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Til E POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



others may have the fortune to clear up the points in its economy as 

 yet undiscovered. 



Our spider is thought by high authorities to be a species of the genus 

 called Hyptiotes by Walcknaer, and afterward and more commonly 

 Mithras,' but the former name has priority. Of this genus two Euro- 

 pean species have been described ; one of which, //. paradoxus, has 

 lately been found in England, and described by the veteran arachnol- 

 ogist, Mr. Blackwall. Our American species seems to be that referred 

 to by Hentz as the Cyllopodia cavata, 1 but his description is so brief, 



Fig. 1. Net or the " Triangle Spider." about one-half the usual length. The spider, how- 

 ever, is shown of the natural size. 



B B, the base-line attached, at C and D, to a hemlock-branch ; E F G, points of attachment 

 to the base-line of the three radii, R' to B"", which converge at A, the apex of the net; I' to 

 1 IX , nine transverse or interradial double lines ; <S" to S"", attachments of the first interradial 

 upon the radii ; A L, apex-line ; O, origin of the apex-line from a second branch ; 81., loop 

 of the apex-line or "slack," between the front and hinder feet of the spider: this is better 

 shown in the lower enlarged figure. 



and in some respects erroneous (giving only six eyes, whereas there 

 are eight), that we shall probably avoid confusion by calling this a 

 new species (JT. Americanus). 



Having now identified the spider sufficiently for our present pur- 

 pose, we have to inquire : 



1. Which is the spider, the male or the female? 

 h 2. How is the net made ? 



3. How is the net used in taking prey ? 



4. What are the relations between this and other spiders? 



1. Which is the Spider? As is often, although by no means 



1 Boston Journal of Natural History, 1847, vol. v., p. 466, plate xxx., Fig. 3. 



