152 OUR INSECT FRIENDS AND FOES 



body of her victim and proceeds to suck him dry. 

 The Garden Spider deposits her eggs, which 

 number between seven and eight hundred, in a 

 silken, oval-shaped cocoon. Infant mortality is 

 very great amongst these Spiders, starvation and 

 the attacks of other Spiders and insects being 

 responsible for the death of hundreds, so that 

 from each cocoon, though originally tenanted by 

 some seven or eight hundred Spiderkins, but 

 two or three individuals reach maturity. 



A very interesting and fairly common British 



Spider, frequently to be met with even in 



London gardens, is the little hunting Spider 



Salticus. This Spider is about a quarter of an 



inch long, with black and white markings upon 



the body and legs, and has a peculiarly alert 



appearance which renders it readily recognizable. 



During the summer, Salticus may be found 



running about, with cautious rapid movements, 



in the hot sunshine upon tree trunks, walls, and 



wood or iron palings. It leads a wandering life, 



building no snare for the capture of its prey, 



but stalking and springing upon its victims in a 



singularly cat-like manner. Salticus does not 



apparently place all her eggs in one basket or 



cocoon, like the Garden Spider, but constructs 



two or more cocoons of light texture which are 



in turn enclosed in a fairly thick-textured, white, 



silk cell formed in some crack in the bark of a 



tree, or in a cranny in a wall, or similar suitable 



hiding-place. 



The Wolf Spiders or Lycosidce, like the little 

 Salticus, are wandering, predaceous Spiders, 

 building no snare, but running down their prey. 



