234 



WEB-SPIDERS. 



winter covers up the aperture with silk and retires to the deeper parts to 

 hibernate. In certain districts in the south of Europe these Lycosidw are dreaded 

 by the peasants, and fabulous accounts were given of the deleterious effects of 

 their poison. The bite was said to be the cause of a disease of an epileptic 

 nature called tarantism, and this could only be cured by music of certain 

 kinds, which worked the sufferer up to a state of frenzy. Another family 

 (Pisauridte) differs in having the eyes of the front row separated by a wide space 

 from the base of the mandibles. In this group Pisaura mirabilis is a common 

 British spider, living in woods and fields, and at the breeding season constructing 

 amongst grass or shrubs a large nest, open at the bottom. In this she lays her 

 eggs, enveloping them in a thick cocoon which is carried about in her mandibles ; 

 but when the eggs are hatched, she retires to the nest and remains there with her 

 young. The raft-spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus) is a large and handsome species, 

 frequenting the borders of lakes and marshes, and owing its name to its habit of 

 constructing a raft of leaves upon which it floats on the surface of the water. It can 

 run with speed upon the water, and does not hesitate to plunge beneath the surface 

 or run along the submerged stems of aquatic plants in chase of prey. The mother 

 carries her cocoon in her mandibles ; but at the time of hatching fastens it to some 

 plant near the edge of the water. 



The tribe Saltigradce, or jumping spiders, contains the family Attidce, all of 

 which are of small or medium size, with a broad square head upon which the eyes 



are arranged somewhat as 

 in the Lycosidce ; the 

 anterior four being set in a 

 straight line upon the front 

 of the face, while the 

 middle pair are of enormous 

 size. The legs are stout, 

 rather short, and, a rare 

 thing in spiders, the third 

 leg is often the longest ; 

 there are only two claws, 

 the place of the lower claw 

 being occupied by hair-tufts. For moulting, hibernation, and egg-laying, the jumping 

 spiders spin a small saccular nest, which in the latter case is frequently open at one 

 or both ends. In this the eggs are laid and hatched, and the young remain for some 

 time under their mother's protection. Certain species depart from the normal type 

 of structure of the others and closely resemble ants. This is brought about by the 

 globular form of the abdomen, and a sharp constriction in the hinder half of the 

 cephalothorax, so that the body appears to be divisible into three parts, as in an insect. 

 Moreover, these spiders have learnt to walk with the gait of an ant, holding up a pair 

 of its legs to simulate the antennas. Thus disguised, they live in the company of 

 ants, and avoid the persecution to which they would be subjected if their identity 

 were not concealed. Why the ants refrain from destroying them is unknown. 

 These spiders spin no snare, and are dependent upon agility and great keenness of 

 vision for the capture of prey. Sighting an insect at a distance, and eagerly 



ft% 



jumping spiders {Epiblem.um scenicum). a, Female ; b, Male 

 c, Female (uat. size) ; d, Arrangement of eyes. 



