84 ARACHNOIDEA, 



CASE circumvolutions of a short spiral line devoid of viscid globules, 

 forming a station from which the toils may be superintended by 

 their owner without the inconvenience of being entangled in 

 them. The spiral thread is also peculiar. It presents the appear- 



Threads of web of Epeira. . 



ance of a string of glittering beads, sometimes uniform in size, and 

 sometimes of different dimensions. These gHttering beads are 

 globules of gummy matter, which does not harden on exposure to 

 the air, as that of which the other threads are composed does. 

 The nets are renewed either wholly, or at least their concentric 

 circles, every twenty-four hours, even when not apparently injured. 



No. 7. Epeira quadrata (JValc/c.).—*i[. Enlarged figure of ditto. 



This is a large and handsome species. The colour of the 

 abdomen varies, in different individuals, from sage-green, through 

 orange yellow, to dark brown with white marking. It is not 

 uncommon in some of the uncultivated districts of England 

 and Wales. It spins a yellow cocoon for its eggs, which look^ 

 very soft and flossy, from being formed by a succession of loops, 

 exactly on the same principle as that adopted by ladies for making 

 a similar texture in their silk or worsted work. 



No. 8. Epeira arbustorum {Koch\ Bicomis ^Walck.), Bl. — 8. Enlarged figure of 

 ditto. 



A rare species, remarkable by its having two humps on its 

 back. The thorax and back of the abdomen is brown, the rest 

 green. 



