196 



INTRODUCTION TO ZOOLOGY 



CHAP. 



worth watching. The males go through most curious dancing 

 antics before the female they wish to captivate. 



The Trap- ^^ e Trap-door Spiders form beautiful little 



door Spiders silk-lined tunnels in the ground, closed at the 



(Ayiculari- surface by hinged lids. These spiders are not 



idae). f oun d j n Britain, though they occur plentifully 



in South Europe. 



The Drassid The Drassid Spiders are very common in 



Spiders Britain. They are large, dull-coloured, brown 



(Drassidae). S pid erS) often to be seen on turning up a stone or 



pulling a piece of loose bark from a tree. They can usually 



be quickly recognised by the 

 position of the spinnerets, which 

 project from the end of the 

 body, and so can be seen from 

 above (Fig. 129). 



There are eight eyes in this 

 spider also, but they are in 

 two rows only. The body of 

 the male spider is nearly \ an 

 inch long. 



The Money- Tn e Money- 

 spinners spinners (Erigo- 

 (Erigoninae). n i me ) are the very 



numerous, minute, dull -coloured forms to which is very 

 largely due the " gossamer," so plentiful in autumn. 

 The Crab- There are many British Crab-Spiders ; they are 



Spiders small forms, with legs usually 



(Thomas- all projecting laterally, instead 

 idae). Q w jth two pairs pointing for- 

 wards and two backwards, as in most 

 spiders. Many have a rapid sideways 

 mode of progression that is distinctly 

 crab -like. These spiders lie in wait for 

 their prey inside flowers or in bushes. 

 Misumena vatia, the "Flower Crab," is a FIG. 130. The Flower 

 brightly coloured little spider of rather ^ab (Misumena 

 variable hue. The female is about J of 

 an inch long, and has a milk-white, yellow, or green abdomen, 

 often adorned with a bright crimson mark on each side ; the 

 male is smaller and darker. 



FIG. 129. Drassus lapidosus. 



