3200 



THE JOINTED ANIMALS 



ITALIAN TARANTULA SPIDER, Lycosa tarantula. 



( Natural size.) 



defends her packet of eggs with the utmost courage, and searches for it with 

 diligence if lost. Soon after hatching, the young emerge from the cocoon, and 

 climbing on to their mother's back cling there by means of silk threads, until 



strong enough to shift for them- 

 selves. The smaller species 

 take refuge under stones or in 

 crevices, and form no retreat ; 

 but many of the larger, 

 especially those commonly 

 known as Tarantula in South 

 Europe, dig a burrow in the 

 earth, lining it with silk, and 

 in some cases building round 

 the aperture a low circular wall 

 of twigs or grass. To dig the 

 burrow, the spider first loosens 

 the earth with its mandibles, 

 then gathering the pieces into 

 a heap and sticking them 

 together by means of silk and 

 slimy matter secreted from the 

 mouth, with a rapid flick jerks 



the pellet to some distance from the scene of its operations. At the entrance of 

 the burrow the spider lurks on the lookout for passing insects, and during the 

 winter covers up the aperture with silk and retires to the deeper parts to hibernate. 

 In certain districts in the south of Europe these Lycosidcz are dreaded by the 

 peasants, and fabulous accounts were given of the deleterious effects of their poison. 

 The bite was said to be the cause of a disease of an epileptic nature called tarantism, 

 and this could only be cured by music of certain kinds, which worked the sufferer 

 up to a state of frenzy. Another family (Pisauridei) differs in having the eyes of the 

 front row separated by a wide space from the base of the mandibles. In this group 

 Pisaura mirabilis is a common British spider, living in woods and fields, and at the 

 breeding season constructing among grass or shrubs a large nest, open at the 

 bottom. In this she lays her eggs, enveloping them in a thick cocoon which is 

 carried about in her mandibles; but when the eggs are hatched, she retires to the 

 nest and remains there with her young. The raft spider (Dolomedes ftmbriatus] is 

 a large and handsome species, frequenting the borders of lakes and marshes, and 

 owing its name to its habit of constructing a raft of leaves upon which it floats on 

 the surface of the water. It can run with speed upon the water, and does not 

 hesitate to plunge beneath the surface or run along the submerged stems of aquatic 

 plants in chase of prey. The mother carries her cocoon in her mandibles; but at 

 the time of hatching fastens it to some plant near the edge of the water. 



The tribe Saltigradce, or jumping spiders, contains the family Attidce, all of 

 which are of small or medium size, with a broad square head upon which the eyes 

 are arranged somewhat as in the Lycosidce; the anterior four being set in a 



