i6o 



THE COMMON SPIDERS 



Insects flying through the web strike the sticky threads 

 and, trying to free themselves, fall against others. The spider 

 at the center of the web feels the movements of the insect 

 and goes toward it by the nearest ray and, drawing out silk 

 from the spinnerets, throws it around the insect until it is tied 

 fast. Adult male Epeiridae are seldom seen in webs of their 

 own, but some of them do occasionally make webs. The male 

 E. sclopetaria, for instance, sometimes makes a web 

 nearly as large as that of the female and stands in it 

 waiting for insects to be caught. 



The Three House Epeiras: E. 

 sclopetaria, patagiata, and strix. 

 — These are the round-web 

 spiders most commonly found 

 about houses, barns, and 

 fences. They are all 

 about the same size, a 

 third of an inch in 

 length, and of various 

 shades of brown, with a 

 4 distinct scalloped mid- 

 dle stripe on the abdo- 



Figs. 3 S 3 , 384, 385. 383, Epeira sclopetaria. 384, men. Sclopetaria (fig. 

 Epeira patagiata. 385, Epeira strix. , . 



383) has the middle 

 stripe broken at the edges just in front of the middle of each 

 side, so as to form two separate figures, one covering the front 

 and the other the hinder half of the abdomen. In patagiata 

 (fig. 384) and strix the edges of the stripe are usually entire 

 for their whole length. In strix (fig. 385) the middle stripe 

 is narrower than in the others and usually lighter in color. 

 The color of sclopetaria inclines to black, with the light marks 

 yellow. Patagiata is oftener reddish brown, especially in 

 alcohol, and the middle stripe is often dark and uniform in 



