172 NATURAL HISTORY. 



rail towards a fly sitting unsuspiciously on its upper surface, and peeping up from time to time to 

 see whether it was yet near enough for the final spring, the whole behaviour of the creature 

 reminding one forcibly of the conduct of a cat similarly occupied in pursuit of a mouse or bird. In 

 June, the female constructs one or two cocoons of white silk, containing as many as fifteen or sixteen 

 eggs, which are not agglutinated together. These cocoons, which are of a slight texture, are then 

 enclosed in a compact cell made of white silk in the crevices of rocks, walls, and the bark of trees. 



FAMILY III. LYCOSID^E, OR WOLF SPIDERS. 



The Lycosidse, Wolf Spiders, or Citigradse, like the preceding, are wandering predaceous Spiders, 

 but they run down their prey without springing upon it after the fashion of the Salticidse. Their 

 ocelli are generally placed in three rows, and the cephalothorax is robust, but this part of the body is 

 narrowed towards the front ; the falces are placed vertically ; there are three pairs of spinnerets ; and 

 the legs taper to the extremity, and are usually terminated by three claws, without any scopulse or 

 adhesive hairs, although some species have only a pair of claws, assisted by a small scopula at the 

 end of each tarsus. Although inferior in size to the Mygalidse, they are generally larger than the 

 Salticidse, and many of the tropical, and especially American species, exceed an inch in length of 

 body. They take up their abode under stones, in the crevices of rocks and of the ground, in moss 

 and under fallen leaves, and wander about, especially at night, in pursuit of the insects which 

 constitute their chief food, and which they capture principally upon herbage and low bushes. Many 

 of the species live among woods and on dry commons, but some seem to show a preference for marshy 

 places and the neighbourhood of water, often even running upon the surface of pools, and making 

 their way below the surface by crawling down the stems of aquatic plants. They can remain thus 

 submerged so long as the air confined among the hairs covering the body will serve them for the 



purpose of respiration. While running on the surface of the 

 water these Spiders freely seize the insects that come in their way, 

 and one British species has received the name of Lycosa piratica, 

 from its having this habit, which, however, is common to many 

 others, and to some species of the allied genus Dolomedes, such 

 as D. fimbriatus, a large and handsome Spider, attaining a length 

 of five-sixths of an inch, that abounds in the fen country. 



Notwithstanding their well-earned character for ferocity, 

 these, like most Spiders, show a most affectionate care for their 

 offspring. The Lycosce, and some others, place their eggs, from 

 the number of fifty to over one hundred, in a small, flattened, 

 DOLOMEDES MiRABiLis. silken case, resembling two saucers put together by their edges, 



Female, with egg-bag, enlarged. & ' 



which they then attach to the under side or the extremity or 



the abdomen, and carry about with them. The female of Dolomedes places a still larger number 

 (from two hundred to two hundred and fifty) in a rough-looking, globular cocoon, which she also 

 carries about, holding it under her sternum by means of the falces and palpi, but at the same time 

 attaching it to the spinnerets by a couple of strong threads. When the young Spiders are about to 

 be hatched, the mother spins a dome-shaped web among low herbage, and under this the newly- 

 hatched young cluster together on lines which they spin for their own accommodation, and remain 

 there, carefully tended by their parent, until they have become able to shift for themselves. The 

 most celebrated species of the family is th Tarantula (Lycosa tarantula), varieties of which, or of 

 distinct, but very nearly allied species, occur throughout southern Europe. In some parts, notably in 

 Italy, the bite of these large Spiders, which exceed an inch in length, is supposed to produce most 

 remarkable effects, including a sort of epidemic dancing madness ; bub it would appear that, although 

 their bite may give rise to disagreeable symptoms, the stories told by the older writers are much 

 exaggerated. 



FAMILY IV. THOMISID.E, OR CRAB SPIDERS. 



The Thomisidse constitute the first family in which the eyes are placed in two rows upon the 

 surface of the cephalothorax, and these rows are generally curved, sometimes in parallel lines, the 

 first row sometimes more convex. The first two pairs of legs are generally longer and stouter than 



