460 



INSECTS. 



SECTION XV. 



Spider. 



Aranea. Linn. 



The very extensive genus Aranea may be distributed into seve- 

 ral sections, according to the habit or shape of body, or according 

 to the position of the eyes, which are differently placed in the dif- 

 ferent families. We shall at present however mention only a few 

 of the most remarkable species, without any particular division of 

 the genus. 



One of the largest of the European spiders is the Aranea Dia- 

 ilema of Linnaeus, which is extremely common in our own country, 

 and is chiefly seen during the autumnal season in gardens, &c. The 

 body of this species, when full grown, is not much inferior in size 

 to a small hazel nut : the general colour of the animal is deep 

 chesnut-brown, approaching to reddish in some specimens; and the 

 abdomen is beautifully marked by a longitudinal series of round 

 or drop. shaped milk-white spots, crossed by others of similar ap. 

 pearance, so as to represent in some degree the pattern of a small 

 diadem. This spider, in the months of September and October, 

 forms, in some convenient spot or shelter, a large round, close, or 

 thick web, of yellow silk, in which it deposits its eggs, guarding 

 the round web with a secondary one of a looser texture. The 

 young are hatched in the ensuing May, the parent insects dying 

 towards the close of Autumn. The mal of this species is distin- 

 guished by having the back crossed by four or five black-brown 

 bars. The aranea diadema being one of the largest of the common 

 spiders, serves to exemplify some of the principal characters of the 

 genus, in a clearer manner than most others. At the tip of the 

 abdomen are placed five * papilla? or teats, through which the 

 insect draws its thread ; and as each of these papilla? is furnished 

 with a vast number of foramina or outlets, disposed over its whole 

 surface, it follows that what we commonly term a spider's thread 

 is in reality formed of a collection of a great many distinct ones ; 

 the animal possessing the power of drawing out more or fewer at 



* In some species four j and in some are two smaller papillae, the nature of 

 which is doubtful. 



