THE EPEIRID^E 



'83 



the second pair is curved or thickened. It is found in South 

 Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. 



Cyclosa conica or caudata. — This spider may be known by the 

 blunt conical hump at the hinder end of the abdomen, extend- 

 ing upward and backward over the spinnerets (figs. 428, 429). 

 Full-grown females are about quarter of an inch long. The 

 color is a mixture of gray and white, different individuals vary- 

 ing from almost white to almost black. The cephalothorax 

 is longer than wide, the front part narrow, and the top of the 

 front of the head extended forward beyond 

 the base of the mandibles. The hump on 

 the abdomen varies considerably in size, 

 and is generally about half as long as the 

 rest of the abdomen and slopes gradually 

 into it. In light individuals the markings 42S 429 



of the abdomen are obscure, but usually figs. 428, 429. cyclosa 

 there is a distinct dark middle stripe, t conica > enlar § ed four 



1 times. 



widest near the base of the hump. The 

 under side is black, with a pair of very distinct light spots 

 across the middle. The cephalothorax is dark gray or black 

 without stripes, sometimes a little lighter around the eyes. 

 The legs are white, with dark rings at the end of each joint 

 and in the middle of each except the femora. On the first 

 and second femora the dark rings are very wide, covering 

 sometimes more than half the joint. The males have the 

 cephalothorax darker and narrower in front, and the abdomen 

 smaller, with only a slight hump. The spider seems to live all 

 the time in the web. The inner spiral is large and widens 

 gradually from the center outward. There is usually a line of 

 silk across the web, in which are fastened parts of dead insects 

 and other rubbish and, in the middle of the summer, the cocoons 

 of eggs. The spider, standing in the middle of this band where 

 it crosses the center of the web, looks like part of the rubbish. 



