THE THERIDID^E 



115 



in young spiders, the abdomen is entirely yellow, with indistinct 

 brown markings. The cephalothorax is orange brown, often 

 darker in the middle, but with no distinct stripe. The legs and 

 palpi are yellow in females and orange brown in males, slightly 

 darker at the ends of the joints. The epigynum has no open- 

 ings in sight. They are on the inner 

 side in the transverse fold across the 

 abdomen. The palpal organ (fig. 266) 

 has two appendages at the end, one hard 

 and roughened and the other soft. The 

 web is on low plants of all kinds, usually 

 two or three feet from the ground (fig. 

 263). There is sometimes a small tent, 

 often hardly deep enough to cover the 

 spider, from which the web spreads two 

 or three inches, according to the shape of 

 the plant. The cocoons of eggs are 

 white and nearly as large as the spider, 

 and are attached in the nest. 



Theridium murarium. — Length about 

 one-eighth of an inch, with the abdomen 

 nearly spherical. The general color is 

 gray. The legs are pale, with dark bands 

 at the end and middle of each joint. The 

 cephalothorax is pale, with a dark line in Figs. 264, 265, 266. Theridium 



,1 •111 1 1 -1 .i differens. — 264, female en- 



the middle and one on each side, the larged eigh t times. 265, male 

 middle line sometimes divided into two enlarged eight times. 266, 



_^ , . end of palpus of male. 



near the eyes (fig. 267). On the abdomen 



there is an undulated middle stripe, white at the edges and the 

 front end, and reddish in the middle. On both sides of this 

 stripe the abdomen is nearly black and becomes gradually lighter 

 toward the sides. The sternum is pale, with a black edge and 

 black stripe in the middle. The under side of the abdomen 



266 



