Superfamily Argiopoidea 



length of the abdomen, which is extended in a worm-like prolon- 

 gation far beyond the spinnerets (Fig. 326). The following species 

 is the only representative of the genus known to occur in our 

 territory. 



Ariamnes fictilius (A. fic-til'i-us). — This species is light yellow 

 and silvery white in colour, with three darker bands on the cepha- 

 lothorax and one on the middle of the abdomen. The legs are 

 very long and slender. The body varies from one fifth to one 



Fig. 326. ARIAMNES FICTILIUS 



third inch in length; the part behind the spinnerets greatly ex- 

 ceeds the remainder of the body in length. The species is dis- 

 tributed from New England to the Gulf of Mexico, but is rare. 



Hentz, who first described the species, states that the spider 

 makes a web like that of Theridion, and remains motionless in 

 an inverted position; and that the projection of the abdomen is 

 capable of bending over nearly double. F. O. P. Cambridge 

 writing of the "worm-like appendage" of the abdomen of spiders 

 of this genus states: 'This, as 1 have myself observed in Brazil, 

 is wriggled to and fro, looking like a small caterpillar. But of 

 what service to the spider this accomplishment may be is not easy 

 to guess; for on the one hand it seems likely to attract the atten- 

 tion of grub-eating wasps and ants, though on the other it mav 

 attract, within striking distance, gnats and small flies who become 

 curious to ascertain what the wriggling phenomenon may por- 

 tend." 



337 



