£2
to £&/ltsi^£i^ f C^ <^^n^-w^^ci^-_
^6u->7 ; £j
V 6'
EMBER 7, 1930.
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ol
J. H. EMERTON DIES;
AUTHORITY ON SPIDERS
Noted Naturalist Succumbs in
Boston on His Eighty-
fourth Year.
Special to The New York Times.
BOSTON, Dec. 6— James Henry
Emerton, naturalist, reported to be
the leading authority on spiders in
the country, died late last night in
this city in his eighty-fourth year.
Mr. Emerton was born at Salem in
1947. His home here was at the Fen-
way Studios in Ipswich Street.
He gave much attention to illus-
trating for scientific publications in
connection with articles on entomol-
ogy. He did the illustrations in
Packard's "Guide to the Study ot
Insects" and Scudder's "Butterflies
of North America," and other books.
He made the models of a large oc-
topus and squid for the natural his-
tory museums at Harvard and Yale
Universities, the American Museum
in New York and the Washington
Museum, also the anatomical models
in the medical museums of Harvard
and the University of Pennsylvania
and the Army Medical Museum at
Washington.
Mr. Emerton was author of "The
Structure and Habits of Spiders,"
published in 1878; "Common Spiders
of the United States," 1092, and
other works. From 1906 to 1919 he
was secretary of the New England
Federation of Natural History So-
cieties. His sole survivor is a brother,
Professor Ephraim Emerton, of Har-
] vard University.
9L
457.1
£S3
tnf<
THE
COMMON SPIDERS
OF THE
UNITED STATES
By JAMES H. EMERTON
<^v
i
Boston, U.S.A., and London
GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS
Cbe &tl)enamm Press
1902
Entered at Stationers' Hall
JUN 191959
librae!
Copyright, 1902, by
JAMES H. EMERTON
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
91? • IMS.
9.8. MAIL. 9HS
S*<7 fa ~ v V
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 Acad-
emy 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 pur-
pose 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, ate from my own
drawings and photographs, a large part of them made new
for this book.
J. H. EMERTON.
April, 1902.
111
CONTENTS
Introduction p age
Number and Names of Spiders ..... vii
Anatomy viii
Silk and Spinning Organs ...... x
Colors and Markings ....... xi
Habitats of Common Spiders ..... xii-xiv
Cobwebs .......... xvi
Catching and preserving Spiders ..... xvii
The Drassid.e .......... 1-21
Clubiona .......... 15
The DysderidjE ......... 22
The Thomisid^e 24-40
MlSUMENA 25
Xysticus .......... 30
Philodromus ......... 35
The Attid,e 41-66
The Lycosid^e .......... 67-90
Lycosa ........... 68
Pardosa .......... 78
dolomedes .......... 85
OCYALE .......... 88
Oxyopes 88
The Agalenid/E ......... 91-106
The Theridid,e ......... 1 07-1 33
Theridium .......... no
Steatoda .... . . . . 119
Pholcus 128
SCYTODES . . 13 r
V
vi CONTENTS
Page
The Linyphiad^e ...,..,.. 134-153
LlNYPHIA . . . . . . . . . . 1 34
Erigone .......... 148
The Epeirid/e ......... 154-204
Round Webs of the Epeirid^e ..... 155-159
Species of Epeira 160-18 1
The Three Species of the Genus Zilla . . . 184
Acrosoma . . . . . . . . . . 188
Argiope .......... 192-198
Tetragnatha ........ 198-204
The Ciniflonid/E, or Cribellata ... . . 205-220
DlCTYNA . • 205
Amaurobius 213
Uloborus .......... 216
Hyptiotes . . . . . . . . . 218
FlLISTATA .......... 220
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 repre-
sentative 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 descrip-
tion 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
vii
viii INTRODUCTION
" Catalogue of the Described Araneae of Temperate North
America," by George Marx, in the Proceedings of the United
States National Museum, 1 890, 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 cephalo-
thorax 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 tro-
chanter, 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 meta-
tarsus ; 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.
INTRODUCTION
IX
On the front of the head are the eyes, usually eight in
number, differing in size and arrangement according to the
TARSUS
claw or
' MANDIBLE
•MANDIBLE
•MAXILLA
UM
o
m
i
>
x
o
>
X
OPENING
OrAIR SACS
EPIGYNUM
MANDIBLES
CLAW
\&&t
TRACHEA
>INNERETS
>
o
O
m
Fig. i. Diagram of the under side of a spider, with the legs removed except one.
Fig. 2. Front of head, showing the eyes and mandibles.
kind of spider. The sight of spiders is distinct for only short
distances. Spiders of middle size can see each other, and the
x INTRODUCTION
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, 1 14). 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 maxillae. Between the maxillae 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 spin-
nerets 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 tracheae, 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
INTRODUCTION xi
lungs, and between them the opening of the reproductive
organs (fig. i). The latter is covered in females by an appa-
ratus, 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 pres-
ence 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, flat-
tened 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,
xii INTRODUCTION
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 Attidse, 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;-le2f2fed
Pholcas 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 out-
side 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 sclopetai'ia (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.
Epeii'a 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
INTRODUCTION xiii
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 amcricana (p. 122) are found in such
places, and so, especially in the South, is Latrodectus mactans
(p. 122). The large jumping spiders, PJiidippus mystaceus
(p. 50) and tripunctatus (p. $1), make large nests of white
silk under stones near the ground. The ground spiders,
Drassus saccatus (p. 6), Gnaphosa conspersa (p. 2), and Pros-
tJicsima atra (p. 5), run on the ground and hide under stones.
Lycosa nidicola (p. 69), Lycosa communis (p. 75), Lycosa pra-
teiisis (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, coccijiea, and phrygiana
make theirs among plants and rocks, a foot or two above the
ground. The Theridiums (p. no) live between leaves and on
the ends of twigs, covering them with webs that only show
when the dew is on them. Agalena ncevia (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
xiv INTRODUCTION
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 spi?iea (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. 1 j6) 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 mandi-
bles or attached behind to the spinnerets. The young remain
in the cocoon until they are able to run about, and after com-
ing 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.
INTRODUCTION xv
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 Agalcua ncevia 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 tcpidariorum (p. 112), breed sev-
eral 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 Dysderidse (p. 22), a
few species with six eyes only and w r ith four breathing holes at
the front end of the abdomen ; (2) the Drassidae (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 Thomisidae (p. 24), the flat and crab-like
spiders living on plants or under bark and stones ; (4) the
Attidae (p. 41), the jumping spiders, with wide heads and
large front eyes, many of them brightly colored and active in
their habits ; (5) the Lycosidae (p. 67), the long-legged run-
ning 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 Agalenidae (p. 91), mak-
ing flat webs on grass or in corners of houses, with a tube at
one side in which the spider lives; (2) the Therididae (p. 107),
round spiders with flat or irregular webs in corners and on
plants; (3) the Linyphiadae (p. 134), with flat webs, small
spiders of a great number of species living near the ground
xvi INTRODUCTION
and in shady places ; (4) the Epeiridae (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 Therididae and Linyphiadae
(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 Ciniflonidae, composed in part of loose
bands of silk (p. 205).
The simplest and best way to preserve spiders for examina-
tion 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 fur-
nished 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
INTRODUCTION xvii
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 sur-
face 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
xviii INTRODUCTION
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 com-
pare with them the spiders that they find in their own neigh-
borhoods. 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 DRASSIDAE
The Drassidae, like the Lycosidae (p. 6j), are ground spiders,
though some genera, like Anyphaena (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 Lycosidae (p. 6j),
but more often flattened on the back. The legs differ but
little in length, and the first and second pairs are directed for-
ward, 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 Thomisidae and Attidae (p. 41), but unlike the
Lycosidae (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 dif-
ferent 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 Pcecilochroa (p. 4).
There are three groups among the Drassidae :
1. Prosthesima, Gnaphosa, Pcecilochroa, Pythonissa, and
Drassus, which are generally dark in color and flattened above,
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 maxillae slightly widened at the end, or with the outer
O corners rounded off and sometimes a
crease or depression in the middle.
The joints of the first legs are some-
times thickened in the middle. The
lower spinnerets are longer than the
others and flat on the end.
2. Micaria, Geotrecha, Phrurolithus,
Agrceca, and Anyphaena, 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 maxillae 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 con-
tracted at the base. The maxillae
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
Figs. 3, 4, 5. Gnaphosa conspsrsa.
— 4, female enlarged four times.
3, the eyes seen from in front.
5, the maxillae, labium, and ends
of the mandibles from below.
THE DRASSID/E
3
oooo
OOOq
4%?'
from the middle pair than these are from each other (fig. 3).
The middle eyes are oval and oblique, diverging toward the
front. The maxillae 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 shal-
low 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, Gnapkosa brumalis,
lives on the top of Mount Washing-
ton 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 maxillae (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.
Figs. 6, 7, 8. Pytho-
nissa imbecilla. — 7,
female enlarged four
times. 6, the eyes
seen from in front.
8, the maxillae, la-
bium, and ends of
mandibles from be-
low.
THE COMMON SPIDERS
Poecilochroa variegata. — This is one of the most brightly
colored of the family. The cephalothorax is bright orange,
o o a utt l e darker toward the eyes. The
abdomen is black, with three trans-
verse 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 Prosthcsima atra and Gnapliosa co)ispcrsa>
Figs. 9, io, n. Pee- and the sternum longer and narrower. The
ciiochroa vanegata. maxJH^ /fior. IO ) are long and widened at the
— ii, female en- \ o / o
hrged four times, outer corners. The two rows of eyes (fig. 9)
9, eyes from in front. , . , , -, ■,
10, maxiike, labium, are almost straight, the upper one longer than
and ends of mandi- f\\Q lower
bles from below.
Poecilochroa 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 spin-
nerets. 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
Fig. 12. Fig. 13.
Poecilochroa bilineata.- kh t b j k t j fc th sides of
I pper and under views o J > r
of female without the the abdomen that do not quite reach the
legs, enlarged four . . ..
times. spinnerets. The spinnerets are unusually
THE DRASSID/E
5
OOOq
oooo
long. The eyes are arranged as in varicgata, 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 an
under side of the abdomen are sometimes yello
ish in the young. The eyes (fig. 14) are closer
together and the two rows more nearly of the
same length. In alcohol the cephalothorax I(,s ' I4 ' I5 ' 1
Prosthesima atra. —
and legs are blacker than in Gnaphosa and less 16, female en-
brown. The maxillae (fig. 15) are a little longer
and less rounded at the outer corners than in
Gnaphosa or Pythonissa. The mandibles (fig. 1 5)
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
larged four times.
14, eyes seen from
in front. 15, max-
illa?, labium, and
ends of mandibles
from below.
Fig. 17.
Fig. 18.
white markings along the middle of the Prosthesima ecclesiastica.-
° Upper and under views of
back. One-third of an inch long, a little female enlarged four times.
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 maxillae are as in P. atra, the
maxillae 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 max-
Fig. 19. Drassus saccatus. illae (fig. i) are widened at the ends on both
— Female enlarged three . , —., i -i • • • • • i
times. For eyes and sides. 1 he labium is as wide as it is long,
mouth parts see figs, i narrowe d toward the end but truncated at
and 2 in Introduction.
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 maxillae are darker and browner. The
abdomen is marked only with the usual four muscular spots
and sometimes a few transverse dark markings toward the
THE DRASSID/E
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 f
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, FiGs.20,21 22. Geo-
where the skin is thicker and harder and trecha crocata
browner in color than the rest. The cephalo-
thorax 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
22, female enlarged
four times. 20, eyes
seen from in front.
21, maxillae, labium,
and ends of mandi-
bles from below.
THE COMMON SPIDERS
down at the ends. The maxillae 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 under-
neath 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 abdo-
men 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
Fig. 23. Fig. 24.
Geotrecha bivittata. — Upper
and under views of female
enlarged four times.
THE DRASSID/E
oooo
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 maxillae are neai
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 thai
wide (fig. 26).
There is an orange-colored Micaria from Long
Island, N.Y., and farther south (probably what
described by Hentz under the name Herpyllus
aiiratus), 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 cepha-
lothorax, abdomen, and femora of all the legs are
bright orange color, with brilliant yellow and
green reflections. The spinnerets are FiGs.25,26,27,28. Micaria
longipes. — 28, Male en-
larged four times. 25, eyes
seen from in front. 26,
maxilla;, labium, and ends
of mandibles from below.
27, Southern variety, Mi-
caria aurata. Colored
orange, with black and
white markings.
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)
10
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 spicier, and cover more than half
the width of the head. The
c7 oo
00 0(2
J
3°
29
middle eyes of the upper
row are oval and turned ob-
liquely, diverging toward the
front. The labium is short
and the maxillae straight, as
in Agrceca and Anyphaena,
but wider at the base (fig. 32).
The legs are long and slen-
der, 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
Figs. 29, 30, 31, 32. Phru- dark gray, with the tip of the tibia white.
rolithus alarms. — 31, .
female in a natural posi- The tibia and patella of the second pair are
^Th*S,X£ marked with lighter gray in the same way.
eight times. 29, one of It lives among stones in open ground, and
the front legs to show ._
spines. 30, eyes from runs short distances with great swiftness.
in front. 32, maxillae When ^jjj ft Hes dose tQ a gt w j th the
labium, and ends of
mandibles. tibiae drawn up over the back.
3 2
THE DRASSID/E
II
34
Agroeca pratensis. — A little light-colored spicier, resembling
the next species, Anyphcena 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 o o
incerta. The front row of eyes is 0OO0
nearly straight, the middle pair only 33
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 Anyphaena. The legs are long,
the fourth pair longest, and are a little thicker
than those of incerta. The coxae of the hind
legs almost touch, and the sternum is short
and nearly round (fig. 36). The labium is
short and the maxillae straight, as in Any-
phaena. The cephalothorax, legs, and mouth
parts are light brownish yellow. The cephalo-
thorax 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.
Anyphaena 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 nearlv
35
FlGS - 33, 34, 35» 36.
Agroeca pratensis. — 33,
eyes from in front. 34,
maxilla?, labium, and
ends of mandibles. 35,
back of female en-
larged four times. 36,
under side of female
as far back as the
epigynum.
12
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 maxillae 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 epigy-
num and spinnerets (fig. 38), instead of
39 . .
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.
Anyphaena 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.
38, under side of fe- Another slight difference is in the shape
male as far forward as
end of sternum. 39, of the sternum, which in calcarata extends
eyes from in front. farther be tween the hind legs (fig. 42). In
40, female enlarged ° \ t /
41, max- incerta it is more pointed at the hinder end
41
Figs. 37, 38, 39, 40, 41
Anyphaena incerta. —
yi, pilpus of male
four times.
of mandible's. and shorter (fig. 38). The difference between
THE DRASSID^
13
the length of the legs in the
two species, which is slight
in the females, is greater in
the males, the legs of calca-
rata being the longer. The
palpi of the males differ con-
siderably. 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 coxae 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 salta-
bunda (p. 14).
Anyphaena 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 epigy-
num. The legs are comparatively short,
the longest, the fourth, being about as long
as the body. The maxillae 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
Figs. 42, 43. Anyphaena
calcarata. — 42, under
side of cephalothorax of
female. 43, palpus of
male.
Figs. 44, 45. Anyphaena
rubra. — 44, female with-
out the legs, enlarged
four times. 45, under
side of abdomen, show-
ing position of air-tubes.
M
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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.
Anyphaena saltabunda. — A pale short spi-
der, with long and slender legs (fig. 46).
The body is an eighth to a sixth of an inch
loner. 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 grad-
ually 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 cepha-
lothorax 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.
Figs. 46, 47. Any-
phaena saltabunda.
— 46, female en-
larged six times.
47, palpus of male.
THE DRASSID^E
15
THE GENUS CLUBIONA
These spiders are all pale and most of them without mark-
ings. 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 man-
dibles 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 fe-
males 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.
Fig. 48. Female Clubiona crassipalpis,
enlarged four times.
i6
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 man-
dibles 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 mid-
dle. 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 man-
dibles are thin and in-
clined backward toward
the mouth, but there is
no line or ridge between
the thick and thin por-
tions as in some other
species. The palpi of the
male (fig. 51) have the
patella and tibia both
short. The tibia is wid-
ened on the outer side
5 2
Figs. 49, 50, 51, 52. Clu-
biona crassipalpis.— 49,
head and mandibles of
male from the left side.
50, head and mandibles
of male from in front.
51, palpus of male. 52,
maxillae, labium, and
ends of mandibles.
°ooo o°
and laps over the tarsus, Figs. 53, 54. Clubiona
extending in a blunt hook for half its length. pJpus'oTmaCshow-
Clubiona tibialis. — Ouarter of an inch long, in s lar § e tibia - 54,
... head and mandibles
the same size and color as a'assipalpis, with f male.
THE DRASSID^E
17
° °
55
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 crassi-
palpis 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. — Ouarter of an inch lon^ and
without markings. The upper eyes are nearly
equidistant, as they are in a r assipalpis, but 57
the legs and palpi are shorter. The male man- FlGS -55>5 6 >57- ciubi
ona canadensis. —
3?'
head of female, show-
ing the swelled man-
dibles. 56, head and
mandibles of male.
57, palpus of male.
dibles (fig. 56) are much like those of crassi-
palpis, 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 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.
18
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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
0° ° o
oooo u
58
59
O O
%ooo°
Figs. 58, 59. Clubiona rubra. —
58, front of head and mandibles jn the length of
of male. 59, palpus of male.
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 nar-
rowed 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 epigy-
num 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 abdo-
men. 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
Figs. 60, 61, 62. Clubiona
ornata. — 60, back of fe-
male enlarged four times
to show markings. 61,
palpus of male. 62, front
of head and mandibles of
male.
THE DRASSID^
19
64
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 ^oOOo^
fourth pair is longest. The male man- [^
dibles (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 mark-
ings on the abdomen. The cephalotho-
rax 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 cephalo-
thorax short and wide like Clubiona, and the deep orange-brown
Figs. 63, 64, 65. Clu-
biona excepta. —
63, front of head
and mandibles of
male. 64, palpus
of male. 65, back
of female enlarged
four times to show
markings.
20
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 mid-
dle than these
are from each
other. The
labium and maxillae are like those of FiGs.67, 68,69. Chi
a-, . i .1 1 • ii racanthium viri
ubiona 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 cephalo-
thorax 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
chelas ruber,
times.
de. — 67, female
enlarged four
times. 68, eyes
from in front.
69, maxillae, labi-
um, and mandi-
bles from below.
° °
0000
68
THE DRASSID^ 21
muscular spots. Some light-colored individuals have all the
colors paler. Under stones and leaves.
Chiracanthium viride. — This has the color and general appear-
ance 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. 6j) 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 maxillae 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 DYSDERIDyE
The Dysderidae are a small family of spiders resembling in
their general appearance the Drassidae, bat 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 spin-
nerets.
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 coxae and patellae are un-
usually long, especially on the
front legs, and the tarsi are
unusually short (fig. 70). The
mandibles are long and inclined
forward. The maxillae 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
22
Figs. 70, 71, 72. Dysdera
interrita. — 70, enlarged
four times. 71, head
and eyes from in front.
72, under side enlarged
six times.
THE DYSDERID.E
23
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 tricolor. — 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 cephalo-
thorax is long and the head wide.
The maxillae 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,
tibiae 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 meta-
tarsus 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.
Figs. 73, 74. Ariadne bi-
color.
, upper side
enlarged four
74, under side.
times.
THE THOMISIDyE
The Thomisidae 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 for-
ward and backward, as they do in the Drassidae (pp. 1-2 1). The
feet have two claws and a thick brush of hairs. They are gen-
erally 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 maxillae 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 Philodro-
mus in color and outline, but has besides the caudate abdomen
a very different head and thorax, and the hind legs much shorter
24
THE THOMISID^
25
than the first and second. Ebo latithorax (p. 38) is a small Philo-
dromus, with a wide body and exaggerated second legs. Tliana-
tus lycosoides (p. 40) is like a stout Philodromus, with rough hairs
and markings, resembling some Lycosidae. Ti bell us 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 col-
ored. 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
Fig. 75. Misumena aleatoria. — Natural size,
among flowers of thoroughwort, holding a fly
in her mouth.
26
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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, Misu-
menas 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 fe-
males of vatia and aleatoria
are easily mistaken for
each other. Both vary in
color from white to deep
yellow, and grow to a large
head size, but they can be dis-
and eyes seen trom in . • . , , •■ . , , . rr
front. 77, female en- tinguished by the differ-
larged four times. ence [ n t ^ Q shape of the
78, male enlarged four \
times. 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.
THE THOMISIDiE
17
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. yy). 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. j6).
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 alca-
toria (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 quar- ^"^£J£
ter or a third as long as the adult aieatoria.—
79, front of head and
female. The front legs are pro- ey es. 80, female en-
portionally longer than in the fe- J"** ^ our "Tt
r J ° 81, female with dark
male, and the abdomen smaller and markings. 82, male
.. . . . . ^p,. , enlarged four times.
more pointed behind. 1 he 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 aieatoria. — The female of this species grows nearly
as large as vatia, and in some places is much more com-
mon. It is white or yellow, but does not have the crimson
28
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 man-
dibles and the other close under the eyes. The sides of the
cephalothorax are gray or green. The abdo-
men 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 col-
ored (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 fe-
males 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
Figs. 83, 84. Misumena legs. Both sexes are covered with short
Xged^ur'umes 6 Stiff hairS ab ° ut thdr len g th a P art a11 0Ver
84, male enlarged four the upper part of the body and legs. The
times.
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 spin-
nerets. 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
THE THOMISID/E
2 9
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 aspcmta, 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,
The abdomen is as
middle, and a little
round and high in the middle,
wide as long, widest across the
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 extend-
ing 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.
Figs. 85, 86. Synema
parvula. — Enlarged
eight times. 85, up-
per side. 86, under
side.
30
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 triguttatits, 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 limba-
tus and stomacJwsus. 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
Figs. 87, 88. Xysticus stomacho-
sus. — 87, female. 88, male.
Both enlarged four times.
THE THOMISIDiE
31
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 reach-
ing 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
and July.
Xysticus gulosus. — This is a very distinct
species and less variable in markings than
limbatus and stomacJwsiis. The color is
brown or gray, with indistinct darker mark-
ings (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
Figs. 89, 90. Xys-
ticus limbatus. —
89. female. 90,
male. Both en-
larged four times.
32
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 resem-
bles in color.
Xysticus nervosus. — This is a pale
species, the females of which are nearly
as large as limbahis. 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 mark-
ings which are more
distinct in other
species (figs. 93, 94).
On the hinder half of
the abdomen are
three or four pairs of
Figs. 91, 92. Xysticus ver y indistinct tranS-
gulosus. — 9 1, female.
92, male. Both en- verse markings. The
larged four times. legg ^ marked wkh
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.
94
Xysticus nervosus.
Figs. 93, 94.
— 93, female. 94, male,
enlarged four times.
Both
THE THOMISID/E
33
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 be'hind.
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 Fig. 98. Xysticus quadriline-
1 1 -.i .1 ,1 <-^^*-U ^f n^ atus, enlarged four times.
inch long, with the thorax a tenth ot an s
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
97
Xysticus triguttatus.
96, male. Both en-
larged four times. 97, front of head
much enlarged to show eyes and
mandibles.
Figs. 95, 96,97
— 95, female
34
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 alter-
nating 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 abdo-
On the thorax is a white spot in the middle under the
Figs. 99, 100. Xysticus
versicolor. — 99, fe-
male. 100, male. Both
enlarged four times.
men.
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 THOMISID/E
35
THE GENUS PHTLODROMUS
101
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.
PJiilodromus vulgaris lives usu-
ally 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 cov-
ered 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 FlGS IOI io2 io3j I04 . philodromus
with small gray spots forming a vui^ris - 101 male. 102, female.
o j r- o Both enlarged four times. 103, tibia
stripe in the middle of the front of of the male palpus. 104, one of the
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
102
36
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 abdo-
men 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
Fig. 105. Philodromus
ornatus. — Female en-
larged six times.
middle, but this is usually
absent in adults, and the mid-
dle 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 Figs. 106, 107. Philodromus lineatus.— 106, female.
Strongly iridescent with 107, male. Both enlarged six times.
red and green in a bright light. In alcohol it shows indistinctly
THE THOMISID/E
37
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 abdo-
men has a brown band each side,
often broken into several spots, and
a brown band in the middle extend-
ing 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. no). 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
Figs. 108, 109, no. Philodromus
pictus. — 1 10, adult female. 109,
male without the legs. 108, mark-
ings of the abdomen of a young
female. All enlarged six times.
Fig. in. Ebo latithorax, enlarged
twelve times.
38
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 resem-
bles 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
and the abdomen is wider than in
Philodromus. The head is nar-
row 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 spi-
der is about as large as PJiilo-
dromiis vulgaris and similarly
colored, but may be distin-
guished 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
Figs. 112, 113. Tmarus caudatus. — 112,
female enlarged six times. 113, left side
of the abdomen.
THE THOMISID/K
39
114
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 differ-
ence being greater than in Philodro-
mus 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
JI 5
Figs. 114, 115, 116. Tibellus
duttonii. — 115, female en-
larged four times. 1 14, one
of the feet. 116, front of
head, showing eyes and man-
dibles.
40
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 Thomisidae, 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 Ocyalc undata (p. 88).
Fig. 117. Thanatus coloradensis, enlarged four times.
THE ATTID/E
The Attidae 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. 1 1 8), somewhat as in the Lycosidae, 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 some-
times 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 Attidae 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 mark-
ings between the sexes, and the males have peculiar bunches
4T
m^0
Fig. 118. Front of
head of Phidippus
mystaceus, show-
ing eyes and man-
dibles.
42
THE COMMON SPIDERS
Fig. 119. Attus palustris
enlarged six times.
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 orna-
ments. 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 pnlcx, which it much
resembles. The two sexes
resemble each other in mark-
ings, but the females are lighter
and browner and the males
darker and grayer. The cepha-
lothorax has a narrow white
middle line, widened opposite
the dorsal eyes, and a shorter jjf
white line just below the eyes
on the sides (fig. 119). The
edge of the cephalothorax is
also white. On the abdomen FlGS - 12 °< I21 - Saitispulex.— 120, female.
. 121, male. Both enlarged six times.
the front middle spot is not so
distinct as in pnlex, but in place of it are two white spots.
Behind these is a large transverse light marking, sometimes
THE ATTID/E
43
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 cephalotho-
rax is half longer
than wide, longer
and narrower than
in Habrocestum
and Attus. The
abdomen is usu-
ally shorter than
the cephalothorax
and wider (figs.
Figs. 122, 123. Habrocestum auratum. — 122, male.
123, female. Both enlarged eight times.
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
44
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 mark-
ings. 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 fe-
males. 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
Figs. 124, 125. Third and first legs of
male Habrocestum auratum to show dif-
ferences between this species and the next. —
124, third leg. 125, first leg.
THE ATTID.E
45
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
Figs. 126, 127, 128. Habro-
cestum peregrinum. —
128, female enlarged
six times. 126, third
leg. 127, first leg.
4 6
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 patellae
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
Fig. 129. Habroces-
tum splendens. —
Male enlarged
eight times.
THE ATTID^E
47
130
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 indis-
tinctly 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 for-
ward, he dances back and
forth sidewise in front of
her, gradually drawing
nearer. At inter-
vals he stops and
Figs. 130/131. Neon turns his back to
nellii. — 131, female h er> t h en f aces | ier
enlarged sixteen
times. 130, side of and dances again.
cephalothorax, show- «• ,... tu 1
. K ... f Neon nellii. — 1 his
ing position of eyes.
is one of the small-
est 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 Fig ^ Zvgoballus ^
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
tini. — Female enlarged
eight times.
4 8
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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 sea-
sons.
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 cephalo-
thorax 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
Fig. 133. Phidippus multiformis. — Female
enlarged six times.
THE ATTID^
49
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 spicier 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 cephalo-
thorax 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
Fig. 134. Phidippus mul-
tiformis. — Male enlarged
six times.
5o
THE COMMON SPIDERS
the white spots have short and wide scales. Under the abdo-
men 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 sum-
mer 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
Fig. 135. Phidippus my-
staceus, enlarged six
times.
THE ATTID/E
51
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 abdo-
men (fig. 136). Large females are half an
inch long and the males a little smaller.
Though the general color is black, it is modi-
fied, 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, some-
times almost black. In both sexes the mandibles are large
and the cephalothorax high and flat on the top as far back as
Fig. 136. Phidippus tri-
punctatus, enlarged six
times.
52
THE COMMON SPIDERS
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
ff, hairs from the middle of the head
f> down to the base of the first legs.
[ 39
The legs are rather
Fig. 137. Plexippus pner-
perus. — Female enlarged
six times.
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 FlGS lj8j ^ plexippus puer .
many species. In the females the penis.— 138, male enlarged six
times. 139, front of head of
cephalothorax is pale, with a few gray male.
THE ATTID^
53
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 cepha-
lothorax 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 under side
of the abdomen is
usually darker in the
middle and some-
times 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 mili-
taris. — This spider
resembles in many
ways the next spe-
cies, Dendryphantes
cestivalis, 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
140 141
Figs. 140, 141. Dendryphantes militaris. — 140, female.
141, male. Both enlarged six times.
54
THE COMMON SPIDERS
142
H3
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 aestivalis. —
One of the most common
Attidae, 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 translu-
cent, 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
of female. All enlarged abdomen is brighter yellow than the
six times.
thorax, with four pairs of purplish brown
spots, the second pair largest, connected with a paler brown mid-
dle marking. The abdomen has beneath a purple brown
stripe in the middle and oblique brown marks at the sides.
Sternum, maxillae, and mandibles light brown. The dark
144
Figs. 142, 143, 144. Dendry-
phantes aestivalis. — 142,
male. 143, dark variety of
female. 144, light variety
THE ATTID/E
55
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 con-
dition 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 bend-
ing 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 spicier, and the
palpal organ extends back beyond the tibia.
Figs. 145, 146, 147, 148. Icius palmarum.
— 145, male. 146, female. Both en-
larged six times. 147, front of head of
male. 148. abdomen of female to show
a variety of marking.
56
THE COMMON SPIDERS
Icius palmarum. — This is very common on trees and bushes,
and may be mistaken for Dendryphantes cestivalis, which it much
resembles. It differs from cestivalis in both sexes in being a
little smaller and more slender and in the females lighter
colored. In the males the head is wider, the front legs longer
and darker colored than in cestivalis, and the mandibles longer
and more nearly horizontal.
The living female has the legs and palpi transparent white,
sometimes a little darker at the ends of the joints. The whole
body is covered with light gray or white scales mixed with fine
black hairs. The abdomen has a row of darker triangular spots
in the middle and oblique rows of small spots at the sides. In
alcohol the legs become yellow and the rest of the body red,
as in cEstivalis, afterward fading to a dirty yellow. The mark-
ings of the abdomen become more distinct and in some indi-
viduals form four large dark brown spots.
The males have the front legs very dark brown.
The other legs are transparent white. The cephalo-
thorax and abdomen are dark reddish brown
mixed with shining greenish white scales and
sometimes copper red around the eyes. On
each side is a white stripe the whole length
of the body, the two meeting in front below
the eyes. The mandibles, maxillae, and palpi
are dark brown. Some males show indistinctly
dorsal markings of the abdomen like the
female. The mandibles of the male are
longer than those of the female and more
or less turned forward according to their
length. In some the mandibles are only a
little longer than those of the female, and in these the patella
and tibia of the front legs are not much longer than the femur.
In others, usually larger spiders, the mandibles are nearly as
Fig. 149. Icius mitra-
tus. — Male enlarged
six times.
THE ATT ID /E
57
long as the cephalothorax and extend forward horizontally, the
maxillae are longer, and the first pair of legs have the patella and
tibia one and a half times as long as the femur. The female is
longer in proportion to its
width than in cestivalis and
has the front legs stouter.
The epigynum has two small
anterior openings directed for-
ward instead of toward each
other, as in cestivalis. This
and the next species live on
low bushes all summer.
Icius mitratus. — This species
closely resembles Icius palma-
runty differing mainly in color.
The legs are all white in both figs. 150, 151. icius elegans.— 150, female.
151, male. Both enlarged six times.
sexes, and the mandibles of the
male are white and not long and horizontal, as in palmarum.
The females resemble palmarum so closely that it is difficult
to tell them apart. The cephalothorax is a trifle wider, and
the abdomen narrower, and the front legs longer than in
palmarum. The general color is whiter, and the spots on the
abdomen are more distinct, as in fig. 148. The male has the
legs white or a little greenish, with long white hairs, those on
the front legs longer than the diameter of the legs. The rest
of the body is white, except a light brown stripe in the middle
of the cephalothorax and abdomen, covered with light yellow
hairs, through which three or four dark spots show indistinctly
on the abdomen (fig. 149). When fighting with other males,
or when approaching the female, the hairy front legs are
straightened and extended sidewise.
Icius elegans. — A little bronze green spider, from a sixth to
a quarter of an inch long. The cephalothorax is two-thirds
58
THE COMMON SPIDERS
as wide as long, with the sides nearly straight and parallel in
the female but widened behind the middle in the male. The
abdomen of the female is oval and nearly twice as long as wide.
The color is bronze green, changing in some lights to copper
red. The legs are yellow, with longitudinal dark stripes, except
the front femora, which are dark brown.
The males are much more brightly colored.
The legs are orange, darker toward the ends,
with fine dark longitudinal stripes. The ends
of the front tibiae are dark brown and have
brown hairs on the inner and upper
The palpi are orange, darker toward
the end. The sides and hinder part
of the cephalothorax are orange,
and there is a white line over the
coxae. The upper part of the cepha-
lothorax and abdomen is covered
with greenish yellow scales. On
the front of the head are two tufts
of long hairs, yellow mixed with
black, pointing forward and a little
inward between the middle and
lateral eyes. On the hinder end
of the abdomen is an iridescent
152. Meevia purple spot. The abdomen is
tata. — Fe- pr reen on tne under side, and the
le enlarged °
times. sternum and coxae are orange. In
alcohol all the colors become dull.
The mandibles are slender, and the claw short and strongly
curved inward toward the point. In the male the mandibles
are a little longer and hollowed a little on the inner side. The
male has the first pair of legs much longer and larger than the
others. In the female the fourth legs are longest.
>
THE ATTID^E
59
Maevia vittata. — This is a brightly colored spider about a third
of an inch long and with unusually long legs for this family, —
the fourth pair longest in the females and the first and fourth
of equal length in the males. The female (fig. 152) has the
legs and palpi translucent yellow or greenish white. They are
marked with indistinct light gray rings and black spots at the
base of the hairs and spines. The cephalothorax is dark brown
between the eyes
and translucent
like the legs in
the thoracic part.
There is a fine
black line in the
middle and one on
each side and a
few gray marks
radiating from the
dorsal groove.
Thewholetop 1
of the cephalothorax
is covered with green-
ish yellow scales mixed
with gray hairs. The
eyes are black, and
sometimes there is a
red stripe under the
eyes at the sides. The
abdomen is covered
with scales which in the middle and at the sides are gray and
mixed with black hairs. There are two longitudinal bands of
light red and indistinct angular marks of the same color in the
middle of the hinder half. On the under side the colors are light
gray and yellow, with spots of darker gray on the abdomen.
Figs. 153, 154. Maevia vittata. — Males enlarged six
times. 153, dark variety with long hairs on front
of head. 154, light variety colored like the female.
6o
THE COMMON SPIDERS
The males are of two very different colors. One kind (fig. 1 54)
resembles the female. The red bands on the abdomen are
broken up into rows of spots connected with the middle
angular markings. The gray
and black spots on the legs and
cephalothorax are larger, and
there are several black marks
on the front of the abdomen.
The palpi are bright orange
yellow, with the tibial hook
black and a black spot on the
inner side of each joint. The
size of the black spots varies
in different individuals, and so
this passes into the other variety
(fig. 153), in which the cephalo-
thorax and abdomen are entirely
black and the palpi black, except
a few orange hairs on the outer
side. The black cephalothorax and abdomen are covered with
dark greenish shining scales. The legs in this variety are
transparent white except the hairs, and on the front of the head
are three tufts of long hairs which are wanting in the light-
colored males. , ^ ^j^J^.. -=.
Epiblemum scenicum. — This is the common gray and white
spider that lives on houses and fences (fig. 155). It is about
quarter of an inch long, the cephalothorax half longer than wide,
and the abdomen a little wider and longer. The front of the head
around and above the eyes is white. There is a white stripe
on each side of the cephalothorax, and in the middle two white
spots, one each side of the dorsal groove. On the abdomen
there is a white stripe across the anterior end, and two oblique
marks on each side. The legs are gray, with white rings not
Figs. 155, 156.
Epiblemum sceni-
*55 cum. — 155, female.
156, male. Both enlarged six times.
THE ATTID^E
6l
very distinctly marked, and the palpi white. On some indi-
viduals the white marks are more definite than on others, the
gray ground having but few white scales mixed with it. In
others yellow and white scales are
largely mixed with the gray, and so
the contrast with the white spots is
less. The males (fig. 156) differ but
little in size, color, or markings from
the females, but the male mandibles
are much larger and extend horizon-
tally in front of the head, sometimes
two-thirds as long as the cephalotho-
rax. This is a common European,
as well as American, spider. It is
occasionally found on the ground or
on plants, but commonly on and
ar^out houses.
Marptusa familiaris. — This is another
common species on fences and the out-
side of houses (fig. 157). When full
grown it is half an inch long. The
whole body is much flattened, and
both the cephalothorax and abdomen
are widened in the middle. The
cephalothorax is rounded at the sides
and three-quarters as wide as long,
and the abdomen is half as wide as
it is long. The legs are long and
stout, the fourth pair one-half longer
than the abo
