LYCOSIDAE 



417 



Fam. 32. Lycosidae. These are what are popularly known 

 as " Wolf-spiders." They are vagabond hunting spiders, spinning 

 no snare, but chasing their prey along the ground, and in the 

 breeding season carrying their egg-bags with them, attached be- 

 neath the abdomen. Some of them burrow in the loose earth or 

 sand, but others seem to have nothing in the way of a habitation. 



The arrangement of the eyes is very characteristic. They are 

 in three rows. The front row consists of four small eyes above 

 the insertion of the chelicerae, and directed forwards. Two com- 

 paratively very large eyes form the next row, and occupy the 

 upper angles of the facies, being also directed forwards. The 

 third row consists of two medium-sized eyes placed dorso-laterally 

 on the caput, some distance behind the rest, and looking upwards. 

 The tarsi are three-clawed. The so-called " Tarantula " spiders 

 belong to this group, though the name has been so abused in 

 popular usage, and 

 has passed through so 

 many vicissitudes in 

 scientific nomencla- 

 ture, that it is diffi- 

 cult to tell what 

 creature is intended 

 by it. In America 

 the Aviculariidae are 

 commonly called 

 Tarantulas. 



The two chief 

 genera of this exten- 

 sive family are Lycosa 

 and Pardosa. 



The genus Lycosa 

 includes about 400 

 species. It has been 

 broken up from time 

 to time into various 

 genera (Trochosa, 



Pirata, Tarentula, etc.), but these glide into each other by im- 

 perceptible degrees, and are now discarded. They are large or 

 moderate-sized spiders, found in every part of the world. About 

 twenty species are British, some of them being fine and hand- 

 VOL. iv 2 E 



Fio. 214. Lycosid Spiders. 1, Lycosa fabrilis, 9 ; 

 2, Lycosa picta, 9 ; 3, Pardosa amentata, 9 . 



