178 NATURAL HISTORY. 



in the neighbourhood of the snare, or even within a slight protective web. Sometimes the cocoon, 

 of a more or less globular form, is affixed to the under surface of the leaves of trees and shrubs, the 

 edges of which are joined and more or less brought together by a loose tissue of silken threads, 

 forming a sort of nest, in which the female may remain for a considerable time with her progeny 

 after the latter are hatched, and actually supply them with food. Theridion tepidariorum, a species 

 which has only been observed in Europe in conservatories, makes several pear-shaped cocoons, 

 and suspends them by the narrow ends within a dome-shaped upper part of the snare ; and 

 the balloon-shaped cocoon of Theridion variegatum, as described by Mr. Blackwall, " is composed of 

 soft silk, of a loose texture and pale brown colour, enclosed in an irregular network of coarse, dark 

 red-brown filaments. Several of the lines composing this network unite near the smaller extremity 

 of the cocoon, leaving intervals there through which the young pass when they quit it, and being 

 cemented together throughout the remainder of their extent, form a slender stem, varying from 

 one-tenth to half an inch in length, by which the cocoon is attached to the surface of stones and 

 fragments of rock, resembling in figure and position some of the minute plants belonging to the 

 class Cryptogamia." The cocoon itself is about an eighth of an inch in diameter. The curious 

 species Pholcus jjhalangioides, which, although slender in its form, and endowed with limbs rivalling 

 those of the Phalangiidse in length, is nearly allied to the Theridia, forms a globular cocoon of slight 

 texture, but of large size, which the female carries with her wherever she goes, holding it firmly by 

 means of the falces. 



The Linyphice, which seem to lead in some respects towards the next family, also construct a 

 more regular snare than the typical Theridia. They make a fine sheet of web, stretched horizontally 

 among the leaves and branches of trees and bushes, the herbage and other objects which form their 

 ordinary shelter, and further held in position by fine intercrossing lines stretched from its surface to 

 neighbouring points of support. These Spiders take their place to lie in wait for prey on the under 

 surface of the web, and they immediately seize any insects which fall upon it; the intercrossing lines, 

 especially those above the web, serving to check and throw down flying insects that may strike 

 against them. Some species of the extensive genus Neriene, nearly all of which are very small, 

 make snares similar to those of the Linyphice; others reside under stones. Many of them are noted 

 as aeronautic species. 



The species of the allied genus Vialckenaera (or Micryphantes) frequently have the portion 

 of the cephalothorax which bears the eyes more or less elevated or tubercular, and in Walckenaera 

 acuminata this character attains an extreme development. In the female there is a truncated conical 

 tubercle, having four eyes at its apex, and the other four in two pairs a little way down on the sides. 

 In the male the eye-bearing process is of considerable length, upright and slender, terminating in a 

 bilobed enlargement, each lobe of which bears two eyes, while the other eyes are placed in pairs upon 

 the sides of a swelled portion about half-way down. This singular little Spider, which is about a 

 sixth of an inch long, is found under stones and on rails in various parts of England. The species 

 of PachygnatJia are remarkable for the enormous development of their falces, which are so large as 

 to form a pair of stout divergent pieces at the front of the cephalothorax. P. clerckii is a 

 widely distributed British species, found under stones, &c. 



Certain foreign species of this family share with the Tarantula in the evil reputation of being 

 dangerously venomous creatures. They belong to the genus Latrodectus. The best-known species is 

 the Malmignatte (Latrodectus malmignattus), which is almost half an inch long, and is common in the 

 south of Europe and the islands of the Mediterranean, especially Corsica. It is a black Spider, 

 adorned with about thirteen blood-red spots upon the abdomen. Its ordinary prey would appear to 

 consist of rather large insects, such as Grasshoppers, which it is said to entangle and partially 

 disable by means of threads stretched in various directions across the fields. Upon such insects the 

 Spider inflicts a bite at the junction of the head and thorax, and the victim, if small, is said to die 

 instantly, if large, to fall into convulsions, which, after a short time, terminate in death. The effect 

 of the bite upon the human subject is also said to be very serious, as it causes much pain and fever, 

 and, according to some writers, leads to fatal results. The same species, or a nearly allied one, occurs 

 in Morocco, and is much di-eaded. Its bite is also described as fatal ; and two or three others are 

 found in the Southern States of North America, of which similar tales are told. The female 



