9 2 



THE COMMON SPIDERS 



is often contracted behind the eyes, so that it is narrower there 

 than in front. The mandibles are large and, in the females, 

 much swelled at the base in front. The arrangement of the 

 eyes differs little from that in the Drassidae. The upper spin- 

 nerets are longer than the others and have the terminal joint 



Fig. 222. Web of Agalena naevia in short grass on the side of a hill, seen from the side. 

 The spider stands in its usual place at the mouth of its tube. Half the real size. 



narrowed toward the end, with the spinning tubes on the inner 

 side. The feet have three claws, like the Lycosidae, and do 

 not have the brush of hairs common in the Drassidae. The 

 males and females differ little in size, but the males have longer 

 legs and smaller abdomen and large and complicated palpi. 



Agalena naevia. — This spider is known everywhere by its web, 

 which it makes on grass, among stones and weeds, and in 



