164 



THE COMMON SPIDERS 



The under side of the abdomen has a middle dark area in 

 which are four yellow spots, two just behind the respiratory 

 openings and two farther back, halfway to the spinnerets. 



Epeira angulata and silvatica. — These spiders, which are per- 

 haps varieties of the same species, live usually among large 

 trees and grow to over half an inch in length. 

 The abdomen has two slight humps on the 

 front. The colors are dark, like the bark of 

 trees. The cephalothorax is dark brown, with 

 traces of darker lines in the middle and at its 

 sides. The legs are brown, with darker rings 

 at the ends of the joints and less distinct rings 

 in the middle. The abdomen has a bright 

 yellow spot in front. The middle stripe is 

 darker brown than the rest and has a scalloped 

 edge marked by a dark and light line, which 

 may be entire or broken into lines of spots. 

 The under side of the abdomen is black or 

 brown, with sometimes several yellow spots. 

 The sternum is uniform brown in silvatica 

 and has a yellow middle stripe in angulata. 

 The males are colored like the females and 

 are about half as large, with the legs longer, 

 especially the front pairs. The tibia of the 

 second legs is twice as thick as that of the 

 first pair, a little bent, with the spines stouter 

 and more numerous than in the female. In the male of the 

 angulata variety the tibia of the second pair is nearly as long 

 as that of the first, but in silvatica it is distinctly shorter. On 

 the under side of the coxae of the second legs is a conical spine, 

 which is longest in the angulata variety. The epigynum is 

 small for so large a spider and has a long slender finger in 

 the middle. These spiders are found singly or in small 



390 



Figs. 389, 390. — 3S9, 

 Epeira angulata. 

 390, Epeira silva- 

 tica. Both enlarged 

 twice. 



