It lives under stones and among rocks, in webs like those of tepidariorum, often containing grains of sand which look as if placed there by the spider, as sand falling into such a web would go through without sticking to the threads.

Theridium globosum.—This is another species with a high abdomen like tepidariorum. It is about a twelfth of an inch long and almost as high [(fig. 262)]. The abdomen is a little flattened behind and pointed toward the spinnerets. The hinder part is white, with a large black spot in the middle, below which is sometimes a smaller black spot. Sometimes there is a bright white line around the light area. The front upper part of the abdomen is yellowish gray, and the under part brown. The cephalothorax is orange brown, except a black spot between the eyes. The legs are orange brown.

Theridium differens.—Female about one-eighth of an inch long, and the male smaller. The abdomen is round, and the middle stripe often very brightly colored, with white or yellow at the edges and red in the middle [(fig. 264)]. The rest of the abdomen is reddish brown, darkest next to the white edge of the stripe. There are no distinct marks on the under side. In males the stripe on the abdomen is obscure, and the whole abdomen dark reddish brown [(fig. 265)]. Sometimes, especially in young spiders, the abdomen is entirely yellow, with indistinct brown markings. The cephalothorax is orange brown, often darker in the middle, but with no distinct stripe. The legs and palpi are yellow in females and orange brown in males, slightly darker at the ends of the joints. The epigynum has no openings in sight. They are on the inner side in the transverse fold across the abdomen. The palpal organ [(fig. 266)] has two appendages at the end, one hard and roughened and the other soft. The web is on low plants of all kinds, usually two or three feet from the ground [(fig. 263)]. There is sometimes a small tent, often hardly deep enough to cover the spider, from which the web spreads two or three inches, according to the shape of the plant. The cocoons of eggs are white and nearly as large as the spider, and are attached in the nest.