Contents 



CHAPTER PAGE 



PREFACE v 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IX 



1. Introducing Spiders i 



2. The Place of Spiders in Nature 1 1 

 The Life of the Spider 28 



4. Silk Spinning and Handiwork 52 



5. Courtship and Mating 68 



6. The Evolution of Spiders 99 



7. The Tarantulas 107 



8. The Cribellate Spiders 137 



9. The Aerial Web Spinners 157 

 7 The Hunting Spiders 193 



11. Economic and Medical Importance 236 



12. The North American Spider Fauna 255 

 GLOSSARY 267 

 BIBLIOGRAPHY 271 



INDEX 273 



Vll 



