Superfamily Argiopoidea 



and two more or less distinct white bands. Mature spiders were 

 collected during the first week in August. 



The web is built among shrubs, between the branches of 

 small trees, in stumps, and against the sides of logs. The dome is 

 from one foot to two feet in horizontal diameter and from five to 

 eight inches in vertical diameter. It is of the same delicate 

 structure as that of the filmy dome spider, but is more conspicuous 

 on account of its much larger size. I saw thousands of these 

 domes along the trails in the sugar pine belt of Tuolomne County, 

 Cal. It seemed very appropriate that the architects of these 



large domes should build 

 beneath these magnificent 

 trees. In the higher alti- 

 tudes i. e., above 7000 feet, 

 I did not find the spider. 

 The species was first 

 described by Keyserling 

 from specimens collected 

 in Washington State; and 

 Mr. R. W. Doane has sent 

 me specimens collected 

 near Stanford University. 

 It is evident, therefore, 

 that the species is widely 

 distributed on the Pacific 

 Coast. 



The Hammock Spider, 

 Linyphia pbrygiana (L. 

 phryg-i-a'na). — This is 

 one of the most common species of Linyphia in the eastern 

 half of the United States; and is one that is easily recog- 

 nized by its characteristic markings. The cephalothorax is 

 light yellow, narrowly margined with black, and with a central 

 dark line on the thorax and two closely parallel lines on the head. 

 The abdomen is yellowish with a dark brown or reddish herring- 

 bone stripe in the middle (Fig. 407). The length of the body is 

 one fifth inch. 



The web of this spider (Fig. 408) is a netted hammock-like 

 sheet, which is more often quadrangular in outline than other- 

 wise, but the shape depends on the nature of the support. It is 



Fig. 407. LINYPHIA PHRYGIANA 



394 



