middle narrow dark stripe the whole length of the abdomen (fig. 418), and sometimes all the middle is white or light yellow. The males have the head a little narrower and more pointed, the legs longer, and the second tibia slightly thickened, but not curved. The webs are in low bushes.

$Epeira stellata.$--A brown spider, a quarter to a third of an inch long and nearly as broad, with pointed humps around the abdomen. The cephalothorax is wide in front, and the lateral eyes are on the outer sharp corners. The legs are short and usually drawn up and partly concealed under the abdomen. The abdomen has a sharp point in front that extends over the cephalothorax as far as the base of the first legs, and a large point behind, with a smaller one under it. At the sides are five pairs of points, and over the first of these another pair a little higher on the back. The cephalothorax is brown, lighter in the middle and darker at the sides, and covered with short gray hairs. The abdomen is marked with lighter and darker spots of brown, the front part generally dark with a very light middle spot, and the hinder half showing traces of the usual middle stripe of Epeira. The legs have dark rings at the ends and middle of the joints. It lives among low bushes a foot or two from the ground all over the country. This spider, as well as several other species, often leaves a web unfinished with the inner spiral still covering a large part of it, as in fig. 420.

$Epeira verrucosa.$--Common in the South and as far north as Long Island, N.Y. The body is about a quarter of an inch long. The abdomen is narrow behind but not pointed, and in front nearly as wide as long. The middle is nearly covered by a triangular light spot,--white, yellow, or pink in different spiders,--surrounded by a darker color of various shades of brown or gray. The cephalothorax is yellow or light gray, with sometimes some darker spots in the middle. The legs are colored like the thorax, with darker rings at the ends of the joints and in the middle of the first and second femora. The spines are slender and colored like the hairs. The abdomen has a prominent tubercle behind, at the end of the light spot, and under it in the middle line two others. At the sides near the posterior end are two pairs of tubercles, and sometimes two other pairs farther forward, and two at the corners of the light spot. The colors of the under side are as variable as those above,--sometimes light without distinct markings, and sometimes almost black at the sides, on the sternum, and around the spinnerets. The epigynum (fig. 422) has a slender pointed finger reaching halfway to the spinnerets.

The male (fig. 423) has the head narrower than the female, and the abdomen as small as the cephalothorax. The legs are longer and more slender, with the metatarsus of the second pair curved inward, and a long forked spine on the inside of the tibia of the same legs.

$Larinia directa.$--This resembles a much elongated _Epeira pratensis_ (p. 167). It is about as long as _pratensis_, a quarter to a third of an inch, but very slender,--not much more than a quarter as wide as long (fig. 425). The general color is yellowish but pale and translucent, marked with very distinct black spots. The spots are usually in six pairs on the abdomen, sometimes so small as to be hardly visible, sometimes so large as to be the most distinct part of the spider. In some individuals there is a row of black spots on the upper side of each leg, so that when these are drawn up over the back hardly anything is visible except the spots. In some individuals the first and third pairs of spots on the abdomen are very large and the others very small (fig. 426). The sternum is nearly twice as long as wide, with the sides of the front half parallel. It is darker at the sides. On the under side of the abdomen are two parallel dark stripes. In the male (fig. 424) the front legs are nearly three times the length of the body, but neither the first nor the second pair is curved or thickened. It is found in South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.