THE COMMON SPIDERS 



THE DRASSID/E 



^ The Drassidae, like the Lycosidae (p. 6"]), are ground spiders, 

 though some genera, like Anyphaena (p. 12) and Clubiona 

 (p. 15), are equally common in summer on bushes. They 

 make nests in the form of a bag or flattened tube, but no 

 cobwe55Tor catching insects, and are commonly found running 

 about among dead leaves and short grass and sometimes even 

 on bare ground and sand. In form they are usually two or 

 three times as long as they are wide, like the Lycosidas (p. 6^), 

 but more often flattened on the back. The legs differ but 

 little in length, and the first and second pairs are directed for- 

 ward, the third and fourth backward. Their hairs and spines 

 are short, giving them a smooth, velvet-like appearance. The 

 feet have two claws, with a bfush of flattened hairs under 

 them, like the Thomisidas and Attidas (p. 41), but unlike the 

 Lycosidae (p. 6j), which have three claws. The mandibles are 

 large and strong and are together as wide as the head. The 

 eyes are all about the same size and arranged in two rows 

 of about the same length and not far apart, but between dif- 

 ferent species there are slight differences in their arrangement. 

 The colors are usually dull gray, brown, and black, with few 

 markings or none. A few species are very brightly marked, 

 as in Micaria (p. 9) and Poecilochroa (p. 4). 

 There are three groups among the Drassidae : 

 I. Prosthesima, Gnaphosa, Poecilochroa, Pythonissa, and 

 Drassus, which are generally dark in color and flattened above. 



