THE LYCOSID^ 



The Lycosidae are among the commonest spiders, or, at any 

 rate, those most often seen. Most of them live near the 

 ground and move actively about without attempting to conceal 

 themselves. Their colors are black and white or the colors of 

 the ground, stones, and dead leaves, sometimes nearly uniform 

 all over the body, in other kinds arranged in a distinct pattern, 

 with strong contrasts between the light and dark parts. In 

 some species the markings are brighter and more characteristic 

 on the under side than on the back. The legs are long, the 

 fourth pair longest. The spines on the legs are long and often 

 darker colored than the skin, and when the spider is active they 

 stand out from the legs and make them appear larger. The 

 first and second legs are more covered with fine short hairs and 

 have the spines shorter and less easily seen than the third 

 and fourth. The feet have three claws, the under one small 

 and covered by the surrounding hairs. The eyes have a pecul- 

 iar arrangement, the front row being small and nearly straight, 

 the middle pair of the upper row just above them and much 

 larger, while the lateral eyes of this row are carried back and 

 upward on the sides of the head so that the eyes are really 

 in three rows of four, two, and two (fig. "170). In those species 

 with low heads, like Dolomedes, the upper row of eyes is less 

 curved and smaller, and the whole arrangement resembles 

 that in Tibellus and others of the Thomisidae. The body is 

 usually long and the head high, the abdomen about as long and 

 as wide as the cephalothorax and as thick as it is wide. 



Our largest spiders belong to this family. The females 

 carry their eggs in round cocoons attached to their spinnerets, 



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