118 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNING WORK. 



In the group of Epei'ras with hub meshed snares, the most remarkable 

 in appearance is Epeira insuiaris. The bright yellow markings upon the 

 back of the abdomen, and the orange legs with their brown rings 

 distinguish her as one of the most beautiful of her genus. She 

 E^raT"' attains even greater size than Strix and Sclopetaria, and in the 

 insuiaris. ^ a ^ e summer and fall, when the female is full of eggs, appears 

 quite formidable. Hentz named her from the fact that he dis- 

 covered her upon an island of the Tennessee River. She is however widely 

 distributed, having been traced as far south as Georgia and South Carolina, 

 through the great Middle-Western and Middle States, as far to the northwest 

 as Wisconsin, and throughout New England. She is very abundant in Ohio, 

 Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, in woods, groves, and out grounds, and inva- 

 riably domiciles upon shrubs, bushes, and bushy trees, commonly choosing 

 a well elevated site, within seven or eight feet from the ground. If we 

 admit the identity of this spider with the European Epeira marmorea, the 

 distribution is vastly widened, and this fine species must be enrolled among 

 those which probably inhabit the entire northern hemisphere. 



The snare of the adult is a large orb of the type heretofore described ; 

 several measurements of which are as follows (in inches): 13x11, 14x14, 



20 x 14, 14 x 14, 8 x 6. That which especially distinguishes In- 

 Snares of , . . ,, . . r /, 



Insuiaris su ^ aris ^rom the foregoing group is the well nigh unvarying habit 



of living in a nest of rolled leaves situated above the orb, and 

 attached thereto by a trapline. This varies in length according to the 

 size and situation of the snare ; it will frequently be found about seven 

 inches long. At one end it is held by the spider's outstretched claws as 

 she sits within her tent ; at the other end it is fastened to or near the 

 margin of the hub, or notched zone, by a little delta of diverging termini. 

 These slightly pull up the centre of the web and thus tighten the radii ; 

 the trapline itself being held quite taut, the motions of struggling insects 

 are readily communicated to the vigilant watcher within her leafy sentry 

 box. Just beneath the nest, and serving to brace it, may often be found a 

 wide and irregular netting of lines, communicating with surrounding objects 

 but rarely extending far downward toward the snare. 



The Shamrock spider, Epeira trifolium, received its name from the tri- 

 foil or clover like markings upon the back of the abdomen, which is a 



whitish, whitish gray, or purplish color. The legs in the typical 

 The form are ringed with black, and most species are so marked, but 



I have taken specimens in which the legs were a uniform orange 

 Spider color. The abdomen of the adult female becomes strongly marked, 



especially along the sides, with bright red. One individual was 

 collected whose abdomen was quite white, but after a period of confinement 

 gradually turned to a dull brown. Another was well marked with black 

 patterns, but also finally came out with shades of red and yellow. The 

 Shamrock spider is somewhat more robust in form than her above named 



