Superfamily Argiopoidea 



visiting these flowers may alight within reach of a spider before 

 seeing it. 



The egg-sac is lenticular in form and is usually formed of 

 two equal valves, united at the border, which presents a little 

 circular fringe. In the subfamily Misumeninae, the egg-sac is 

 sometimes free and sometimes suspended like a hammock in a 

 retreat formed of rolled or drawn together leaves; in the sub- 

 family Philodrominae, it is fixed by one of its valves. In most 

 cases after the egg-sac is made, the female quits her wandering 

 habits in order to watch it. 



In the palpus of the male, the tibia is armed with apophyses, 

 which vary in form and afford good characters for distinguishing 

 the species. In the male of Xysticus ferox, which maybe taken 

 as an illustration of the family, the genital bulb, when expanded, 

 is of the form shown in Fig. 569. The subtegulum is well- 

 developed, but does not bear anelli; the tegulum is large; the 



Fig. 569. 



GENITAL BULB OF XYSTICUS 



FEROX, EXPANDED 



Fig. 57°- 



GENITAL BULB OF 



XYSTICUS FEROX, 



UNEXPANDED 



Fig. 571. CYMBIUM 



OF XYSTICUS 



GULOSUS, SHOWING 



THE TUTACULUM 



embolus is of the spiral type, and has all of the parts characteristic 

 of that type well-developed; there is a medium apophysis of 

 moderate size; and, beyond the median apophysis, a larger, 

 hooked, terminal apophysis. The development of these apophy- 

 ses, however, appear to be characteristic of the genus Xysticus. 

 I have not observed them in any other members of this family. 

 The most striking characteristic of the genital bulb is the ab- 

 sence of a conductor of the embolus and, in most of the genera, 

 of a greater or less modification of the edge of the cymbium for 



522 



