THE GARDEN OR CROSS SPIDER. 



6 73 



remains near the middle of and below the web, and as soon as a passing insect becomes 

 entangled in the treacherous meshes the spider runs nimbly to the spot, wounds the 

 insect through the web, and so kills it. The next move is to bite a hole in the web, 

 pull the dead insect through, and then to suck the juices from its body. 



When a number of these spiders are confined in the same box, they fight fiercely 

 and kill each other unmercifully ; but in contradiction to this combative disposition, 

 the male is able to woo his intended mate without fearing death from her fangs. 

 The cocoon of the spider is mostly of a rather loose structure and is placed near the 

 web. The eggs are rather numerous, placed loosely in the cocoon, and of a pale 

 reddish brown. They may be found at two periods of the year, June and September. 



No small skill is required in placing the eggs within the cocoon, which in many 

 species is as round as a cricket ball, and is so tightly drawn round the eggs that 

 their outlines are visible through the web. This operation is conducted entirely by 



A. Epelra blcorais. 



B. Llnyphla terticola. 



C. Therldion redlmltum. 



D. Tetragnatha extensa. 



touch, without the aid of the eyes, and is achieved in the following manner : The 

 spider first spins a circular plate of silk, and then adds a raised border, so as to form 

 a hemispherical cup. In this cup she then places the eggs, not only filling it, but piling 

 them up with admirable regularity. She then binds them in their places by cross threads, 

 and lastly spins a complete covering, thus forming the whole mass into a spherical ball. 



THE curious spider represented at the lower right-hand corner of the illustration is 

 called the Tetragnatha. In this spider the jaws are very large, long, widened towards 

 their tips, and diverging from each other. The eyes are nearly of the same size, and 

 are arranged in two regular lines, nearly parallel to each other. The web which this 

 creature spins is vertical, like that of the garden-spider. 



WE now arrive at the Epeiridas, a family containing some of the strangest members 

 of the spider race. The best known of this family is the common GARDEN-SPIDER, some- 

 times called the CROSS-SPIDER, from the marks upon its abdomen. This is thought to be 

 43 



