WHAT IS A SPIDER ? 5 



days both spiders and their webs were thought to be efficacious in 

 intermittent fevers, etc. The web is still used as a styptic. 

 Attempts have been made to render the silk surrounding the eggs 

 available for manufacturing purposes, but with little success, as 

 the silk is inferior in strength and lustre to that of the silkworm, 

 and cannot be wound. The poison of some of the foreign species 

 is very virulent and is dangerous to human beings. Spiders are 

 eaten by some tribes in various parts of the world, and are preyed 

 upon largely by birds and reptiles. 



The order Areneidea is divided into two sub-orders : Tetrap- 

 neumones, with two pairs of lung-discs and two pairs of spinnerets; 

 and Dipneumones, with one pair of lung-discs and usually six or 

 eight spinnerets. The first sub-order contains only the family 

 Mygalidce,^ chiefly from the warmer parts of the world. 



There are twelve varieties of spiders found in England : — 



The British trap-door spider - Atypus Sulzeri. 



The Bush „ „ - Anglena Nava. 



The Bramble „ „ - Nereine rubella. 



The Crab ; ,,. „ - Thomisus eristatus. 



The Garden „ „ - Epeira diadema. 



,, ,, „ - Dolimedes mirabilis. 



The Ground „ „ - Lycosa Agretyca, 



The Field ,, „ - Lyniphia minuta. 



The Long-legged Grass „ - Tetragnatha extensa. 



The Cellar „ „ - Tegenaria domes tica. 



The House „ ,, - Aranea labyrinthica. 



The Harvest „ „ - Phalangiuni cornutum. 



The gigantic tropical species of Mygale live in trees and under 

 stones, etc., in a tubular silken dwelling, from which they issue 

 forth at night in pursuit of prey ; one species from South America 

 {Mygale avicularia, Fig. i) kills and devours small birds. The 

 trap-door spider ( Cteniza^ etc.) also belong to this family, living in 

 burrows in the ground, which are Hned with silk and closed with 

 an accurately fitting lid ; the only British species of the family 

 {Atypus Sulzeri) lives also in burrows, but does not construct a 

 trap-door. 



The family Salticidce, or jumping spider, are small or of 

 moderate size, and abundant all over the world. They prepare 



