State Agricultural Society. 
563 
worms a day or two old had been feeding in these places. The query 
therefore arose, what had destroyed these worms? On coming to 
inspect the leaves more particularly the agent in this destruction was 
quite evident. Small spiders were observed inhabiting the under 
side of the leaves, four to eight in number upon the larger lower 
leaves, some of them standing openly exposed upon the leaf, others 
nestled under a slight web. They had apparently been attracted to 
this situation to feed upon these worms, and one of them was seen a 
few days afterward in the act of eating a small worm which it had 
killed. By slaughtering such numbers of these worms immediately 
after they hatch from the eggs and before they have eaten the cab¬ 
bage leaves so as to occasion any damage to them, they render us an 
important service. 
As seen upon the cabbage leaves these spiders are one-tenth of an 
inch m length. They are of a waxy white color, smooth and glossy 
with two black parallel lines along the middle of the fore body, the 
lines united at their hind end. The abdomen or hind body is globu¬ 
lar and usually of a yellowish tinge, with a broad stripe of opake 
milk-white along the middle of the back and a narrower one on each 
side. They have eight small black glass-like eyes in front, placed in 
two rows. The four middle ones are placed at the angles of a square 
and the two outer ones on each side are united together. They will 
thus pertain to the genus Theridion. This species does not appear 
to have been described either by Prof. Hentz or Baron Walcknaer 
I meet with it so common upon the under side of cabbage leaves 
that, although it may hereafter be found equally common in other 
situations, it may appropriately be termed the cabbage spider, Then- 
dton Brassim. It grows to nearly double the size above stated and 
then varies somewhat from the markings it presents when youim as 
noticed in the following description. 
I hcCABSAGB SproEii, Thendwn Bnmim, grows to 0.18 in length, and is of a waxy 
vlnte color, with two black parallel lines along the middle of its fore body endow 
anteriorly near the eyes, and confluent at their hind ends. The abdomen is globular 
and in young specimens shows a stripe of opake milk-white upon the middle of the 
Sr to'a nobu T°V ld °; tUat UP ° n thB bftCk being broad anteriorly and taper- 
ng o a pomt at Us bind end, its anterior half having a waxy white line along the 
lamtin? t a transverse Une of the same color crossing the stripe and slightly 
stpara ing forward end from the remainder, this stripe being also three-lobed 
smalle°i lobe ’ t! 6 l0ngCSt; th ° lateral stri P es also having similar but 
sn a le. lobes on their upper side, the ends of which project into the sinuses between 
mill- whTt . T 1 8triPe ' In adult spRcimcn3 the ^ole upper side is opake 
milk-white, winch color on the sides is broken into minute dots. The under side is 
waxy white, with a black dot on each side of the tip, and a third one on the base 
