278 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
are small animals resembling scorpions in shape, but 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 place to another. 
The Whip-scorpions are not unlike 
scorpions, 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 w'ithout a sting. They are 
inhabitants of warm countries, and, rightly 
or wrongly, are reputed to be venomous. 
Different species measure from i inch to 4 
or 5 inches in length. 
The curious Harvest-men have two 
eyes, a small, compact, oval body, large 
pincers, and very long, slender legs, longer 
and more slender in proportion 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 SPIDERS, 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 w'ith 
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 
chiefly of flies and other winged insects. 
The largest known spiders are usually 
placed first in the series. These are the great 
Bird-catching Spiders 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 occasionally on humming-birds, 
and even sometimes on larger birds, such as 
finches. 
The Trap-door 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. 
F 
Photo by Highley 
HOUSE-SPIDER 
Exhibits the four pairs of legs characteristic of the group 
TREE TRAP-DOOR SPIDER OF BRAZIL 
Trap-door spiders are plentiful in some parts of Europe 
