676 



The Living Animals of the World 



Photo by HighUy. 



TREE TRAP-DOOR SPIDER OF BRAZIL. 



Trap-door spiders ai-6 plentifwlin sonie parts of Europe, but there is only 



one British representative of the fanli]3^ 



small animals resembling scorpions in shape, bat with no sting, and the abdomen not 



narrowed into a tail. They are sometimes found in houses among dusty old books, as well 



as out of doors among moss, or under 



stones or bark. Sometimes they cling to 



the legs of flies ; they are believed to feed 



on mites and other small creatures, but not 



to injure the flies, only employing them as 



a convenient method of being conveyed from 



one 2">lace to another. 



The WHir-scoRPiONS are not unlike 



scorjjions, and have large claws, but the front 



legs are very long, slender, and whip-like, and 



there is either no tail, or else a long, slender, 



whip-like one without a sting. They are 



inhabitants of warm countries, and, rightly 



or wrongly, are reputed to be venomous. 



Different species measure from 1 inch to 4 



or 5 inches in length. 



The curious Harvest-men have two eyes, 



a small, compact, oval body, large pjincers, 



and very long, slender legs, longer and more 



slender in projiortion to their size than those 



of crane-flies, and equally liable to be broken 



off, if the owner is roughly handled. They 



feed on plant-lice and other small insects. 



We now come to the large and important group of SriDEUS, which more frequently attract 



attention in England than any others of the group. The abdomen is not usually divided 



into distinct segments, and is connected with 

 ' the thorax by a short stalk. Spiders have 

 strong, poisonous jaws, which make some of 

 the larger species formidable even to man, and 

 several pairs of eyes ; while many possess an 

 apparatus for spinning a strong silken web, 

 in which they entangle their prey, consisting 

 in England chiefly of flies and other winged 

 insects. 



The largest known spiders are usually 

 placed first in the series. These are the great 

 BiRD-CATCHiNO Spidees of South America, some 

 of which have bodies 3 inches long, and strong, 

 hairy legs. These large spiders have now been 

 proved not only to feed on insects, but oc- 

 casionally on humming-birds, and even some- 

 times on larger birds, such as finches. 



The Trap-dooe Spiders are allied, but 

 smaller, perhaps averaging about an inch in 

 length. They construct a silken gallery in the 

 ground, with a round door, which they shut 

 behind them when they enter. There is only 

 one species in England, which does not form 



a trap-door, but a silken tube. If any insect settles on it, the spider clutches it from within, 



tears a hole in the tube, drags its prey inside, and then repairs the rent. 



I'hoio by Uujldcy. 



HOUSE-SPIDEE. 

 Exhibits the four pairs of legs ciiaracteristic of the group. 



