THE GARDEN SPIDER 



233 



back of the abdomen a white cross is plainly to be seen. 

 There are many species of Epeira, but only one shows 

 the white cross. 



A pocket-lens is sufficient to show the details of the 

 garden spider'shead. 

 It is blended with 

 the following divi- 

 sion of the body 

 (thorax), as in all 

 spiders, and shows 

 two sets of instru- 

 ments, eyes to dis- 

 cern the prey, and 

 jaws to grasp and 

 devour it. The 

 poison-fangs (cheli- 

 cerse)are two-j ointed, 

 and close up like a 

 clasp-knife, each of 

 the meeting edges 

 being armed with 

 sharp teeth; the 

 duct of the poison- 

 gland opens near the 

 tip of the terminal 

 joint. Behind the 

 poison-fangs comes a 

 second pair of jaws, 

 which look more 



innocent, since they end in jointed and hairy palps ; the 

 base of each is shaped into a cutting blade opposable to 

 its fellow, and useful in mastication. 



Kirby and Spence in their Introduction to Entomology 

 give an excellent description of the fabrication of a garden 

 spider's net, and their description, supplemented where 

 requisite by later observations, forms the basis of the 

 following account. The first step in the formation of the 



FIG. 49. Dorsal surface of garden spider, 

 showing the white cross. The legs are cut 

 bhort. 



