captured in Montreal^ Upper Canada. 435 



sides is dark brown tinged with red, and the lateral margins 

 have a brownish-black hue. The falces are somewhat conical, 

 vertical, and of a pale dull-yellowish hue. The maxillse are 

 inclined towards the lip, rounded at the extremity, which is 

 more abruptly curved on the inner than on the outer side, and 

 are rather darker-coloured than the falces. The lip and the 

 sternum are oval, glossy, and of a dark-brown colour tinged 

 with red, the former being much the palest at the apex. The 

 legs are rather short, and of a pale-yellowish hue, with reddish- 

 brown annuli ; the first pair is the longest, then the second, 

 the third pair is the shortest, and the metatarsal joint of each 

 posterior leg is provided with a calamistrum composed of a 

 single row of fine curved bristles ; the palpi resemble the legs 

 in colour. The abdomen is oviform, convex above, projects 

 greatly over the base of the cephalothorax, and is clothed with 

 whitish adpressed hairs ; its colour is yellow ; a black band, 

 very naiTow at its anterior and broad at its posterior part, 

 passes from the anterior extremity to the middle of the upper 

 side, and is followed by transverse, curved, confluent, black 

 bars, which extend to the coccyx ; the sides have a brownish- 

 black hue, the under is paler than the upper side, and has a 

 broad, imperfectly defined, longitudinal, reddish-brown band 

 in the middle. The spinners are eight in number, and the 

 two inferior ones are united throughout their entire length, 

 the proximal extremities being without any definite mark of 

 distinction. 



This species is closely allied to Ergatis annulipes^ but dif- 

 fers from it in colour and in the figure of the design on the 

 upper part of the abdomen. 



Family Theeidiid^. 



Genus Theridion, Walck. 



Theridion tepidariorum. 



Theridion tejndario7'um, C. Koch, Die Arachn. Band viii. p. 75, tab. 273. 

 fig. 646, tab. 274. figs. 647, 648 ; Blackw., Spiders of Great Britain and 

 Ireland, part ii. p. 180, pi, 13. fig, 114. 



This species has an extensive geographical distribution, 

 being found in Europe, Asia, and America. It is probably a 

 native of hot climates, as in Europe it usually inhabits con- 

 servatories, and may have been imported, as Koch conjectures, 

 with exotic plants. A specimen of an adult female, comprised 

 in the collection received from Miss Hunter, was discovered 

 in winter between the sashes of one of the double windows of 

 the house in which she resided. 



