CHAPTER XIX. 



KEY TO FAMILIES OF SPIDERS. ADAPTED FROM 

 EMERTON. • 



Drassidae. — Tube weavers; spin no webs, but make 

 nests in form of flattened bag or tube; seek prey on 

 ground among leaves, and grass. Body usually two or 

 three times as long as wide ; somewhat flattened on back. 

 Legs about equal in length, two pairs forward and two 

 pairs backward, velvety ; hairs and spines short ; feet with 

 two claws with a brush of flat hairs; mandibles together 

 as wide as head. Eyes eight, about equal in size, in two 

 rows of about equal length and not far apart. Colors 

 dull gray, brown, or black; few markings or none. 

 A few species are brightly marked, and there are some 

 slight differences in the different species in the arrange- 

 ment of the eyes. 



Dysderidae. — Eyes six. Four breathing holes in the 

 front of the abdomen. Appearance otherwise like 

 Drassidas. 



Thomisidae. — Crab spiders; flat, short-bodied, much 

 wider in the abdomen. Travel sidewise, look like crabs. 

 First and second legs often much longer than third and 

 fourth; all extend sidewise from the body. Feet with 

 two claws and thick brush. Body smooth or covered 

 with very fine, soft hair; coarser hairs sometimes scattered 

 over back areas. Eyes small, in two curved rows, upper 

 row the longer. Mandibles small, narrowed at the end. 



Attidae.— Jumping spiders; live in open places among 

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