WEB-SPIDERS. 



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SOUTH AFRICAN SIDE-WALKING SPIDER, Pall/StCS (nat. size). 



The legs are strong, not very unequal in length, and armed with three claws ; the 

 carapace is high, with the head compressed, and bearing on each side two pairs of 

 large eyes belonging to the hinder row, and in front the four smaller eyes of the 

 first row in a straight or 

 curved line. The typical 

 members of the tribe belong- 

 to the family Lycosidce, or 

 wolf - spiders, of which a 

 number of small forms are 

 found in England, and the 

 north and central parts of 

 Europe. In summer these 

 may be seen darting swiftly 

 about amongst stones and 

 grass, the female often carry- 

 ing her cocoon attached to 

 her spinning mammillae. 

 This cocoon is a spherical 

 or more or less compressed 

 sac, consisting of an upper 

 and lower plate, fastened at 

 the edges. The mother 



defends her packet of eggs with the utmost courage, and searches for it with 

 diligence if lost. Soon after hatching, the young emerge from the cocoon, and 

 climbing on to their mother's back cling there by means of silk threads, until 



strong enough to shift for them- 

 selves. The smaller species 

 take refuge under stones or in 

 crevices, and form no retreat ; 

 but many of the larger, 

 especially those commonly 

 known as Tarantula in South 

 Europe, dig a burrow in the 

 earth, lining it with silk, and 

 in some cases building round 

 the aperture a low circular wall 

 of twigs or grass. To dig the 

 burrow, the spider first loosens 

 the earth with its mandibles, 

 then gathering the pieces into 

 a heap and sticking them 

 together by means of silk and 

 slimy matter secreted from the 

 mouth, with a rapid Hick jerks 

 the pellet to some distance from the scene of its operations. At tin- entrance of 

 the burrow the spider lurks on the look-out for passing insects, and during the 



Italian tarantula spider, Lycosa tarantula (nat. size) 



