114 



THE COMMON SPIDERS 



Theridium differens. — Female about one-eighth of an inch 

 long, and the male smaller. The abdomen is round, and the 

 middle stripe often very brightly colored, with white or yellow 

 at the edges and red in the middle (fig. 264). The rest of the 



Fig. 263. Web of Theridium differens in the top of a young pine tree. Half the real size. 



abdomen is reddish brown, darkest next to the white edge of 

 the stripe. There are no distinct marks on the under side. 

 In males the stripe on the abdomen is obscure, and the whole 

 abdomen dark reddish brown (fig. 265). Sometimes, especially 



