326 e/. //. Ernerton — New 'England Epeiridm. 



New Haven, still tinnly attached to the bark. From these the 

 young came out in June. 



Acrosoma Perty. 



These spiders have the abdomen flattened on the back and sur- 

 rounded by several pairs of spines of various sizes and shapes. The 

 abdomen is large and extends backward beyond the spinnerets 

 which appear to be in the middle of the under side. The cephalo- 

 thorax is not as wide as long. The legs are slender and the hinder 

 pair as long as the first or longer. The colors of the abdomen are 

 bright. The males differ much from the females, resembling the 

 young in form and color. 



Acrosoma rugOSa = Epeira mgosa Hentz. 



Plate XXXVIII, figure 10. 



This is about the same size as A. spinea. The legs are shorter and 

 stouter. The cephalothorax has three dark stripes. The legs and 

 cephalothorax are both covered with short hairs at the base of each of 

 which is a slight elevation. The abdomen is higher than in s^^inea 

 and dull yellow with irregular black spots above and below. The 

 abdomen extends backwards half its length beyond the spinnerets. 

 It is square at the posterior end and has five pairs of spines of which 

 three pairs are along the edges of the flat upper side and two pairs 

 behind. 



The male is described by Hentz, who saw them pairing. It differs 

 very much from the female, having a long narrow abdomen without 

 any humps or spines. 



This species is evidently not common in New England, the only 

 one I know is in the museum of Yale College from New Haven, 

 Conn. The figure is from a specimen from Indiana. 



Acrosoma spinea = Epeira spinea Hentz. 



Plate XXXVIII, figurks 5, G, 7, 8. 



The adult female of this species is distinguished from all the other 

 native EpeiridiM by its triangular abdomen with the hinder angles 

 extended to two sharp spines half as long as the rest of the abdo- 

 men. The abdomen is bright yellow or white above. The s[)ines 

 are black at the tip and reddish or orange at the base. There are 

 two black spots at the front end of the abdomen and the muscular 

 spots are black. Besides the two jjosterior spines there are two 



