ARGYROXETA. ARACHNIDES. 197 



This species is very common, and spins its web in corners or cavities of apartments. 

 Having fixed upon the situation for placing the net, the spider, fixing one end of the 

 thread to the wall on one side, passes to the opposite side and attaches the other end 

 in a similar manner, and, repeating the operation, extends its woof in parallel lines 

 across the angle. The warp is formed by crossing the minute threads in an opposite 

 direction, and thus is formed the delicate net in which flies are entrapped. The ani- 

 mal prepares at same time a cell for itself, either in immediate contact with the 

 web, or connected with it by threads, which serve both as a passage for the animal, 

 and by their vibration communicate intelligence when anything touches the net. 



A. labyrinlhica, Lin. (Agelena, Walck.) Griseous pale reddish ; 

 thorax on each side with a blackish longitudinal line ; abdomen 

 black, with white oblique lines above, and on each side forming 

 obtuse angles j spinning papillae conic elongate. Inhabits fields 

 in Europe Lat. Gen. i. 95. 

 This species is common in summer and autumn, spreading its horizontal web on 



the ground for the capture of flies and other dipterous insects. The animal lives 



in a funnel-shaped cavity, often extending below the surface. 



Gen. 14 ARGYRONETA, Lat. Aranea, Lin. 

 Maxillae short, straight, elongate, quadrate, the apex rounded ; 

 lip shorter than the maxillae, of a narrow elongate-triangular 

 form ; feet, the second pair shortest ; eyes with the four mid- 

 dle ones forming a quadrangle, the two on each side placed 

 obliquely. 



A. aquatica, Lat. Blackish brown ; abdomen black, velvety, with 

 some impressed dots on the back. Inhabits Europe, frequenting 

 slow running waters and ditches. Lat. Gen. i. 95. 

 This species spins a beautifully constructed web under water, in which it lives 



surrounded with air. The ova are deposited in a globose silky bag. 



FAMILY II. lN,EauiTEL,E. 



Exterior spinning papillae conical, converging ; feet very slen- 

 der ; the first and last pairs generally longest ; jaws inclin- 

 ed upon the labium. 



Gen. 15. THERIDION, Lat. 



Maxillae converging towards their points and covering the sides 

 of the lip ; lip small, triangular or semicircular, the apex 

 truncate or subrounded ; legs elongate, the first and fourth 

 pairs longest ; eyes, four in the centre, forming a quadrangle ; 

 two others on each side placed on a common elevation. 



T. Sisiphum, Lat. Rufous ; abdomen globose, with white elevated 

 lines on the vertex. Inhabits Europe, in the corners of build- 

 ings, walls, and rocks. B. Lister, Aran. pi. 14, fig. 14. 



Gen. 16. SCYTODES, Lat. 



Maxillae oblique and longitudinal, covering the sides of the lip, 

 their bases thickened, and the apex obliquely truncated in- 

 ternally ; lip somewhat quadrate, the base slightly contract- 

 ed ; feet with the fourth and first pairs longest, the third pair 

 shortest. 



S. thoracica, Lat. Pale reddish white, spotted with black ; thorax 



