THE ATTIDAL 



The Attidae are jumping spiders, many of them brightly 

 colored and quick in their movements and living in open places 

 among the tops of low plants. They are usually short and 

 stout spiders, with a large cephalothorax, which is wide in front, 

 where the eyes have a peculiar arrangement in three rows 

 (fig. 1 1 8), somewhat as in the Lycosidae, but with the middle 

 eyes of the front row much the largest, so that at first sight 

 many of them appear to have only two eyes. 

 The eyes of the second row are very small and 

 hard to see, and those of the third row are far 

 back on the head and usually turned a little 

 backward. The front legs are usually thicker 

 than the others, especially in the males. The 

 relative length of the legs is variable, the first 

 pair being commonly the longest, but some- 

 times the fourth and even in some species the 

 third pair. The feet have two claws, with 

 many fine teeth and a thick brush of hairs. 

 I The Attidae are usually thickly covered with hair or scales, 

 often brightly colored or iridescent, and their appearance is 

 often entirely changed by rubbing or wetting. 



They walk backward or sidewise as well as forward, and many 

 of them jump great distances. They make no cobwebs, but 

 some species make silk tubes or bags on plants or under stones 

 in which they hide to molt or lay their eggs or to pass the 

 winter. There are often great differences in color and mark- 

 ings between the sexes, and the males have peculiar bunches 



41 



Fig. 118. Front of 

 head of Phidippus 

 niystaceus, show- 

 ing eyes and man- 

 dibles. 



