310 J. H. Emerton — New England IHpeiridce. 



num is very small and light colored. On some specimens there are 

 indistinct si)ots and other traces of the folium toward the end of the 

 abdomen. The cephalothorax is yellow with sometimes dark spots 

 at the sides. The two front pairs of legs have the femur, patella 

 and tibia orange, darker at the ends. The tarsi are white with brown 

 tips. The other legs have the femur and patella orange and the 

 other joints Avhite with dark rings at the ends. The tibia of the 

 fourth pair has a Avide dark ring at the tip. 



These spiders live in tents near the web, like rnarmorea and irmi- 

 laris, and are often found on fences. Around New Haven, Conn., 

 they are common, and I have them from several places in Eastern 

 Massachusetts. Hent/'s original painting had the colors much 

 brighter than any specimen I have seen. 



Epeira pratensis Hentz. 



Plate XXXIII, figures 15, 15o. Plate XXXVI, figure 9. 



Adult females from Chelsea marshes, Mass., are 8'""' long. The 

 cephalothorax and abdomen are both rather long(!r and narrower 

 than in trhrfttata. Tlie colors are yellow and yellowish brow'n with, 

 in some specimens, bright red marks on the edges of the middle 

 stripe. The cephalothorax is dull yellow with a middle and two 

 lateral stripes slightly darker but these are often absent in light 

 specimens. The legs are dull yellow, slightly darker at the ends of 

 the joints. The abdomen has a middle dark stripe, at the sides of 

 which are two narrow bright yellow lines which are sometimes 

 bordered with red near the front of the abdomen. Outside of the 

 middle stripes are six pairs of black spots partly surrounded by yel- 

 low which are the only traces of the edges of the folium. The 



Epeira pratensis, trivittata and domiciliorum. 



These three species resemble each other closely and some inth'viduals of either 

 species may be mistaken for one of the others. They resemble each other most in 

 autumn when the colors of all three are darker and the markings more obscure. The 

 palpal organs are so much alike that they give no help in distinguishing the species. 

 Females of domiciliorum are larger than the other species and early in the summer 

 can usually be distinguished by their markings. The males of this species differ from 

 those of trivittata in having the tibi;e of the second legs a little less curved and in 

 darker colors. The markings of females of trivittata and 2»"rtfe««/s are often m\ich 

 alike, but pratensis has generally a longer abdomen and less distinct folium than tri- 

 vittata. The males of pratensis have the cephalothorax longer and the head more 

 prominent than in the other species. Trivittata is the most common of the three 

 species and the most variable. Domiciliorum is most common on fences and in 

 gardens. 



