Fig. 94.—The six spinnerets (below) of a spider, with one spinneret enlarged (above) to show the spinning "spools" or tubes. (From Jenkins and Kellogg.) Fig. 95.—A long-legged spider, Tetragnatha sp., on its web. (From life.)

The hairy tarantulas and the trap-door spiders of similar appearance are among the most interesting of the hunting spiders. They live in vertical burrows or tunnels in the ground which are lined with silk, and which in the case of the trap-door spider are covered with a door or lid made of silk and soil. The top of this door is always covered with soil or bits of leaves or twigs so that it is nearly indistinguishable from the surface of the ground about it. When the nest is in ground covered with moss the spider covers the door with moss. The tarantulas hunt at night and rest in the burrow in the daytime. They are very large, sometimes having an expanse of legs of 6 inches.

Fig. 96.—A running spider (Lycosidæ). (From life.)

Fig. 97.—A female running spider (Lycosidæ) carrying its egg-sac about attached to its spinnerets. (From Jenkins and Kellogg.)

The common, rather large swift black spiders found under stones and boards are hunting spiders, belonging to the family Lycosidæ and are called the running spiders (fig. [96]). They live in burrows in the ground, coming out to stalk and chase their prey. The eggs are laid in globular egg-sacs which are often carried about, attached to the spinnerets, by the female (fig. [97]). The young spiderlings after hatching, in some species, climb on to the mother's back and are carried by her for some time. Other kinds of wandering or hunting spiders are the crab-spiders (Thomisidæ) (fig. [98]), which run sidewise or backward as well as forward, and the black and red, fierce-eyed stout-bodied little jumping spiders (Attidæ) (fig. [99]), which leap on their prey.

Fig. 98.—A crab-spider (Thomisidæ). (From Jenkins and Kellogg.) Fig. 99.—A jumping spider (Attidæ). (From Jenkins and Kellogg.)