THE EPEIRID/E 



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a zigzag band (fig. 448) of white silk up and down across the 

 middle, and a round thick spot where the spider stands. The 

 inner spiral of these webs is very large, covering a quarter of 

 their diameter (fig. 452). The outer spiral comes very near 

 it, but the spider sometimes passes 

 through the narrow space between 

 them from one side of the web to 

 the other. The web is usually a 

 little inclined, and on one or both 

 sides sometimes has a screen of 

 irregular threads two or three inches 

 distant from it (fig. 453), but these 

 are often absent. These spiders 

 have no nest and stand all the time 

 in the center of the web (fig. 448). 

 Sometimes the spider draws away 

 the grass and leaves so as to make 

 an oval opening large enough for 

 the web (fig. 453). In September 

 the eggs are laid in large pear- 

 shaped cocoons with a brown paper- 

 like surface, hung by threads among 

 the grass and bushes (fig. 454). The 

 young hatch during the winter and 

 remain in the cocoon until May. The 

 adult spiders disappear in October 

 and probably all die before winter. 

 Argiope transversa. — This species 

 is a little smaller than riparia. It lives in the same places and 

 matures a little later, about September i. The abdomen is more 

 pointed than that of riparia (fig. 455). The ground color is 

 white or light yellow, and is crossed by a great number of black 

 transverse lines, which are sometimes obscured, especially in 



Fig. 454. Egg cocoon of Argiope 

 riparia in marsh grass. Natural 

 size. 



