142 



THE COMMON SPIDERS 



and communis, measuring a fifth of an inch in length. The 

 cephalothorax is light yellow, with a black line in the middle, 

 forked at the front end, and another at the sides near the edge 

 of the thorax. The legs are light yellow, with a dark ring at 

 the end of each joint and at the middle of each tibia and meta- 

 tarsus. The legs are also marked with dark spots, especially 



Fig. 332. Web of Linyphia phrygiana in a barberry bush. The spider stood under 

 the upper part of the inclined sheet close to the stem. 



on the femora, and the spines are black and conspicuous. The 

 abdomen is yellowish, with brown spots at the sides and beneath, 

 and along the middle of the back is a dark brown or red herring- 

 bone stripe (fig. 333). The head of the male is higher than 

 that of the female and has a crest of stiff hairs. The male palpi 

 (fig. 334) have a long spur on the patella and have the end small, 



