See [Transcriber's Notes] at end of index.

The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.

THE
COMMON SPIDERS
OF THE
UNITED STATES

By JAMES H. EMERTON

Boston, U.S.A., and London

GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS

The Athenæum Press

Entered at Stationers' Hall

Copyright, 1902, by

JAMES H. EMERTON

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

24.12

[PREFACE]

There are few books on the American spiders, and these are either large and expensive works or else special papers published by scientific societies, and so little known to the public. Since publishing my papers on the New England and Canadian spiders in the Transactions of the Connecticut Academy from 1882 to 1894, I have had frequent calls for a smaller and simpler book to meet the wants of readers who, without making a special study of the subject, want to know a little about spiders in general and especially those species that they often meet with. It is hoped this book will answer the purpose and help to lessen the prejudice against spiders, and lead to a more general acquaintance with them, like the popular knowledge of birds and butterflies. The characters used in the descriptions are, as far as possible, those that can be seen without microscopic examination and without much experience in the handling of small animals. The illustrations, which show the form and markings of every species, are from my own drawings and photographs, a large part of them made new for this book.

J. H. EMERTON.

April, 1902.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

This book is designed to make the reader acquainted with the common spiders most likely to be found over a large part of the United States as far south as Georgia and as far west as the Rocky Mountains. Local collections show that in the neighborhood of any city in the country there are at least three or four hundred species of spiders; but few such collections have been made, and it is not yet possible to tell all the kinds of spiders that live in any particular place, or how far any species extends over the country. The species which are here described and figured are all of them well known and have been described in other books. Rare and doubtful species are omitted, though some of these may in time prove to be among the most common. A large number of spiders are too small to be easily seen, and most of these are omitted, only a few representative species being described. Spiders have, unfortunately, no common names, except such indefinite ones as "the garden spider," "the black spider," "the jumping spider," and the like. Even "tarantula" has become only a nickname for any large spider. The names of spiders, like those of other animals, have been given to them independently by different persons, so that many of them have more than one name, and the more common the spider the larger the number of names. In this book only one name is usually given to each species, and the name used is one that has been published with a description of the species in some other well-known book. Readers who are interested in the names of species and in comparing the classifications of different naturalists are referred to a "Catalogue of the Described Araneæ Of Temperate North America," by George Marx, in the Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 1890, which is a useful index to what has been published on American spiders.

The front half of a spider's body, called the cephalothorax, contains in one piece the head and thorax, the only outward division between them being shallow grooves from the middle of the back to the front legs. In the middle of the cephalothorax is usually a groove or depression, under which, inside, is a muscle that moves the sucking apparatus by which food is drawn into the mouth. At the sides of the thoracic part are four pairs of legs, and on the head part are a pair of palpi and a pair of mandibles. The legs have seven joints: (1) the coxa, the thick basal joint, having little motion; (2) the trochanter, a short joint moving very freely on the end of the coxa; (3) the femur, the largest joint of the leg, moving with the trochanter in all directions; (4) the patella, moving up and down on the end of the femur; (5) the tibia, joined closely to the patella and moving with it up and down; (6) the metatarsus; and (7) the tarsus, moving together on the end of the tibia. The palpi are like small legs and have one less joint than the walking legs. The mandibles are close together at the front of the head [(fig. 2)]. They are two-jointed, the basal joint stout and the end joint or claw slender and sharp-pointed. The claw has near its point a small hole, which is the outlet of the poison gland. The poison kills or disables the insects which are captured by the spider. Its effect on the human skin varies in different persons; sometimes it has no effect at all; oftener it causes some soreness and itching like the stings of mosquitoes and bees, and cases have been known in which it caused serious inflammation which lasted a long time. Spiders seldom bite, and only in defense, the bites so commonly charged to them being often the work of other animals.

On the front of the head are the eyes, usually eight in number, differing in size and arrangement according to the kind of spider. The sight of spiders is distinct for only short distances. Spiders of middle size can see each other, and the insects which they eat, at a distance of four or five inches, but beyond that do not seem to see anything clearly. At the ends of the feet are two claws, curved and with teeth along the inner edge, and in many spiders there is a third shorter claw between them [(fig. 212)]. The claws are sometimes surrounded by a brush of flattened hairs (figs. [104], [114]). The basal joints of the palpi are flattened and have their inner edges extended forward so that they can be used as jaws to press or chew the food. These are called the maxillæ. Between the maxillæ is a small piece called the labium, and between the legs is a larger oval piece called the sternum.

The hinder half of the body, the abdomen, is connected with the cephalothorax by a narrow stem [(fig. 1)]. It has at the hinder end the spinnerets, three pairs of appendages having at their ends a great number of microscopic tubes through which the thread is drawn out. When not in use the spinnerets are folded together, so that the smaller inner pair are concealed.

The thread of spiders resembles that spun by caterpillars in making their cocoons, and can be manufactured in the same way into silk cloth. The spider's thread is composed of a great number of finer threads passing from the body through separate tubes and uniting into one before they have time to dry. This can be seen by examining the attachments of spiders' threads to glass. All the spinning tubes are not alike, but on certain parts of the spinnerets are larger or differently shaped tubes, and these are the outlets of glands of different kinds in the spider's abdomen, and are used in making different kinds of threads for certain parts of the webs, nests, or cocoons.

In front of the spinnerets on the under side is a small opening to the tracheæ, or air-tubes [(fig. 1)]. At the front of the abdomen on the under side is a transverse fold of the skin, at the ends of which are the openings of the air-sacs or lungs, and between them the opening of the reproductive organs [(fig. 1)]. The latter is covered in females by an apparatus, sometimes large and complicated, called the epigynum. Its presence shows that the female is full grown. Young spiders do not have it. Male spiders have the ends of the palpi enlarged, and under the terminal joint what is known as the palpal organ, sometimes very complicated in shape. The presence of these organs shows that the male is full grown. Young males that have nearly reached maturity have the ends of the palpi simply enlarged. Male spiders almost always have the body smaller and the legs longer than females of the same species.

The colors of spiders are partly in the skin itself and partly in the hairs and scales that cover it. Almost all spiders are covered with hair of some kind, but in some species it is so fine and short that it has little effect on the color. In others the skin is entirely covered with hairs of various lengths and sometimes with scales somewhat like those of butterflies, flattened and feathered or toothed on the edges. The colors of spiders are very varied, and in many species, especially of the jumping spiders, as brilliant as those of butterflies. The most common colors are grays and browns, resembling the ground or plants and stones among which the spiders live. Sometimes the color is uniform all over the body, except that it is a little darker toward the head and the ends of the feet. The most common marking is a spot on the front of the abdomen over the spider's heart, sometimes merely a translucent part of the skin and sometimes a definite color spot darker in the middle and outlined with a lighter shade or white. The hinder half of the abdomen is often marked with several pairs of spots, becoming smaller toward the end, and these spots may be united into a pair of stripes or a more complicated pattern. (See figures.) The legs are often marked with rings of color, almost always at the ends of the joints. Besides these common markings there are in some spiders strong contrasts of color, such as bright red or yellow spots on a black ground. In the males, especially among the Attidæ, there are often shining scales that reflect different colors in a bright light, and tufts of black or white hairs about the head and front legs.

Spiders live in all kinds of places. Certain species are attached to houses and seldom found far from them, and many of these occur over a large part of the world. The light webs in the corners of rooms are chiefly the work of Theridium tepidariorum (p. [112]), occasionally of Steatoda borealis (p. [119]) and Steatoda triangulosa (p. [121]). In cellars the thin webs about the stairs and shelves are those of the long-legged Pholcus phalangioides (p. [129]) or of Linyphia nebulosa or minuta (pp. [144], [145]), and the thick flat webs in corners and between the beams are those of Tegenaria derhamii (p. [96]). On the outside of houses live two jumping spiders, the most common being Epiblemum scenicum (p. [60]), a small gray species the color of weathered wood, and the other, Marptusa familiaris (p. [61]). Some of the round-web spiders live in great numbers about houses. The three brown species, Epeira sclopetaria (p. [160]), patagiata, and strix, hide in cracks and at night make their round webs in porches, barns, and bridges. In the northern part of the country Epeira cinerea (p. [165]) has the same habit. Epeira globosa (p. [174]) is often found on the outside of houses, and so are Zilla atrica and Zilla x-notata (p. [185]). Amaurobius ferox (p. [215]), a large imported species, is sometimes found in cellars, and several Dictyna (p. [206]) live in great numbers on the outside of houses, in corners of windows, under the edges of shingles, or in cracks of walls, spreading their webs wherever there is room for them and gathering dust so that they often make a distinct spot on the wall. In the southern states Filistata hibernalis (p. [220]) is one of the most common spiders about houses. Its webs often make a round spot of dust a foot or more in diameter. Stones and sticks lying on the ground furnish shelter for a great number of spiders. Steatoda borealis (p. [119]), marmorata (p. [121]), and guttata (p. [120]) and Asagena americana (p. [122]) are found in such places, and so, especially in the South, is Latrodectus mactans (p. [122]). The large jumping spiders, Phidippus mystaceus (p. [50]) and tripunctatus (p. [51]), make large nests of white silk under stones near the ground. The ground spiders, Drassus saccatus (p. [6]), Gnaphosa conspersa (p. [2]), and Prosthesima atra (p. [5]), run on the ground and hide under stones. Lycosa nidicola (p. [69]), Lycosa communis (p. [75]), Lycosa pratensis (p. [69]), polita (p. [70]), and cinerea (p. [74]) are often found under shelters of this kind. The crab spiders of the genus Xysticus live under stones, but oftener under bark farther from the ground.

In the summer, plants of all kinds from grass to trees are full of spiders. The Lycosas (pp. [68 to 84])run among the short grass. The small species of Linyphia (p. [134]) and Erigone (p. [148]) make their flat webs close to the ground among small plants. Linyphia marginata, communis, coccinea, and phrygiana make theirs among plants and rocks, a foot or two above the ground. The Theridiums (p. [110]) live between leaves and on the ends of twigs, covering them with webs that only show when the dew is on them. Agalena nævia (pp. [91 to 95]) makes its flat webs on the grass and anywhere else where it can find a place to fasten them. The jumping spiders (p. [41]) run about for their prey on plants, and some of them have silk nests among the leaves. The Misumenas (p. [25]) live among flowers and wait for insects to alight within reach. The webs of Dictyna (p. [206]) are commonest on the ends of grass and twigs, and are known by the dust that they gather. The round-web spiders mature in the middle of the summer, and then Epeira trivittata (p. [166]) is found on all kinds of bushes and grass, and later Epeira insularis (p. [169]) and Epeira trifolium (p. [171]) in hidden nests near their webs. Epeira angulata, sylvatica, and nordmanni (p. [162]) live among bushes and trees. Cyclosa conica (p. [183]), Acrosoma spinea (p. [190]), and Uloborus (p. [216]) live among low bushes in openings of the woods. Hyptiotes (p. [218]) lives among the lower dead branches of pines, perching on the end of a twig which it exactly matches in color.

The marshes are the home of great numbers of spiders. The Tetragnathas (p. [198]) live there, especially along the streams and ditches. Epeira gibberosa (p. [175]) and placida (p. [176]) make their horizontal and oblique webs among the tall grass in open places. The two species of Argiope (pp. [193 to 198]) swarm in marshes and open fields and in autumn become conspicuous by their size and bright colors, and when they disappear leave over winter their brown cocoons (pp. [197], [200]) fastened to the grass.

The moss and dead leaves in the woods are alive with spiders; even in summer some species always live there, and in winter the young of those that in warm weather live among the bushes find shelter where they can remain torpid through the cold season without freezing.

The eggs of spiders are covered with silk, forming a cocoon which varies much in shape and color in different species. Some spiders hang it in the web, others attach it to plants or stones, and others carry it about with them either in the mandibles or attached behind to the spinnerets. The young remain in the cocoon until they are able to run about, and after coming out of the cocoon keep together for a short time, sometimes in a web which they make in common, sometimes in a nest made by the mother, and in some species on the mother's back, but they soon scatter and hunt their own food or make cobwebs, according to the habits of the species.

Different kinds of spiders mature and breed at different times of the year, most of them living only one season. Those that mature late, like Agalena nævia and Argiope, pass the winter as eggs, while those that mature early, like Epeira sclopetaria and Lycosa nidicola, pass the winter half grown. Some species, like Theridium tepidariorum (p. [112]), breed several times in the year, and old and young are found at all seasons.

The spiders are naturally divided into two groups of families: (1) the hunting spiders, which run on the ground or on plants, catching insects wherever they find them, or waiting among leaves and flowers until insects come within their reach; (2) the cobweb spiders, which make webs to catch insects and live all the time in the web or in a nest near it.

The hunting spiders include: (1) the Dysderidæ (p. [22]), a few species with six eyes only and with four breathing holes at the front end of the abdomen; (2) the Drassidæ (p. [1]), or ground spiders, which live among stones and dead leaves or among plants, making tubular nests and flat egg cocoons but no cobwebs; (3) the Thomisidæ (p. [24]), the flat and crab-like spiders living on plants or under bark and stones; (4) the Attidæ (p. [41]), the jumping spiders, with wide heads and large front eyes, many of them brightly colored and active in their habits; (5) the Lycosidæ (p. [67]), the long-legged running spiders, living on the ground and, a few of them, in holes and carrying about their round egg cocoons attached to the spinnerets.

The cobweb spiders include: (1) the Agalenidæ (p. [91], making flat webs on grass or in corners of houses, with a tube at one side in which the spider lives; (2) the Therididæ (p. [107]), round spiders with flat or irregular webs in corners and on plants; (3) the Linyphiadæ (p. [134]), with flat webs, small spiders of a great number of species living near the ground and in shady places; (4) the Epeiridæ (p. [154]), the round web spiders; (5) the Cribellata, having a calamistrum (see p. [205]) on the hind legs and making rough webs that gather dust.

Cobwebs are of four principal kinds:

1. The flat webs, closely woven of long threads crossed by finer ones in all directions and connected with a tubular nest where the spider hides, and from which it runs out on the upper side of the web after insects that may fall upon it. These are made by Agalena and Tegenaria (pp. [91 to 104]).

2. The net-like webs, made of smooth threads in large meshes, sometimes in a flat or curved sheet held out by threads in all directions. The spider lives on the under side, back downward. These are made by Therididæ and Linyphiadæ (pp. [107], [134]).

3. The round webs, made of threads radiating from a common center and crossed by circular loops and spirals, part of which are adhesive.

4. The webs of the Ciniflonidæ, composed in part of loose bands of silk (p. [205]).

The simplest and best way to preserve spiders for examination is to put them in alcohol. It kills them immediately and keeps their form and markings and, to a great extent, their colors. They may be kept alive for a few days in glass bottles or jars. It is not necessary to make holes in the covers, or to feed the spiders often. They need water, and this can be furnished them conveniently by putting a piece of wet paper or rag in the bottle.

If one wishes to find what spiders live in his neighborhood, they must be looked for at all times and in all kinds of places. The house and cellar should be looked over and the spiders watched until they are fully grown. The outside of the house and fences should be looked over occasionally in the same way, only those spiders being taken that are full grown, unless they are of new or rare kinds. A great many spiders may be found on the garden fences of a shady street, especially in the early summer and again in the autumn. At both seasons they are more active in the middle of the day and more likely then to be wandering about. The writer always carries two small bottles, one a common homeopathic medicine vial, holding one or two drams and half full of alcohol, the other a straight tube vial, without any neck and about the same size, that is kept always dry and occasionally wiped out to remove the threads that are made in it. The dry bottle is placed quickly over the spider and moved about until the spider is coaxed to go into it. The bottle is then turned up and closed with a finger until the other bottle can be uncorked and the spider shaken into the alcohol. In the fields and along the country roads the stones and sticks that have been lying for some time on the ground should be carefully lifted and searched, both on the under surface and on the ground below. The stones and sticks should be turned back into the same places so that other spiders may find at once comfortable places to hide under. If they are dropped on new ground, it may be a year before they are fit to use again. Among trees and shrubs the best things are to be found by moving slowly about and watching for spiders, nests, and cobwebs without disturbing them. The webs can be best seen when moving toward the light. The greatest number of spiders can usually be found along paths and the edges of woods, and paths through the woods are the best places for many ground spiders.

Spiders should be looked for in the same way in grass, by creeping along on the ground or by sitting down and watching until something walks into view; or the grass and weeds may be swept with a cotton bag, fastened on a hoop like a dip net, with a short handle, and the spiders picked out with a dry bottle from among the leaves and insects that will be gathered with them. Bushes may be swept in the same way, or may be shaken over an open umbrella, or a piece of cloth or paper. In winter, when spiders are torpid, great numbers can be found by sifting the dead leaves that have been lying for some years in the woods. A common coal sieve is fine enough to hold the leaves while the spiders and sticks and dirt pass through, and may be picked over on a cloth or carried home in a bag and examined in the house. The sifting should be repeated several times, as many of the spiders hold to threads among the leaves and become loosened only after much shaking.

In the following pages a general description is given of each family, followed by descriptions of the species belonging to it, with a figure of each species placed as near as possible to the description. In some cases, where the genera are large and well defined, separate descriptions are given of each genus, but where the genus is not easy to distinguish or represented by only a few species, there is no separate generic description, and the species are placed next to those of other genera to which they are most closely related. If the names of spiders are known, they can readily be found by the index at the end of the book. If information is sought about an unknown spider, the illustrations through the book furnish the most convenient index, as the general form and proportions of spiders and the arrangement of their eyes usually show to what family they belong. The ground spiders and those without cobwebs are described first, and the sedentary species living in webs in the last half of the book. Readers unfamiliar with the subject are advised to read first the descriptions of the families and compare with them the spiders that they find in their own neighborhoods. The figures are in most cases enlarged for the sake of distinctness, and spiders of much smaller size must be looked for.

THE COMMON SPIDERS

THE DRASSIDÆ

The Drassidæ, like the Lycosidæ (p. [67]), are ground spiders, though some genera, like Anyphæna (p. [12]) and Clubiona (p. [15]), are equally common in summer on bushes. They make nests in the form of a bag or flattened tube, but no cobwebs for catching insects, and are commonly found running about among dead leaves and short grass and sometimes even on bare ground and sand. In form they are usually two or three times as long as they are wide, like the Lycosidæ (p. [67]), but more often flattened on the back. The legs differ but little in length, and the first and second pairs are directed forward, the third and fourth backward. Their hairs and spines are short, giving them a smooth, velvet-like appearance. The feet have two claws, with a brush of flattened hairs under them, like the Thomisidæ and Attidæ (p. [41]), but unlike the Lycosidæ (p. [67]), which have three claws. The mandibles are large and strong and are together as wide as the head. The eyes are all about the same size and arranged in two rows of about the same length and not far apart, but between different species there are slight differences in their arrangement. The colors are usually dull gray, brown, and black, with few markings or none. A few species are very brightly marked, as in Micaria (p. [9]) and Pœilochroa (p. [4]).

There are three groups among the Drassidæ:

1. Prosthesima, Gnaphosa, Pœcilochroa, Pythonissa, and Drassus, which are generally dark in color and flattened above, with the cephalothorax narrow in front and the eyes covering about half the width of the head and differing in their relative positions among the different genera. The labium is long and the maxillæ slightly widened at the end, or with the outer corners rounded off and sometimes a crease or depression in the middle. The joints of the first legs are sometimes thickened in the middle. The lower spinnerets are longer than the others and flat on the end.

2. Micaria, Geotrecha, Phrurolithus, Agrœca, and Anyphæna, in which the body is less flattened, the legs longer, and the movements quicker. The colors are lighter and more varied. The labium is short and the maxillæ with straight sides.

3. Clubiona, Chiracanthium, and Trachelas, in which the colors are plain and light, the eyes spread over more than half the front of the head and close to its front edge. The labium is as long as it is in Drassus, but contracted at the base. The maxillæ are narrow in the middle and flat and wide at the ends.

Gnaphosa conspersa.—Half an inch long and rusty black in color. In alcohol the legs and cephalothorax are dark reddish brown and the abdomen gray. The whole body is covered with fine black hairs. The cephalothorax and abdomen are about the same size and a little flattened. The legs are stout and all nearly the same length. The upper row of eyes is nearly straight and the lateral eyes much farther from the middle pair than these are from each other [(fig. 3)]. The middle eyes are oval and oblique, diverging toward the front. The maxillæ are large, and rounded on the outer corners. The mandibles are large and strong, with a wide, flat, serrated tooth [(fig. 5)] under the claw. The cocoon is white and flat, with a diameter as great as the length of the spider. The female, as far as I have observed, makes no nest, but partly lines with silk a shallow hole, in which she nurses her cocoon. It lives under stones and leaves as far north as the White Mountains and west to the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, and on the Pacific coast in Oregon. A smaller and similar species, Gnaphosa brumalis, lives on the top of Mount Washington and as far north as Labrador.

Pythonissa imbecilla.—About quarter of an inch long, bright orange brown on the cephalothorax and legs and blue black on the abdomen, with a few white hairs around the muscular spots. The legs are covered with fine long hairs a little darker in color than the skin. The cephalothorax is wide behind and more narrowed in front than in Gnaphosa. The eyes [(fig. 6)] are close together, and the lateral eyes of both rows are larger than the middle pairs and a little farther back on the head. The maxillæ [(fig. 8)] are short and wide, and bent toward each other so that they nearly meet in front of the labium. The front edges are nearly straight and the outer corners only slightly rounded. The sternum is wide and almost circular. The tarsus of the female palpi tapers from the base to the tip.

Pœcilochroa variegata.—This is one of the most brightly colored of the family. The cephalothorax is bright orange, a little darker toward the eyes. The abdomen is black, with three transverse white stripes and a T-shaped white mark between the first and second stripes. On the front of the abdomen the white stripes are sometimes tinged with orange. The femora of the first and second legs are black. The distal end of the femur and both ends of the tibia of the fourth legs are black. Other parts of the legs are orange-colored. The female is quarter of an inch long. The cephalothorax is narrower than in Prosthesima atra and Gnaphosa conspersa, and the sternum longer and narrower. The maxillæ [(fig. 10)] are long and widened at the outer corners. The two rows of eyes [(fig. 9)] are almost straight, the upper one longer than the lower.

Pœcilochroa bilineata.—A little smaller than P. variegata, but with the abdomen longer. Cephalothorax and abdomen both white at the sides and in the middle, with two black stripes from the eyes nearly to the spinnerets. The abdomen is covered with long hairs, black in the stripes and silvery white in the light portions. The legs are gray, with white hairs. The under side is light gray, with two black stripes at the sides of the abdomen that do not quite reach the spinnerets. The spinnerets are unusually long. The eyes are arranged as in variegata, the middle eyes being even more distinctly farther apart than they are from the lateral eyes.

Prosthesima atra.—Black, and less than a third of an inch long. It may be mistaken for a small Gnaphosa conspersa, but, besides the small size, the abdomen is usually longer in proportion and the head is narrower than in Gnaphosa. The color is usually a deeper black and less likely to be gray in the young and rusty in the old, but the feet and under side of the abdomen are sometimes yellowish in the young. The eyes [(fig. 14)] are closer together and the two rows more nearly of the same length. In alcohol the cephalothorax and legs are blacker than in Gnaphosa and less brown. The maxillæ [(fig. 15)] are a little longer and less rounded at the outer corners than in Gnaphosa or Pythonissa. The mandibles [(fig. 15)] are without the large teeth under the claw that Gnaphosa and Pythonissa have, and they are turned forward more than in those genera. It lives on the ground and under stones. The cocoon is white or pink, attached by the under surface, with the upper side convex and thickened in the middle, sometimes with a little dirt attached to it.

Prosthesima ecclesiastica.—Black, with white markings along the middle of the back. One-third of an inch long, a little larger than P. atra and smaller than Gnaphosa conspersa. The cephalothorax is proportionally longer and narrower and the sternum narrower and less round than in P. atra [(fig. 18)]. The cephalothorax is dull black at the sides, with a whitish stripe in the middle. The legs are also dull black and, like the cephalothorax, turn brown in alcohol. The abdomen is black, with a bright white stripe in the middle that extends from the front end about two-thirds its length; and at the hinder end, just over the spinnerets, is another white mark [(fig. 17)]. The under side of the abdomen is dark at the sides and light in the middle. The eyes and maxillæ are as in P. atra, the maxillæ a little less rounded at the ends.

Drassus saccatus.—Four-fifths of an inch long, and pale, without markings. The head is shorter and wider than in Gnaphosa conspersa and Prosthesima atra, and the eyes cover a larger part of the head. Both rows of eyes (figs. [2], [19]) are curved, with the middle highest. The middle upper pair are oval and turned apart toward the front. The lateral eyes are twice their diameter from the middle pair. The maxillæ [(fig. 1)] are widened at the ends on both sides. The labium is as wide as it is long, narrowed toward the end but truncated at the tip. The color is light gray, with short fine hairs all over the body. The front of the head, the feet, and the mandibles and maxillæ are darker and browner. The abdomen is marked only with the usual four muscular spots and sometimes a few transverse dark markings toward the hinder end. The legs are long and tapering in both sexes. The male is smaller and more slender than the female, and the male palpi are long, with the end very little enlarged. They live under stones, and make a large transparent bag of silk in which the female makes her cocoon of eggs, and stays with it until the young come out. Early in the summer a male and female often live together in the nest, even before the female is mature.

Geotrecha crocata.—Black, with the ends of the legs light yellow and a bright red spot on the end of the abdomen. It is about a third of an inch long. The legs are slender and the body is not at all flattened. The cephalothorax is two-thirds as wide as long, oval behind and narrowed in front of the legs, where the sides of the head are nearly parallel. The abdomen is oval and nearly twice as long as wide. The spinnerets are so far under the body that they show but little from above. At the front end of the abdomen is a spot larger below than above, where the skin is thicker and harder and browner in color than the rest. The cephalothorax is dark brown or black, as are also the femora of all the legs and of the palpi. The ends of the third and fourth legs are a lighter brown and the ends of the first and second legs and palpi light yellow. The abdomen is deep black except a bright red spot at the hinder end, which varies in size, is sometimes broken into several spots, or is sometimes wanting altogether. The eyes [(fig. 20)] are near together, the upper row curved down at the ends. The maxillæ are straight, with the sides nearly parallel, and the labium is shorter than wide. The males are usually smaller than the females and have the red spot larger. These spiders live among stones in dry open places. They are easily alarmed and move very rapidly. The flat, parchment-like cocoons found on stones are probably made by this species.

Geotrecha bivittata.—The same size as G. crocata but much lighter colored, and with two white stripes across the abdomen [(fig. 23)]. The cephalothorax is a little narrower behind than it is in crocata. Its color varies from orange to dark brown. The femora of all the legs are striped lengthwise with brown and yellow. The hind legs are brown, with a little yellow on the upper side of the patella and tibia. The other legs are yellow, sometimes with brown stripes on the under side. The white marks on the abdomen extend underneath halfway to the middle line. The sternum and under side are light brown. It lives under leaves at all seasons.

Micaria longipes or aurata.—A quarter of an inch long or less, and resembling an ant both in size and color [(fig. 28)]. The cephalothorax is twice as long as wide, and only a little widened in the middle. It is highest in the middle, curving downward at both ends. The front row of eyes [(fig. 25)] is nearly straight and the upper row curved, with the middle eyes highest and the eyes all farther apart than in the lower row. The abdomen is one-half longer than the cephalothorax and about as wide, blunt at both ends and drawn in a little at the sides and above at a point a third of its length from the front. The legs are long and slender, the fourth pair longest. The colors are light yellow brown, with gray hairs and scales which on the abdomen have green and red metallic reflections. The legs are darker from before backward, the front pair all light yellow except the femur, and the third and fourth pairs with longitudinal brown stripes that nearly cover the tarsal joints. The abdomen has a pair of transverse white stripes near the constricted part and another pair less distinct at the front end. The under side is as dark as the upper. The white markings extend underneath halfway to the middle line. The maxillæ are nearly straight on the outer edge and a little widened toward each other at the ends. The labium is narrowed at the end and a little longer than wide [(fig. 26)].

There is an orange-colored Micaria from Long Island, N.Y., and farther south (probably what is described by Hentz under the name Herpyllus auratus), that seems to belong to this species [(fig. 27)]. Its size and markings are the same, and the epigynum is like that of longipes. The cephalothorax, abdomen, and femora of all the legs are bright orange color, with brilliant yellow and green reflections. The spinnerets are black, and there are five or six transverse black marks on the hinder half of the abdomen and some irregular black spots around the white bands.

Phrurolithus alarius.—A small and very active spider marked with gray and white and having on the abdomen iridescent green scales [(fig. 31)]. The cephalothorax is nearly as wide behind as it is long. The head is about half as wide as the thorax. The eyes [(fig. 30)] are large for so small a spider, and cover more than half the width of the head. The middle eyes of the upper row are oval and turned obliquely, diverging toward the front. The labium is short and the maxillæ straight, as in Agrœca and Anyphæna, but wider at the base [(fig. 32)]. The legs are long and slender, except the tibia and metatarsus of the first and second pairs, which are twice as thick as the same joints of the other legs and have on the under side two rows of strong spines [(fig. 29)]. The cephalothorax is light yellowish, with a black line on the edge each side, and two light gray stripes. The abdomen is gray, with transverse white markings that vary greatly in size and shape in different individuals. The abdomen is covered with scales that change from grayish green to pink with the motions of the spider. The legs are pale, except the patella and tibia of the first pair, which are black or dark gray, with the tip of the tibia white. The tibia and patella of the second pair are marked with lighter gray in the same way. It lives among stones in open ground, and runs short distances with great swiftness. When still it lies close to a stone, with the tibiæ drawn up over the back.

Agrœca pratensis.—A little light-colored spider, resembling the next species, Anyphæna incerta. It is about a fifth of an inch long. The cephalothorax is wide behind and low in front and highest near the dorsal groove. The head is contracted in front of the legs more than it is in incerta. The front row of eyes is nearly straight, the middle pair only a little the higher [(fig. 33)]. The upper row is longer and more curved, with all the eyes about the same distance apart, the middle pair not so much separated as in incerta. The abdomen is widest behind, but not as wide as in incerta. The spinnerets are two-jointed, as in Anyphæna. The legs are long, the fourth pair longest, and are a little thicker than those of incerta. The coxæ of the hind legs almost touch, and the sternum is short and nearly round [(fig. 36)]. The labium is short and the maxillæ straight, as in Anyphæna. The cephalothorax, legs, and mouth parts are light brownish yellow. The cephalothorax has a fine dark line on each side and two broken longitudinal stripes made up of gray marks radiating from the dorsal groove. The abdomen has two rows of gray oblique markings on a light ground. The general appearance is like a small Lycosa. It lives among leaves and short grass. There is little difference between male and female.

Anyphæna incerta.—About a fifth of an inch long, light yellow, with gray markings. The cephalothorax is three-quarters as wide as long, rounded at the sides and highest in the middle. The front of the head is very low, so that the eyes nearly touch the mandibles. The front row of eyes is nearly straight. The upper row is longer and more curved, with the middle eyes highest and farthest apart [(fig. 39)]. The abdomen is large in the female, widest behind the middle, and a little pointed behind. The labium is not longer than wide, and the maxillæ are straight, with the sides parallel. The sternum is oval, not so short and wide as in pratensis. The opening of the air-tubes is halfway between the epigynum and spinnerets [(fig. 38)], instead of just in front of the spinnerets, as it is in most spiders. The spinnerets are two-jointed. The legs are slender and tapering, the fourth longest in females and the first in males. The cephalothorax has two longitudinal broken gray bands. The abdomen has a double row of spots in the middle and oblique rows of smaller spots each side. The oblique lines of spots extend under the abdomen halfway to the middle.

Anyphæna calcarata.—The same size and color as A. incerta, with longer legs. The markings are the same in both species. The plainest difference between the females is in the epigynum, the hard and dark parts of which are larger and longer in incerta. Another slight difference is in the shape of the sternum, which in calcarata extends farther between the hind legs [(fig. 42)]. In incerta it is more pointed at the hinder end and shorter [(fig. 38)]. The difference between the length of the legs in the two species, which is slight in the females, is greater in the males, the legs of calcarata being the longer. The palpi of the males differ considerably. In incerta [(fig.37)] the tibia of the palpus has a large process on the outer side close to the tarsus and extending along its edge a third of its length. In calcarata [(fig. 43)] the corresponding process is small and does not lap over the tarsus. The coxæ of the third and fourth legs of the male calcarata have little processes on the under side [(fig. 42)], one on the fourth and two on the third. These do not occur in incerta. It lives on plants like saltabunda (p. [14]).

Anyphæna rubra.—Larger than the other species, with the legs shorter. The female is about a third of an inch long, with the abdomen longer and narrower than in incerta or saltabunda. The opening of the air-tubes [(fig. 45)] is farther forward than usual, twice as far from the spinnerets as from the epigynum. The legs are comparatively short, the longest, the fourth, being about as long as the body. The maxillæ are a little widened at the end. The sternum is widest at the second legs and narrows to a point behind. The head is a little wider than usual, and the whole appearance more like Clubiona than the other species. The color is the usual pale yellow, a little brownish on the head and legs, and with two longitudinal stripes on the cephalothorax. The abdomen is nearly white, with two stripes made up of gray spots, and scattered spots at the sides. The spots turn red in alcohol.

Anyphæna saltabunda.—A pale short spider, with long and slender legs [(fig. 46)]. The body is an eighth to a sixth of an inch long. The abdomen is oval, two-thirds as wide as long, and nearly as high as it is wide. The cephalothorax is three-fourths as wide as long, widest across the dorsal groove and narrowing gradually to half as wide in front. The eyes of the upper row are twice as large as those of the front row. The first legs are longest in both sexes, measuring in the female over twice the length of the body and in the males three times. The spines are very long on the legs and palpi but only a little darker in color. The general color is pale yellow or white, with two broken gray stripes on the cephalothorax and two middle and several lateral rows of light gray spots on the abdomen. The spinnerets are slender and two-jointed. The opening of the air-tubes is halfway between the spinnerets and the epigynum. The palpi of the male [(fig. 47)] are long and slender, and the tibia is slightly curved and has a large thin process on the outer side.

THE GENUS CLUBIONA

These spiders are all pale and most of them without markings. The eyes are close to the front edge of the head and cover more than half its width (figs. [50], [54], [56]). The upper row is longer and the eyes larger and the middle pair farthest apart. The distance between this pair varies according to the species. In crassipalpis and canadensis it is little more than that between the middle and lateral eyes, while in rubra it is nearly twice as great. The mandibles of the females are swelled at the base in front, and this swelling is greatest in canadensis [(fig. 55)]. The mandibles of the males are longer and are shaped in a variety of ways according to the species. The shape of the epigynum is indistinct and variable, and females of different species are difficult to distinguish. The females of ornata and excepta are known by their markings and those of rubra by their size and resemblance to the male. The females of crassipalpis and tibialis are doubtful. The palpal organs and male palpi are of great variety and distinguish the males of all species without much difficulty.

The Clubionas live in flat tubes of silk on leaves of low plants in summer and under bark and stones at all seasons.

Clubiona crassipalpis.—A quarter of an inch long and pale, without markings. The head is sometimes a little darker than the rest of the body, and the mandibles and ends of the male palpi are always darker. The eyes of the upper row are almost equidistant, the middle pair only a little farther apart than they are from the lateral eyes. The mandibles of the male (figs. [49, 50]) are elongated as usual, narrowed toward the end, and thickened in front just above the middle. On the outer side in front is a sharp ridge that extends from the base of the claw halfway up the mandible. The inner edges of the mandibles are thin and inclined backward toward the mouth, but there is no line or ridge between the thick and thin portions as in some other species. The palpi of the male [(fig. 51)] have the patella and tibia both short. The tibia is widened on the outer side and laps over the tarsus, extending in a blunt hook for half its length.

Clubiona tibialis.—Quarter of an inch long, the same size and color as crassipalpis, with no markings and no dark color except on the mandibles and male palpi. The middle eyes are a little farther apart than in crassipalpis. The male mandibles [(fig. 54)] are narrower than in crassipalpis and without the sharp ridge on the outer side, but on the inside they are sharply hollowed out with a ridge between the thick outer and thin inner portions. The male palpi [(fig. 53)] have the patella about as long as wide, as it is in crassipalpis and canadensis, but the tibia is very large, with a hook in the usual place on the outer side and a much larger process, which extends forward over the tarsus. The tarsus is long and thickened in the middle where it rests against the process of the tibia.

Clubiona canadensis.—Quarter of an inch long and without markings. The upper eyes are nearly equidistant, as they are in crassipalpis, but the legs and palpi are shorter. The male mandibles [(fig. 56)] are much like those of crassipalpis, but have not so sharp a ridge on the outer side. The male palpi [(fig. 57)] have the patella longer than wide and the tibia wider than long, with two processes on the outer side. The upper tibial process is a simple point extending along the outer side of the tarsus for a quarter of its length. The under process is twice as long, with a projecting corner at its base and running forward to a sharp point, with a round notch halfway between the point and base. The female has the head wider and the mandibles very much swelled in front at the base [(fig. 55)]. The fourth leg is longest and about as long as the body.

Clubiona rubra.—Smaller than the other species, a sixth to a fifth of an inch long. Cephalothorax light yellow brown, darker toward the front. Abdomen pale in front and darkened with brownish red at the sides and behind and along the middle of the back. The hind middle eyes are nearly twice as far apart as they are from the lateral eyes. The fourth legs are longest in both sexes, and there is little difference in the length of the legs of the two sexes. The mandibles of the female are but little swelled in front, not much more than those of the male, and the male mandibles [(fig. 58)] are only a little narrowed at the ends. The male palpi [(fig. 59)] have the tibia very much widened on the outer side, with a short tooth in the middle and two larger short processes on the outer side. The palpal organ has a large dark-colored process in the middle. The epigynum is pointed behind, with a notch in the middle and two black spots under the skin toward the front of the abdomen

Clubiona ornata.—This is one of the few Clubionas that have markings on the abdomen. The general color is pale as usual, but the abdomen has a dark stripe in the middle, broken into spots behind and bordered by pale yellow. At the sides are oblique dark and light transverse markings. These marks are of different sizes in different individuals and connected in different ways. The length is from a third to half an inch. The abdomen is wide across the middle and more pointed behind than in most species. The front middle eyes are about as far apart as in tibialis and nearer than in rubra. The mandibles are not much swelled in front. The legs of the male are longer than those of the female, with the first pair longest, while in the female the fourth pair is longest. The male mandibles [(fig. 62)] are narrow at the end and hollowed on the inner edges as in tibialis, with a sharp ridge between the thick and the thin portions. The male palpi [(fig. 61)] have two processes on the outer side of the tibia longer than in rubra and shorter than in canadensis. The tibia is a little widened toward the end and curved outward.

Clubiona excepta.—A third of an inch long and with very distinct gray markings on the abdomen. The cephalothorax is light yellow brown, and the legs are more deeply colored with yellow than in most species. The abdomen is white, with sometimes a yellow mark on the front of the abdomen, and on the hinder half of the abdomen is a middle row of gray spots and a row of larger transverse spots on each side. The fourth legs are longest in both sexes. The male palpi have the tibia longer than usual and patella and tibia about the same length. The tibia has a small process with two teeth [(fig. 64)]. The tarsus is oval and narrow and the palpal organ small.

Trachelas ruber.—One-third of an inch long, with the cephalothorax short and wide like Clubiona, and the deep orange-brown color of Dysdera. The cephalothorax is almost as wide as long, and widest opposite the second legs. The head is three-quarters as wide as the thorax and as high in the middle halfway between the eyes and the dorsal groove. The front of the head is low, as in Clubiona. The front row of eyes is a little curved, so that the middle pair are half their diameter higher than the lateral. The upper row is much longer and the lateral eyes are farther from the middle than these are from each other. The labium and maxillæ are like those of Clubiona and the palpi very slender. The first pair of legs are thicker than the others and as long as the fourth. The second pair are also somewhat thickened. The legs are orange brown, darkest on the front pair. The cephalothorax is dark brown and finely roughened over the whole surface, without hairs except in front. The abdomen is pale, with no markings except over the dorsal vessel and the muscular spots. Some light-colored individuals have all the colors paler. Under stones and leaves.

Chiracanthium viride.—This has the color and general appearance of the Clubionas, but the legs are longer and the first legs are considerably longer than the fourth. The body is shorter and the abdomen is wider and thicker in the middle. The female [(fig. 67)] is a third of an inch long and the front legs two-fifths of an inch. The eyes [(fig. 68)] are arranged as in Clubiona. The maxillæ and labium are like those of Clubiona, but the sternum is shorter and rounder. The head is but little narrowed and the eyes cover almost its whole width. The upper spinnerets are longer than the lower and distinctly two-jointed. The spines of the legs are small and inconspicuous. The color in life is greenish white, the mandibles brown, and the stripe over the dorsal vessel darker than the rest of the abdomen.

The male has the front legs nearly three times as long as the body, though the other legs are not much longer than in the female. The mandibles are also elongated, as in the males of Clubiona. The male palpi have the tarsus long, with a pointed process that extends backward over the tibia between two processes on that joint.

THE DYSDERIDÆ

The Dysderidæ are a small family of spiders resembling in their general appearance the Drassidæ, but differing from them in several important characters. They have only six eyes instead of the usual eight, and they have four breathing holes in the front of the abdomen, two of them leading to the usual lungs and the others to the air-tubes, which in most spiders open just in front of the spinnerets.

Dysdera interrita.—Six eyes close together on the front of the head. Length half an inch, with the abdomen a little longer than the cephalothorax. The coxæ and patellæ are unusually long, especially on the front legs, and the tarsi are unusually short [(fig. 70)]. The mandibles are long and inclined forward. The maxillæ are long, a little widened in the middle and pointed at the ends. The labium is long and narrow, and forked at the end [(fig. 72)]. The skin around the base of the legs is thick and hard, so that the sternum appears to extend between them [(fig. 72)]. There are two tracheal openings just behind the openings of the lungs. The cephalothorax and legs are orange brown, darker toward the front. The abdomen is the same color, but so pale as to be almost white.

Ariadne bicolor.—Six eyes in three pairs, the side pairs separated by their diameter from the middle pair. The length is about a third of an inch, the cephalothorax and abdomen about the same length. The cephalothorax is long and the head wide. The maxillæ are long and narrow. The sternum is widest opposite the third legs [(fig. 74)], and ends behind in a blunt point. The first, second, and third legs are directed forward, the first pair longest and stoutest. The tibiæ of the first and second legs are a little thickened in the middle and have four pairs of spines on the under side, and the metatarsus of the same legs eight pairs. The hinder pairs of spinnerets are very small. The cephalothorax and legs are yellow brown, darker toward the front. The abdomen is purplish brown, darker in the middle and toward the front. In the male the head is more narrowed and the front legs longer. The front metatarsi are curved at the base and have a tooth each side, the inner one farthest from the tibia. The palpal organ is outside the tarsal joint, as it is in the Mygales.

THE THOMISIDÆ

The Thomisidæ are generally flat, short, and widened behind, and have a sidewise gait and crab-like appearance. The first and second legs are often much larger than the third and fourth, and all the legs extend sidewise from the thorax and not forward and backward, as they do in the Drassidæ (pp. [1-21]). The feet have two claws and a thick brush of hairs. They are generally smooth or covered with very short and fine hair, and often have coarser hairs scattered at considerable distances from each other over the back. The eyes are small and in two slightly curved rows, the upper one longest and often much longer than the front row. The mandibles are small and narrowed toward the end. The maxillæ are narrow at the end and slant inward. Most of the species belong to the three following genera:

Xysticus (p. [30]) is flat, with short legs, and marked with gray and brown, like bark and stones.

Misumena (p. [25]) is white or brightly colored. The first and second legs are much longer than the third and fourth, and there is great difference between the sexes, the females being large and light colored, while the males are small, and yellow or green, with red and brown markings.

Philodromus (p. [35]) is generally small, with long slender legs, the second pair longest. The colors are generally light gray and brown, sometimes with iridescent scales.

Besides the larger genera are several other spiders belonging to this family. Tmarus caudatus (p. [38]) resembles Philodromus in color and outline, but has besides the caudate abdomen a very different head and thorax, and the hind legs much shorter than the first and second. Ebo latithorax (p. [38]) is a small Philodromus, with a wide body and exaggerated second legs. Thanatus lycosoides (p. [40]) is like a stout Philodromus, with rough hairs and markings, resembling some Lycosidæ. Tibellus duttonii (p. [39]) is a long straw-colored spider, resembling Philodromus in its feet and head, but having a long slender abdomen, with two black spots.

THE GENUS MISUMENA

The Misumenas are the most conspicuous spiders of their family, and are among the few that are popularly noticed. They grow to a large size and are white or brightly colored, and live in open places on flowers. The males and females differ widely. The males mature early and remain small, and are marked with a variety of colors in spots and bands, while the females grow several times as large, lose in great part their markings, and become white or yellow. In both sexes the two front pairs of legs are much longer than the two hinder pairs, and often differently colored. In the young the colors are variable and there is less difference between the sexes. The Misumenas live on plants, among the flowers, especially on large flat clusters, like those of carrot and thoroughwort. They stand among the flowers, holding by the hind legs, with the front legs extended or bent in stiff and awkward positions, and wait for insects to alight on the flowers within their reach. Whether spiders prefer flowers colored like themselves is an unsettled question; at any rate, Misumenas of all colors and both sexes have been found on white flowers. Occasionally individuals are found on flowers of exactly the same color as themselves; for example, deep yellow M. aleatoria on the wild indigo, Baptisia tinctoria, and the reddish M. asperata on the flowers of sorrel, Rumex acetosella. The adult females of vatia and aleatoria are easily mistaken for each other. Both vary in color from white to deep yellow, and grow to a large size, but they can be distinguished by the difference in the shape of the head. Asperata is perhaps the most common species. The female seldom grows as large as the others, and does not lose entirely the red markings of the abdomen and legs. The scattered stiff hairs also distinguish it from the others. The males of the different species are distinct enough one from the other, though they differ widely from the females. The shape of the head and the markings around the eyes are much the same in both sexes, and by these males and females of the same species may be recognized.

Misumena vatia is the largest species and lives all over this country and Europe. It is sometimes half an inch long, and the first legs spread an inch and a half [(fig. 77)]. It is white, with sometimes a crimson spot on each side of the abdomen and another on the front of the head between the upper eyes. The sides of the thorax are a little darkened with yellow or brown, which extends around the head to a distinct opaque white spot under and between the eyes [(fig. 76)]. This white spot widens below over the mandibles and above under the eyes and around the eyes of the upper row. The shape of this mark and the greater height of the head distinguish this species from aleatoria (figs. [79, 80]). On the back of the thorax is also a distinct opaque white spot. The first and second legs have usually a light brown mark on the upper side, but this is sometimes absent.

The male [(fig. 78)] is only a quarter or a third as long as the adult female. The front legs are proportionally longer than in the female, and the abdomen smaller and more pointed behind. The males are strongly marked with reddish brown on a light ground. The thorax is dark at the sides, while the front of the head is white like that of the female.

Misumena aleatoria.—The female of this species grows nearly as large as vatia, and in some places is much more common. It is white or yellow, but does not have the crimson markings at the sides of the abdomen or between the eyes. The head [(fig. 79)] is rounder than in vatia and much lower in front, and there is a narrow white stripe under the eyes that divides at the sides, one branch passing around over the mandibles and the other close under the eyes. The sides of the cephalothorax are gray or green. The abdomen usually has no markings except a little gray color in the middle, but sometimes it has two rows of dark brown spots [(fig. 81)], and in such individuals the legs are also marked with brown at the ends of the joints. The males are very small and strikingly colored [(fig. 82)]. The two front pairs of legs are brown, the cephalothorax green, and the abdomen yellow. The shape of the head and the white under the eyes are the same as in the female.

Misumena asperata.—The males and females of this spider are more alike than in vatia and aleatoria. The adult females are always pale and sometimes white, but seldom lose entirely the reddish bands around the legs. Both sexes are covered with short stiff hairs about their length apart all over the upper part of the body and legs. The usual color is pale yellow, with dull red markings. The thorax is reddish at the sides. The abdomen has two red bands or rows of spots on the hinder half, meeting behind. In front are a middle pair of spots and two side bands that spread apart in the middle and meet again at the spinnerets. The tibia and tarsus of the front legs are marked with a narrow red ring at the base and a wider ring near the end of each joint. The female is a quarter of an inch long and the male about half that length. The markings of the male are like those of the female, but the spots are larger and more deeply colored. The male palpi are larger than in the other species.

The male M. spinosa of Georgia resembles asperata, but the legs are much longer and the ends of the palpi smaller.

Synema parvula.—A common species in the South. Length about one-eighth of an inch. The thorax is as wide as long, round and high in the middle. The abdomen is as wide as long, widest across the middle, and a little pointed behind. The third and fourth legs are not more than two-thirds as long as the first and second, and lighter colored. The thorax is orange-colored, a little darker at the sides, and with a dark brown line on the edges over the legs. There are light rings around the eyes. The abdomen is white or light yellow in front, and has a wide black or brown band across the hinder half, not reaching back to the spinnerets, and sometimes partly divided by a notch in front. On the front half of the abdomen are some small dark spots and usually several opaque white marks. On the under side of the abdomen there is a dark band on each side extending back to and partly surrounding the spinnerets. The front legs are orange brown, with the femora darker on the front and rear edges. The other joints are a little darker at the ends. The males are a little smaller and darker in color, but differ little from the females.

THE GENUS XYSTICUS

In these spiders the general appearance is crab-like. The abdomen is not much larger than the thorax, and both are flat and wide. The first and second legs are a third longer than the third and fourth. The colors are usually various shades of brown and gray, in small spots and bands. On the upper side of each leg is usually a light line, with dark lines on each side of it. The gait is often sidewise, the legs kept close to the ground, so that the spider can move in a narrow crack. They live under stones and bark and leaves, and some, like triguttatus, on low plants. The males have longer legs and smaller abdomen and all the dark markings larger and darker than the females. In triguttatus there is great difference between the sexes, but in most species very little, as in limbatus and stomachosus. The head is generally low, and the four middle eyes form a rectangle a little wider than high [(fig. 97)].

Xysticus stomachosus.—A middle-sized and light-colored species, with gray markings on a light ground, the markings most distinct on the hinder legs and abdomen. The middle of the thorax is lighter than the sides, and there is a small dark spot in the middle and a larger one on each side toward the hinder end (figs. [87, 88]). The third and fourth legs have a distinct dark spot at the ends of femur, patella, and tibia. The abdomen is light, with a few small spots at the front end and three pairs of dark transverse bands on the hinder half. The hairs are short and fine. The male has longer legs and is marked in the same way, with the spots on the abdomen larger and extended farther forward.

Xysticus limbatus.—This is one of the largest species, the females reaching a length of a third to half an inch (figs. [89, 90]). The thorax is one-eighth of an inch wide and nearly as long. The abdomen is a little wider at the hinder end. The legs are short, the longest about half an inch in length. The whole body is hairy. The color is brown, the markings dark on a light ground, best shown by the figures. The middle of the head and thorax is more fully covered by the dark markings than in other species. There is great variation in the color, and young spiders are usually lighter than adults. Adult males and females in June and July.

Xysticus gulosus.—This is a very distinct species and less variable in markings than limbatus and stomachosus. The color is brown or gray, with indistinct darker markings (figs. [91, 92]). The whole body is covered with fine brown spots and has at the hinder end of the thorax and on the legs traces of the same markings that show more distinctly in stomachosus. There are a few transverse dark lines on the hinder half of the abdomen and less distinct longitudinal lines at the sides of the front half.

The male is a fourth smaller than the female, with a smaller abdomen and more slender legs, but the same colors and markings. It is usually found under bark or stones which it closely resembles in color.

Xysticus nervosus.—This is a pale species, the females of which are nearly as large as limbatus. The color is light brownish yellow, with small spots of lighter and darker color scattered all over the body, and there are traces of the markings which are more distinct in other species (figs. [93, 94]). On the hinder half of the abdomen are three or four pairs of very indistinct transverse markings. The legs are marked with irregular dark and light spots, without any distinct rings or markings, and the first and second pairs are darker than the others. In the male the first and second legs are twice as long as the third and longer and more slender than in the other species. It lives on fences and under bark.

Xysticus triguttatus.—This is a small and very common spider living on grass and low bushes. The female is about a fifth of an inch long and the male as large but with a smaller abdomen. The difference in the color of the sexes is so great that they may easily be mistaken for different species. The females [(fig. 95)] are straw-colored, the abdomen almost white, and the thorax and legs brownish yellow. There are three black spots at the back of the thorax and indistinct darker bands at the sides. On the abdomen are two black spots near the front end and three pairs of broken transverse stripes behind. The male [(fig. 96)] has the femora of the two front legs dark brown, the rest like the female or a little darker. The thorax is dark brown, except in the middle, where it is a little lighter, as in the female. The abdomen of the male is strongly marked with transverse black and white stripes, irregular toward the front end.

Xysticus quadrilineatus.—Quarter of an inch long, with the thorax a tenth of an inch wide and the head unusually wide in front. The color is light yellow, with light brown markings and black spots. The cephalothorax has four narrow brown stripes, one on each side close to the edge and the others running back from the lateral eyes [(fig. 98)]; there are also two fine brown lines sometimes extending from the middle eyes to the dorsal groove, but usually broken in the middle. There is a brown spot just behind the dorsal groove and two others in the middle of the cephalothorax. On the abdomen there are two black spots at the front end, two in the middle and two near the hind end, besides several smaller ones along the sides. There are four light brown lines across the hinder half, each with a white line behind it, and at the sides are oblique brown lines alternating with white. The legs have a distinct light line along the dorsal side and are covered with fine brown spots without any other markings.

Xysticus (Coriarachne) versicolor.—The thorax, abdomen, and legs are all much flattened, the head is low, and the upper and lower eyes nearer together than in the other species. The colors are black and gray in irregular spots on a light ground (figs. [99, 100]). On bark or unpainted wood these spiders can hardly be seen. Light individuals have black spots on the legs at the end of each joint and the usual three pairs of dark marks on the abdomen. On the thorax is a white spot in the middle under the front of the abdomen. Around this spot and behind the eyes is black extending in spots along the sides. In dark females and in most males the dark spots are so large that the whole spider is nearly black.

This is a common spider, and a similar species, Coriarachne depressa, is equally common in Europe.

THE GENUS PHILODROMUS

In these spiders there is less difference in length between the front and hind legs than in Misumena or Xysticus. The legs are long and slender, the second pair longest, and the body is small and flat, and the abdomen pointed behind. The colors are brown and gray, and the whole body is often covered with fine flattened hairs that in the males are iridescent. Philodromus vulgaris lives usually on houses and fences, but the other species on plants.

Philodromus vulgaris.—About quarter of an inch long, the legs of the female spreading over an inch and those of the male an inch and a quarter (figs. [101, 102)]. They often stand with all the legs extended sidewise, flat against a wall or fence which they closely resemble in color. When freshly molted they are covered with fine gray hairs of the color of weathered boards, that obscure most of the markings. Older spiders or those wet with alcohol are covered with small gray spots forming a stripe in the middle of the front of the abdomen and a herringbone pattern on the hinder half. The edges of the back of the abdomen are dark and form a sharp line against the light color of the under surface. The thorax is darker in the middle and at the sides in irregular spots of gray. The legs are spotted and darker toward the ends of the joints. The under side of body and legs is light colored.

Philodromus ornatus.—This is a small species about one-eighth of an inch long. The female is very distinctly marked with dark brown on a white ground [(fig. 105)]. The middle of the thorax is white and the sides brown nearly to the edge. The abdomen is white, with a distinct brown band on each side from the front more than half its length backward. Sometimes there is also an indistinct brownish pattern in the middle, but this is usually absent in adults, and the middle is entirely white. Under the abdomen the lateral brown bands extend backward and meet around the spinnerets. The abdomen is wider than in most species,—nearly as wide as it is long across the hinder half. The male is very differently colored. The legs and thorax are orange brown, darker at the sides of the thorax and toward the ends of the legs. The abdomen is darker brown and strongly iridescent with red and green in a bright light. In alcohol it shows indistinctly the same markings as the female. The legs are longer and the abdomen narrower, as in males of other species.

Philodromus lineatus.—The female of this species is a little larger than ornatus, the brown markings are lighter, and, in life or when freshly killed, purplish in the lighter parts. The markings are less distinct than in ornatus, the brown and white running into each other. The abdomen has a brown band each side, often broken into several spots, and a brown band in the middle extending back half its length, behind which are several lighter marks (figs. [106,107]). Between these are several oblique lighter markings and rows of spots. The legs are light gray, darker toward the ends of the joints.

Philodromus pictus.—Female about one-fifth of an inch long, the abdomen nearly twice as long as the thorax, with the widest part across the middle farther forward than in most species [(fig. 110)]. Legs and palpi pale yellow with fine brown spots. Thorax light yellow in the middle and reddish brown at the sides, covered with fine spots. Abdomen dull red at the sides and bright yellow in the middle, with a dark mark in the middle of the front half and two dark marks behind it on the hinder half. The eyes are surrounded by distinct light rings. In some specimens, usually immature, the abdomen has a more distinct yellow and red pattern [(fig. 108)]. The male [(fig. 109)] has the thorax and legs darker and the abdomen less bright red and yellow than the female, sometimes gray and iridescent.

Ebo latithorax.—In color and general appearance this resembles Philodromus, but is at once distinguished by the length Of the second legs, which are more than twice as long as any of the others [(fig. 111)]. The thorax is wider than long, and the abdomen is wider than in Philodromus. The head is narrow and rounded in front. The front middle eyes are largest and farthest forward. The colors are gray and white, with black spots in the darker parts, as in Philodromus. The length is not much over an eighth of an inch and the length of the longest legs quarter of an inch.

Tmarus caudatus.—This spider is about as large as Philodromus vulgaris and similarly colored, but may be distinguished from it by the height of its abdomen and the short tail or projection over the spinnerets [(fig. 113)]. The thorax is round at the sides and square in front, and the mandibles are inclined forward so that they can be seen from above. The two rows of eyes are farther apart than in Philodromus, and the lateral eyes of both rows are raised on tubercles. Among the eyes are several black spots that may be mistaken for extra eyes, and there are similar spots on the legs, most thickly on the front pairs. On the back of the thorax are radiating white lines. The abdomen is light in front and marked behind with two or three pairs of indistinct transverse lines [(fig. 112)]. On the under side the whole body and legs are pale, without spots except a wide middle band of gray under the abdomen. The third and fourth legs are shorter than the first and second, the difference being greater than in Philodromus and less than in Misumena.

Tibellus duttonii.—This is a very common spider on bushes and grass. The body is slender, from a third to half an inch long, and a tenth of an inch wide [(fig. 115)]. The thorax is an eighth of an inch long, widest across the hinder half and narrowed toward the front, where it is cut off nearly straight over the mandibles. Both rows of eyes are strongly curved [(fig. 116)]. The hinder row is twice as long as the front row and all the eyes larger. The abdomen is straight at the sides and a little pointed behind. The color is light gray or yellow, with a darker gray line in the middle, divided into two toward the eyes. At the sides of the thorax are other longitudinal lines. On the abdomen, one-third its length from the hinder end, is a pair of small round or oval black spots. The legs are light gray, with no markings except a few black hairs.

Thanatus coloradensis or lycosoides.—In color and general appearance this resembles Philodromus, but is not as flat, and the legs are not as long and slender. The general color is light gray, with a distinct wide light stripe in the middle of the thorax, and a dark brown pointed stripe with white edges in the middle of the front half of the abdomen [(fig. 117)]. The head is a little longer and higher than in most Thomisidæ, and the abdomen is a little longer and not so much widened behind. The eyes are much as in Philodromus, but larger and nearer together. The whole body is hairy, with longer and darker hairs scattered among the short ones. The males differ but little from the females except in having a little longer hairs and darker color. They live on plants and may be mistaken for Philodromus (p. [35]) or for Ocyale undata (p. [88]).

THE ATTIDÆ

The Attidæ are jumping spiders, many of them brightly colored and quick in their movements and living in open places among the tops of low plants. They are usually short and stout spiders, with a large cephalothorax, which is wide in front, where the eyes have a peculiar arrangement in three rows [(fig. 118)], somewhat as in the Lycosidæ, but with the middle eyes of the front row much the largest, so that at first sight many of them appear to have only two eyes. The eyes of the second row are very small and hard to see, and those of the third row are far back on the head and usually turned a little backward. The front legs are usually thicker than the others, especially in the males. The relative length of the legs is variable, the first pair being commonly the longest, but sometimes the fourth and even in some species the third pair. The feet have two claws, with many fine teeth and a thick brush of hairs. The Attidæ are usually thickly covered with hair or scales, often brightly colored or iridescent, and their appearance is often entirely changed by rubbing or wetting.

They walk backward or sidewise as well as forward, and many of them jump great distances. They make no cobwebs, but some species make silk tubes or bags on plants or under stones in which they hide to molt or lay their eggs or to pass the winter. There are often great differences in color and markings between the sexes, and the males have peculiar bunches of hairs and color spots on the legs and head. At the mating time some of the males have peculiar ways of approaching the female, holding their legs extended sidewise or over their heads in such ways as to display their ornaments. These mating habits have been well described by G. W. Peckham, who has made a special study of this family, in the Occasional Papers of the Wisconsin Natural History Society, of Milwaukee, in 1889. This family is largely represented in more southern countries, and our species belong to a great number of genera most of whose members live farther south.

Attus palustris.—Large females are quarter of an inch long, the males a little smaller. The cephalothorax is a quarter longer than wide, shorter in proportion to its width than in the next species, Saitis pulex, which it much resembles. The two sexes resemble each other in markings, but the females are lighter and browner and the males darker and grayer. The cephalothorax has a narrow white middle line, widened opposite the dorsal eyes, and a shorter white line just below the eyes on the sides [(fig. 119)]. The edge of the cephalothorax is also white. On the abdomen the front middle spot is not so distinct as in pulex, but in place of it are two white spots. Behind these is a large transverse light marking, sometimes broken into two spots. The legs are dark or light gray, without any distinct markings. The male palpi are smaller than in pulex, though the males are larger. Palustris lives on plants and makes nests among the leaves.

Saitis pulex.—This is one of the smallest of the family. It is about a sixth of an inch long, sometimes even smaller. The colors are various shades of gray like the ground, and when still it is hard to find, but it is an active spider and exposes itself by jumping in open places. The cephalothorax is half longer than wide, longer and narrower than in Habrocestum and Attus. The abdomen is usually shorter than the cephalothorax and wider (figs. [120, 121]). The cephalothorax has a large light-colored triangle in the middle, covering the head between the eyes in front and ending in a point behind. In alcohol this spot disappears, especially in the males, and the head appears black between the eyes and light behind and at the sides. The front half of the abdomen has a light middle stripe, lightest at the edges and darker gray in the middle. Behind this is a transverse white spot nearly the whole width of the abdomen and behind it several smaller light markings. In the male these markings are brighter and the surrounding dark color blacker than in the females. The legs are marked with indefinite spots of dark gray on a lighter ground, the contrast stronger in the males. The hairs all over the body are short and fine and the spines on the legs distinct, especially in the males.

Habrocestum auratum.—In life this spider is covered with bluish white hairs that give it a light gray color and obscure the markings. The markings of the male are so much stronger that those of both sexes can be best understood by describing the male first [(fig. 122)]. The cephalothorax has a white middle stripe for a short distance back from the front eyes and two distinct white stripes from the lateral front eyes back the whole length. In the middle of the head are two small white spots and just behind them between the posterior eyes two curved white lines. The latter marks show indistinctly in the females. Down at the sides of the cephalothorax are white stripes meeting in front under the eyes. The abdomen has a white line extending entirely around it and a middle stripe of varying width.

The female [(fig. 123)] has only faint indications of the markings of the cephalothorax, usually a little lighter color in the middle and at the sides below the eyes. The white stripe around the abdomen is broken into three pairs of oblique white markings and the middle stripe into several spots or pairs of spots. There is nothing distinctive in the markings of the under side or of the legs except the ornaments of the male.

The front legs of the male [(fig. 125)] in this species are much ornamented. The femur has long black hairs on the under side. The patella has long black hairs beneath, a spot of short black hairs on the inner side, and a crest of long white hairs mixed with shorter black on the upper side. The tibia is covered with long black hairs except at the tip, where they are white. There is nothing peculiar about the third leg [(fig. 124)]. The form and general appearance can best be understood from the figures.

At the mating time the males, as they approach the females, hold the front legs extended sidewise and lifted a little from the ground, with the tibia nearly horizontal and the tarsus turned downward. In this position they advance slowly, at the same time running rapidly sidewise from one side to the other and at short intervals jerking the abdomen and the front legs slightly upward. They go almost close enough to touch the female and then quickly retreat.

Habrocestum peregrinum.—This is about the same size as auratum and looks very much like it. The female, at any rate in alcohol, has a more distinct light mark in the middle of the cephalothorax, curving under the eyes and pointing forward in the middle [(fig. 128)]. The abdomen has light markings in the middle similar to those of auratum, but those at the sides are less distinct.

The male has the white stripes in the middle and around the abdomen like auratum. The cephalothorax has the same white lines at the sides under the eyes and at the posterior end. It does not have a middle white stripe on the head between the eyes or two white spots just behind it, as auratum has, but the marking behind the eyes is more distinct, as it is in the female. The front legs of the male [(fig. 127)] are not ornamented with long hairs like auratum, but the third legs have a very peculiar shape, the patella being wide and flat, with a dark spot in the middle of the front side [(fig. 126)]. The shape of this joint is best shown by the figure. When approaching the female he holds up the front legs and draws in the third pair so that the ornamented patellæ show from in front.

Habrocestum splendens.—A little larger than the other species, with the female distinctly marked with black and white and the male with brilliant red and iridescent scales. The females are about a quarter of an inch long, sometimes longer, and the males are a little smaller. The cephalothorax of the female is covered with brown scales mixed with black hairs. Across the middle, just behind the dorsal eyes, is a light band that curves behind the eyes and extends forward in the middle. The abdomen has a white band in front, one on each side, and one in the middle, the rest being deep black. The shape of these markings varies and the black parts are often broken into two rows of spots. The cephalothorax of the male is covered with dark iridescent scales, with blue, green, and purple reflections. The abdomen is covered with bright red shiny scales mixed with fine black hairs. It is lighter in front and at the sides, and in the middle shows indistinctly through the scales dark markings like those of the female [(fig. 129)]. The legs are dark like the cephalothorax.

Mr. Peckham says that when the male approaches the female he lifts his abdomen into an almost vertical position so that the red color shows from in front. Then he rises on the tips of his feet and, with the front legs off the ground and pointing forward, he dances back and forth sidewise in front of her, gradually drawing nearer. At intervals he stops and turns his back to her, then faces her and dances again.

Neon nellii.—This is one of the smallest spiders of the family, only a tenth of an inch in length. The general color is dark gray, darkest toward the head. The cephalothorax is high, the highest part being a little behind the middle, from which it curves downward to the front eyes and slopes abruptly backward [(fig. 130)]. The eyes are large and prominent, the front row nearly straight and as wide as the widest part of the cephalothorax. The posterior eyes are nearly as large as the front middle pair and are in the middle of the cephalothorax. The abdomen is a little longer and wider than the cephalothorax [(fig. 131)]. The cephalothorax is smoky gray, darker toward the front and darker in males than females. The abdomen is gray, with yellowish markings in a herringbone pattern through the middle. Common under stones and leaves at all seasons.

Zygoballus bettini.—This is a very beautifully colored spider, having in life spots of white hairs and shining scales of the color of copper and bronze. The cephalothorax of both sexes is high and wide in the middle and slopes down steeply from the posterior eyes under the front of the abdomen [(fig. 132)]. The top of the cephalothorax between the eyes is nearly square. The posterior eyes are almost the full width of the cephalothorax apart, and the front row of eyes is nearly as long. The cephalothorax is dark brown covered with iridescent scales. The legs are pale, except the dark femora of the first pair and dark spots on the ends of the joints of the fourth pair. In the male all the legs are a little darker than in the female and without the spots on the fourth leg. The abdomen of the female is light brown, marked with white in a row of irregular spots. In the male the abdomen is brown, covered with shining scales and with a white band around the front and two white spots on each side. The mandibles of the male are much elongated and bent apart at the ends to make room for the long claw. At the inner angle is a large tooth, and there is another one of complicated shape on the middle of the under side.

Phidippus multiformis.—This is a very common spider on plants throughout the summer. It matures in July, and the males and females are so little alike as to be taken for different species. The males [(fig. 134)] are black, with white and orange markings on the abdomen, while the females are brown mixed with black, white, and yellow scales and small white spots.

The usual length is about a third of an inch in both sexes. The cephalothorax is nearly as broad as long, and the abdomen of the female as wide as the thorax and a little longer.

The general color of the adult female is yellowish brown, with black and white markings [(fig. 133)]. Around the front of the abdomen is a white band, and on the back are two indistinct longitudinal black stripes in which are four pairs of white spots. The general brown color is produced by a mixture of scales and hairs of various colors. The females are most brightly colored just before reaching maturity, and then there is a large proportion of yellow and orange scales in their covering and the black stripes and white spots are more distinct. The hairs and scales are of various shapes, the most common being that of slightly flattened hairs. The yellow and orange scales are wider and less pointed, and the white spots have short and wide scales. Under the abdomen the color is light gray, with two parallel darker stripes. The legs are pale in the middle of the joints and dark toward the ends and covered with gray and black hairs. The palpi are light yellow.

In alcohol the orange color disappears almost entirely, the black and white markings become less distinct, and all the colors browner. The colors of the male [(fig. 134)] are entirely different. The cephalothorax and legs to the end of the tibia are black. The palpi are black, with a stripe of white scales on the upper side. Around the front end of the abdomen is a white stripe; the sides are bright orange red and the middle black. Between the orange and black are three pairs of white spots. They make a bag of white silk among leaves, in which in the early summer a male and female may sometimes be found together and in which the female later makes a cocoon of eggs. The young hatch soon and become half grown before winter.

Phidippus mystaceus.—A stout species half an inch long, gray and hairy, in alcohol turning brown. The abdomen is light gray at the sides and dark in the middle, with four pairs of white spots, the third pair largest [(fig. 135)]. The cephalothorax is round and nearly as wide as long. The front row of eyes is little longer than half the greatest width of the cephalothorax. The cephalothorax is flat on top for almost its whole length and in front about twice the diameter of the largest eyes in height. The mandibles are large and bright metallic green in front [(fig. 118)]. The legs are stout and short, the fourth pair extending little beyond the spinnerets. The first and fourth pairs are of the same length, but the first are twice as thick as the fourth. The legs are without markings and darker toward the head. The abdomen is longer than the cephalothorax and as wide or wider. There is little difference between the sexes, the males being only a little darker colored and larger in front. Usually found under stones in a thick silk nest.

Phidippus tripunctatus.—Black, with three bright white spots on the back of the abdomen [(fig. 136)]. Large females are half an inch long and the males a little smaller. Though the general color is black, it is modified, especially in fresh specimens, by white hairs on parts of the body. The joints of the legs are grayish in the middle and black toward the ends. There are white hairs on the front of the head and upper side of the palpi and a white band around the front of the abdomen, plainest in the males. The three large white spots on the abdomen correspond to the second and third pairs in mystaceus [(fig. 135)] and multiformis [(fig. 133)], and the other pairs, though generally present, are small and inconspicuous. On the under side of the abdomen are usually two gray stripes. This is a common spider all over the country. It lives under stones and sticks and passes the winter half grown in a thick silk bag.

Plexippus puerperus.—Very variable in size, from a third to half an inch in length. The females [(fig. 137)] are pale, light yellow, or almost white, with a few black spots, while the males [(fig. 138)] have the cephalothorax and legs brown, sometimes almost black. In both sexes the mandibles are large and the cephalothorax high and flat on the top as far back as the hinder eyes. The front middle eyes nearly touch each other. The lateral eyes are half their diameter higher than the front ones. The middle eyes are nearer the lateral than the dorsal. In the males the front eyes are nearly their diameter above the mandibles, and below them is a white band and a line of white hairs from the middle of the head down to the base of the first legs. The legs are rather slender in both sexes and long in the males. The fourth pair are longest in females, and in males the first and fourth are the same length. The markings of the abdomen are much alike in both sexes, with two light stripes, more definite in the males, bordered by a few small black spots irregularly arranged. The stem of the abdomen is long, and the abdomen and thorax appear farther apart than in many species. In the females the cephalothorax is pale, with a few gray spots from the middle toward the sides. In the males the legs are dark brown except the inner half of the femur of the third and fourth, which is light like the abdomen. The male cephalothorax is dark and has a square white spot between the eyes, two white lines pointing up from the third and fourth legs each side, and two short white lines under the dorsal eyes. The under side of the thorax and legs is dark or light like the upper side. The underside of the abdomen is usually darker in the middle and sometimes has a few black spots each side. This is a common spider in the southern states and has been found as far south as Brazil.

Dendryphantes militaris.—This spider resembles in many ways the next species, Dendryphantes æstivalis, but is one-half larger and has a shorter and wider cephalothorax. The general color is brown, covered with gray and black hairs. The abdomen of the female is brown, with white at the front end and four pairs of oblique white marks in the middle and four at the sides [(fig. 140)]. In the male the cephalothorax has a white band on each side under the eyes and a white band around the abdomen, with a dark middle area [(fig. 141)]. The dark parts of the legs and cephalothorax are darker than the same parts in the female. The palpi are slender in both sexes, and in the male the palpal organs are small for so large a spider. The mandibles of the male are widened at the end and have a strong projection with two teeth on the inner corners.

Dendryphantes æstivalis.—One of the most common Attidæ, on all kinds of bushes and small trees, and one of the most variable in size and color. Large females are from a fifth to a quarter of an inch long, and the males are smaller. The females are of two varieties, which run into each other. The light variety [(fig.144)] has the light parts white or light yellow and the dark parts dark brown covered with white hairs and scales. The cephalothorax is dark brown, thinly covered with scales, so that the dark color shows between them in places. The legs are light yellow and translucent, indistinctly ringed with brown at the base and, near the tip of each joint, all covered with greenish white hairs. The palpi are light and without rings except on the femur and patella. The abdomen is brighter yellow than the thorax, with four pairs of purplish brown spots, the second pair largest, connected with a paler brown middle marking. The abdomen has beneath a purple brown stripe in the middle and oblique brown marks at the sides. Sternum, maxillæ, and mandibles light brown. The dark variety [(fig. 143)] is generally smaller and covered with longer hairs and scales. The legs and palpi are more distinctly ringed with brown. The dark spots on the abdomen are larger and more closely connected, so that the markings appear as light spots on a dark ground.

In alcohol they become bright red and afterward fade to a dull red color that remains for a long time, both varieties in this condition looking much alike.

The males [(fig. 142)] differ, at first sight, extremely from the females. The legs are ringed as in the female and the brown parts are wider and less obscured by white hairs, while the white parts are whiter. The cephalothorax is dark brown, with a white stripe on each side under the eyes bending toward each other but not connected. The front of the head is also white and covered with long white hairs. The palpi have the femur dark brown at the base and white at the end. The patella and tibia are brown, and the tarsus is brown, with white hairs on the upper side. The abdomen is white in front and around the sides. The middle is dark brown, with a few yellow and greenish scales. The brown area is often notched at the sides in four points and sometimes indistinctly divided into four pairs of spots, as in the female. The male palpi are large for the size of the spider, and the palpal organ extends back beyond the tibia.