THE EPEIRID^ 



199 



female hold each other by the ends of the mandibles. The eyes 

 are in two rows nearly equal and parallel, and the distance 

 between the lateral pairs varies in different species. The palpi 

 are long and slender in both sexes, and in the males their 



Fig. 457. Web of Argiope transversa in an opening among marsh grass, covered 



above by wilted ends of grass leaves. 



proportions differ according to the species. The legs are also 

 long and slender, and vary in length from grallator, where the 

 female has the first legs ten times as long as the cephalothorax, 

 to laboriosciy in which they are seven times as long. The webs 

 are generally inclined and may be nearly horizontal or nearly 



