35- 



AKACH Nil )A ARANEAE 



CHAP. 



complexity in the nature of the silk used. It is interesting, 

 however, to find that viscid globules, not unlike those which stud 

 the " spiral line " of the Epeiridae, are sometimes present iu the 

 snares of the Line-weavers, 1 and in these, too, aggregate glands are 

 1 m -sent. There is a large spider of this family, Theridion tcpid- 

 . riorum, which may be found to a certainty in almost any hot- 

 house in this country. In its snare, which is of the ordinary 

 irregular type, F. Pickard-Cambridge has observed little patches 

 of nocculent silk, calculated to render more certain the entangle- 

 ment of prey, and he has further described a curious comb-like 

 structure on the hind leg of the animal which is probably used 

 in the production of this phenomenon. It is by no means unlikely 

 that a more careful study of these apparently simple snares will 

 lead to the discovery of further complexity of structure. 



rii-ltorus, a cribellate genus which has an Epeirid-like, 

 orbicular snare, decorates some of the lines with the produce 



of the cribellate glands, 



but viscid globules are 

 absent. 



Sheet -Webs. The 

 webs which are such 

 familiar and, by asso- 

 ciation, unpleasant - 

 objects in unused rooms 



F;c;. 193. Snare of Tlnhnrns sp., some of the lines and OUthouSCS are USU- 

 being thickened with threads from the cribellnm. ally the wor k o f sp ij ers 



(Alter M'(.'ook.) 



belonging to the Agelen- 



idae and the Dictynidae. To the first belongs the common 

 House-spider, Tegenaria civil is, and its larger congener, T. 

 parietina. These spiders are not attractive iu appearance, and 

 the last-named species especially, with the four-inch span of 

 its outstretched legs, is a formidable object, and a terror to 

 domestic servants. An obscure tradition connecting it with 

 ('ardinal \Volsey and Hampton Court has caused it to be known 

 as the Cardinal Spider. An out-door example of the Agelenidae 

 is the very abundant A;ii'l<'nu A//////v'//////m, whose sheet-web, with 

 its tubular retreat, is to l>c sought on the banks of ditches, or in 

 the hedges of our count rv lanes. 



k. American s/u',/, /* n,n/ tli<ir Spinning Work, i., 1889. p. 351 ; F. 

 Pickard-Cambridge, ./. JJicr. tuxl Xnt. sd. July 1890. 



