Superfamily Argiopoidea 



The male is much smaller than the female, being about half 

 as long. The tibia of the second legs is thickened and armed 

 on the inner side with many, short, thick spines (Fig. 496). The 

 unexpanded bulb of the palpus is represented by Fig. 497 and the 

 expanded bulb by Fig. 498; these are described in detail in an 

 earlier chapter. (See p. 118.) 



The web (Fig. 499) is a complete orb; that of the adult is 

 large, one foot or more in diameter. It is nearly vertical and 

 is usually built in shrubs or among the low branches of trees; 

 but 1 have seen it on trees high above the ground. The central 

 part of the web of this species is shown in Fig. 185 (p. 191); 

 the hub is meshed, with rather large irregular spaces; the notched 

 zone includes comparatively few turns; and the free zone is 

 narrow or not well-marked; it is probably rarely if ever used by 



Fig. 500. EGG-SAC OF ARANEA GIGAS 



the spider as a means of passage from one side to the other of the 

 web. The retreat is usually' above the orb and at some distance 

 back of it. It is frequently made in a curled leaf or in a bunch 

 of leaves, and is connected with the hub by one or more traplines. 

 Young spiders make their tent entirely of silk. 



In the Northern States the spiders reach maturity in August. 

 The egg-sacs are made early in the autumn; they consist of a 

 loose flocculent mass of silk enclosing the ball of eggs (Fig. 500). 



This species is the Epeira insularis of Hentz. 



The Shamrock Spider, Aranea trifolium (A. tri-fo'li-um). — 

 The cephalothorax is light with three wide, black stripes. The 

 abdomen varies in colour from almost white without any markings 

 to a gray with an olive tinge or to a dark reddish brown with a 

 purplish tinge. The markings of the abdomen are as variable 

 as is the ground colour. Figure 501 represents a common form. 



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