SCORPIONS, SPIDERS, AND TICKS 



151 



their webs upon the grass and the dew often serves to show 

 us what an innnense number of these webs are spun. 



The trapdoor spiders, found in the southern part of the 

 United States and in other warm countries, excavate tun- 

 nels in tire soil and 

 line them with silk. 

 Each tunnel is pro- 

 vided with a hinged 

 lid that fits the open- 

 ing very accurately. 



Closely related to 

 the trapdoor spiders 

 are those very large 

 spiders (found m 

 the south and south- 

 west) known as ta- 

 rantulas. They also 

 dig tubes in the 

 ground which they 

 line with silk. Fig- 

 ure 89 shows one 

 of these tarantulas 

 from western Texas, 

 with its egg sac con- 

 taining many young 

 tarantulas. 



The members of 

 at least three different groups of spiders spin no webs at 

 all. They catch their prey by running after it or by sud- 

 denly jumping upon it. Among these are the common, 

 large, rather hairy spiders that are found beneath boards, 



Fio. 



- Tarantula and egg sac 



niaiulible. 



logs, etc., and are known as 



spiders (Fig. 85); 



