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ing, black-brown band, dontatod, or sinuous, on tho margins ; this 

 band has a clear, yollowish-white (or whitish-yollow) marginal 

 border, and has, along the centre, a large cruciform or dagger- 

 shaped yellow marking, whose point is directed backwards, and 

 continued by a yellow lino or spots, towards the spinnors ; it is also 

 crossed at right angles by one or more lines of the samo colour, 

 and its arms frequently break tho margins of the central band, 

 dividing it (mostly in females) into two parts ; immediately in 

 front of the cruciform marking and confluent with it, is a large 

 irregularly triangular, yellow marking, enclosing a brown one 

 of the samo form, and followed backwards through a great part of 

 t.io cross by another elongato, brown marking pointed behind ; 

 the rest of tho uppor part (on each sido of tho lateral band) is 

 yellow, sometimes suffused with reddish-brown, and more or loss 

 markod with black-brown. Tho sides aro dull yellowish, mottled 

 and marked with brown, and tho undor sido is black-brown, with 

 a short, curved, yellow, longitudinal stripe on each side of tho 

 middle part. 



The male and female do not differ in pattorn, except that it is 

 more distinct (as also aro the colours) in the former sex. The 

 logs of tho male are'also longer, and are usually less regularly 

 annulated. 



Epeira cornuta is gonorally distributed throughout GreatBritain, 

 and is particularly abundant in marshy placos, among furze, 

 heather, coarse grass, and rushes, especially on the banks of 

 streams. It spins a large snaro, and drawing down the 

 extremities of grass or rush blooms, or of the twigs of small 

 shrubby plants, it forms a somewhat hooded, or dome- 

 shaped domicile, in which it concoals itself, when not in the 

 snare on tho look-out for insocts ; in this retreat it is said to pass 

 the wintor also, having 'first spun up the entrance with silken 

 lines. It is usually adult at the end of summer and in the 

 autumn; some, howovor, survivo tho winter — probably immature 

 individuals from tho preceding autumn's brood, these attain 

 maturity in the months of June and July, or perhaps in favour- 

 able seasons still earlior in the spring. 



