THE RED SPIDEE. 93 



CHAPTER XV. 



THE RED SPIDER. 



(Tetranychus telarius.} 

 Order : Arachnoidea. Section : Tetranychidce. 



This enemy of the orchardist and gardener generally is 

 unfortunately but too well-known to need a lengthy 

 description, but, as the matter of its life-history is so 

 interesting, and at the same time instructive, I have 

 ventured, for the benefit of the growers themselves, 

 to furnish them with the most excellent account of this 

 mite, as given in the well-known and valuable book 

 on "Economic Entomology, aptera" by Andrew Murray, 

 a work which cannot be too highly recommended, 

 both for the use of entomologists and horticulturists 

 generally. 



Mr. Murray, in his remarks (which, to save space, I 

 have occasionally abbreviated) says: a That the genus 

 shows a special affinity with its allies, the spiders, some 

 of the species at least being endowed, like them, with 

 the power of spinning a web, for which purpose the claws 

 of the feet (see Plate X., Fig. 4) are specially adapted, 

 being very short, and much curved, and provided with 

 long stiff hairs, some of which have globular terminations, 

 and are thought to be an essential part of the spinning 

 apparatus. The mouth has a sucking apparatus (see 

 Plate X., Fig. 5). This species has been found on a great 

 variety of plants, and, from its form and manner, it was 

 supposed to be the same on all of them long before this 

 had been proved by breeding them, a conclusion which 

 could not have been arrived at had reliance been placed 

 upon their colour, for some are greenish, and marked only 

 with brown specks on the sides, but variable, and evidently 

 dependent on the alimentary matter with them ; others are 

 rust-coloured, or reddish, or brick-red, and that is the 

 colour with which horticulturists are most familiar. 



