THE HUNTING SPIDERS 229 



in having the anterior lateral spinnerets widely separated. Typical 

 of the group is Herpyllus vasifer, a blackish species one-third inch 

 long with bright white markings on the abdomen, which lives out- 

 doors under stones, but is even more common on the walls and 

 ceilings of houses. It is a close relative of Scotophaeus blackivalli 

 of Europe, a mouse-colored species with similar domestic habits. 

 Some of the gnaphosids, notably bold, powerful Drassodes, com- 

 monest in the north and often an inch long trail a band of silk that 

 serves to entangle the legs of opponents while they spar and grap- 

 ple at close range. 



A few of our gnaphosids are brightly colored. Outstanding are 

 the species of Poecilochroa (Sergiolus), some of which have a 

 bright orange cephalothorax and a black abdomen pleasingly vari- 

 egated with white or colored stripes and spots. The shining, coal- 

 black species of Zelotes runs over the soil in company with their 

 close relatives, the small brownish, tawny, or gray Drassyllus. They 

 hide under stones or leaves, and often attach beneath stones their 

 tough pinkish or brown egg sacs, variously covered with debris or 

 lacquered with saliva and excrement to form a horny covering as 

 a deterrent to penetration by predators. 



An extremely rare relative of these ground spiders is Prodidomus 

 rufus (family Prodidomidae), a pink-bodied creature occasionally 

 found in houses. It has been taken on Long Island, as well as in a 

 few places in the South. 



The vagrants of the family Clubionidae are less flattened than 

 the gnaphosids, often have longer legs, and have the fore spinnerets 

 set close together. Those that live on plants have well-developed 

 claw tufts and are good climbers. Mostly whitish or brownish, 

 one-fourth inch long or smaller, and represented by numerous 

 species in the genera Clubiona, Chirac anthium (Plate XXV), Any- 

 phaena, and Aysha, the plant hunters live in flat tubular nests, open 

 at both ends, in rolled leaves or under bark. Some of these also run 

 over plant debris and nest under stones. 



The clubionids that habitually run on the soil exhibit far more 

 diversity in size, appearance, and coloration than do the conserva- 

 tive plant forms. Among the largest are the inch-long, speckled, 

 grayish tramps (Syspira) that wander over the soil of our south- 

 western deserts and resemble the wolf spiders. Reddish Liocra- 

 noides, of nearly equal size, favors the detritus-covered canyons of 

 the Tennessee mountains and California. Intermediate in size are 

 many gaudily colored Castianeirae golden, bright red, or black 

 with stripes and spots of red, yellow, or white which resemble 



