238 HARVEST SPIDERS. 



both having been observed under the bark of trees, far from the abodes of men. 

 In South America it is by no means uncommon to find species of Chelifer living 

 beneath the elytra of the large longicorn beetles. Some species frequent caves and 

 grottoes, and many of these, from dwelling permanently in the dark, have lost all 

 trace of eyes. Lastly, there are others which occur exclusively upon the seashore. 

 Gary pus littoralis, for instance — the giant of the order, so far as Europe is concerned 

 — being found in Spain and Corsica at the foot of the cliffs and beneath seaweed, 

 while, on the south coast of England Obisium maritimum may be met with under 

 the same conditions. The Cheliferida^ are, for the most part, slow in their move- 

 ments, walking with the pincers extended to feel the way, although they also 

 progress with facility sideways or backwards. The Obisiidw, on the contrary, are 

 much more agile, darting backwards with great speed when alarmed. Some 

 species of the genus Chithonius, indeed, are said to possess leaping powers of no 

 mean order. 



Although possessing silk-glands, the false scorpions have not learnt the art of 

 ensnaring prey after the manner of spiders. They merely use the silk for con- 

 structing a small oval or spherical protective cell at the time of egg-laying, or for 

 purposes of hibernation, or moulting. A species of Chelifer has been observed to 

 build a cell, in the first instance, when preparing to moult, and in this receptacle it 

 stayed for five days, until the new integument had acquired its normal strength. 

 But about three months afterwards it returned to the same quarters to spend the 

 winter. As a rule these cells, or cocoons, are left uncovered, attached to the under 

 sides of stones, etc., but the Alpine Obisium jugorum covers its case with pieces 

 of earth and of vegetable debris. Like the majority of the class, false scorpions 

 are oviparous ; the number of eggs rarely exceeding fifty, although these are of 

 relatively large size. By means of a gummy material, the eggs stick together into 

 a rounded or oval mass, which remains adhering to the ventral surface of the 

 abdomen of the female. The young stay with their parent until they have 

 acquired their definite form, but, when first hatched, show no signs of segmenta- 

 tion, either of the body or limbs, and the abdomen, which is folded against the 

 lower surface of the cephalothorax, bears rudiments of four pairs of appendages, 

 which subsequently disappear. The only fossil remains of the group hitherto 

 discovered occur in the Tertiary amber beds of the Baltic ; the species being 

 apparently generically identical with those existing at the present time. 



The Harvest Spiders, — Order Opiliones. 



Although the members of this group are frequently confounded with the true 

 spiders, yet, as in the case of the scorpions and false scorpions, the resemblances 

 between the harvest spiders and the true spiders are comparatively few and 

 superficial, while the distinctive characters are many and deep-seated. In the first 

 place, the body is oval, and the abdomen, which is united throughout its length 

 with the cephalothorax, is, as in the scorpions and false scorpions, composed of from 

 three to eight segments. The carapace which is short, unjointed, and usually bears 

 one pair of eyes, is sometimes fused with the anterior segments of the abdomen ; 

 while in some cases the dorsal plates of all the abdominal segments are united to 



