178 



THE COMMON SPIDERS 



found in the autumn. The web is like that of gibberosa, with 

 a large, round, and close inner spiral from which, in the unfin- 

 ished web, the temporary spiral starts abruptly. The web is 

 made in low bushes and may be vertical or inclined. 



Epeira scutulata. — A light yellow spider, a sixth to a fifth of 



an inch long, with the abdomen angular behind and at the 



sides and as wide as long (fig. 415). The cepha- 



lothorax is half as wide in front as it is behind, 



and the lateral eyes are as far from the middle 



eyes as they are from each other. The front 



legs are a fourth longer than the second. The 



general color is light yellow, the legs darker at 



the ends of the joints, with long black spines. 



Fig. 414. Epsira ^hc head has a few brown or red marks behind 



piacida, enlarged the cycs and back to the dorsal groove, but these 



eight times. • i i t^i 



are often entirely absent. The 

 abdomen is lighter across the front between 

 the two corners, and there is sometimes a 

 distinct white transverse stripe. In front of 

 each corner is a black spot, and there is 

 generally a row of small black spots around 

 the front of the abdomen, and two rows behind 

 converging toward the spinnerets. In the 

 hinder rows of spots the middle pair are 

 generally longest, and sometimes these are 

 the only pair present. The under side has no 

 distinct markings. The epigynum is dark at 

 the sides, and the finger is short and flat at the 

 end and turned a little outward. The male 

 has the legs longer, and the cephalothorax wider behind. The 

 abdomen is not much larger than the cephalothorax and less 

 angular than in the female. The colors are the same as in the 

 female, some individuals being light and some dark. 



Fig. 415. Epeira scu- 

 tulata, enlarged four 

 times. 



