TREE TRAP-DOOR SPIDER OF BRAZIL.
Trap-door spiders are plentiful in some parts of Europe, but there is only one British representative of the family.
The Whip-scorpions are not unlike scorpions, and have large claws, but the front legs are very long, slender, and whip-like, and there is either no tail, or else a long, slender, whip-like one without a sting. They are inhabitants of warm countries, and, rightly or wrongly, are reputed to be venomous. Different species measure from 1 inch to 4 or 5 inches in length.
The curious Harvest-men have two eyes, a small, compact, oval body, large pincers, and very long, slender legs, longer and more slender in proportion to their size than those of crane-flies, and equally liable to be broken off, if the owner is roughly handled. They feed on plant-lice and other small insects.
We now come to the large and important group of Spiders, which more frequently attract attention in England than any others of the group. The abdomen is not usually divided into distinct segments, and is connected with the thorax by a short stalk. Spiders have strong, poisonous jaws, which make some of the larger species formidable even to man, and several pairs of eyes; while many possess an apparatus for spinning a strong silken web, in which they entangle their prey, consisting in England chiefly of flies and other winged insects.
Photo by Highley.
HOUSE-SPIDER.
Exhibits the four pairs of legs characteristic of the group.
The largest known spiders are usually placed first in the series. These are the great Bird-catching Spiders of South America, some of which have bodies 3 inches long, and strong, hairy legs. These large spiders have now been proved not only to feed on insects, but occasionally on humming-birds, and even sometimes on larger birds, such as finches.