THE TEGENARIID^. 



173 



THOMISUS CITREL'S. 



the rest, and in the typical portion of the family the front pair are pushed forward quite to the 

 fore part of the cephalo thorax, and the whole body shows a generally broad and depressed form. 

 They usually possess only two claws on each foot, associated with a few adhesive hairs, which some- 

 times form a small scopula. The peculiar short-bodied form 

 and large arms of these Spiders have led to their being 

 called " Crab Spiders." The name of Laterigradse, also given 

 to the family by some writers, alludes to their frequently 

 running sideways, like Crabs, a movement which is facilitated 

 by the great development of the first two pairs of limbs. 



The species of Thomisidse are exceedingly numerous 

 and very widely distributed, but they seldom run to a large 

 size. Among the British forms a length of a quarter of an 

 inch is considerable, but the American species are as a rule 

 larger. The finest British species (Sparassus smaragdulus) is 

 half an inch long in the female sex, which is of a fine green 

 colour. The male is also green, but banded longitudinally on 

 the back of the abdomen with crimson and yellow. They 

 usually conceal themselves among herbage and in flowers, but 

 sometimes in cracks and crevices of trees, rocks, and waDs, 

 or even in cracks in the ground and under stones. It is in 

 these situations that they lie in wait for the insects which 



constitute their prey, which they sometimes seize by surprise on their coming close to the lurking- 

 place, especially in the case of the flower-haunting species, and sometimes pursue with great agility. 

 The females deposit their eggs, which vary in number from about thirty to two hundred or more, in 

 a small compact cocoon of silk, usually of a lenticular form, like those of the Lycosce. These are 

 sometimes, but rarely, attached to the lower surface of rocks and stones ; generally the leaves of 

 plants are selected for their reception, and these are either drawn together or bent at the edges, so 

 as to form a protective covering for the cocoons. When alarmed, the Spiders of this family often 

 adopt the crab-like device of simulating death to elude danger, and in this helpless attitude the 

 species here figured may often be detected lying in the hearts of flowers, where its yellowish 



coloration renders it very inconspicuous. The young Spiders 

 of this family are among those most addicted to float through 

 the air on a support of gossamer in fine autumn evenings. 



FAMILY V. TEGENARIID^, OR TUBITEL^E. 

 In this extensive and varied family, of which the common 

 House Spider may be taken as a typical example, we again 

 find the eyes placed in two rows, but they vary somewhat in 

 arrangement. The first and fourth pairs of legs are longer 

 than the second and third, and all the legs taper towards 

 the extremity, where they ai'e generally terminated by a pair 

 of claws, accompanied by papilliform hairs, which sometimes 

 form a small scopula. In some cases there are three claws. 

 All the Spiders of this family weave a more or less complete 

 web for themselves, usually consisting of numerous threads 

 sometimes united into a sort of sheet, but nearly always con- 

 nected with a more or less tubular portion which serves as a 

 dwelling-place and shelter for the Spider. 



The DRASSIDES, a series generally of small Spiders of compact form and active habits, 

 have three pairs of spinners, and generally only two claws on the tarsi, supplemented by 

 numerous papillary hairs, which sometimes form scopula'. They ai*e numerous in most parts 

 of the world, and reside in silken cells which they build for themselves in the crevices of 

 rocks and walls, among leaves, and under the loose bark of trees. In similar situations, or 



DRASSTJS CUPREUS. 



