EPEIRA. 
365 
According to Lister, Epeira tubulosa, which appears to he a very local species, is some¬ 
times found in great abundance in moist situations. In June the female constructs one or 
two lenticular cocoons of white silk, in which she deposits her eggs, of a pale-yellow colour. 
An adult female was taken in 1856, by the Rev. O. P. Cambridge, near Blandford, in 
Dorsetshire. 
Epeira calva. PI. XXVII, fig. 263. 
Epeira calva, Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist,, second series, vol, x, p. 99; 
and vol. xiv, p. 33. 
Length of the female, -th of an inch ; length of the cephalo-thorax, Ath, breadth, Ath; 
breadth of the abdomen, Ath; length of an anterior leg, gth; length of a leg of the third 
pair, jth. 
The four intermediate eyes, which are seated on a black prominence, describe a quadri¬ 
lateral figure whose anterior side is slightly the shortest, and those of each lateral pair are 
placed obliquely on a small, black tubercle and are almost in contact; the posterior eyes of 
the quadrilateral figure are the largest, and the anterior ones the smallest of the eight. The 
cephalo-thorax is compressed before, rounded on the sides, elevated and convex in the 
cephalic region, depressed behind, glossy, and of a very dark-brown colour, with a broad, 
yellowish-brown band in the middle, which decreases in breadth to its posterior extremity, 
where it has a yellowish-white tint. The falces are powerful, conical, vertical, armed with 
teeth on the inner surface, and of a reddish-brown colour, the base being the darkest. The 
maxillae are short, straight, and enlarged and rounded at the extremity; the lip is semicir¬ 
cular, but somewhat pointed. These parts are of a very dark-brown hue, their extremities 
being faintly tinged with red. The sternum is heart-shaped, with small prominences on the 
sides, opposite to the legs, and its colour is brownish-black. The legs are moderately long, 
provided with hairs and a few fine spines, and of a yellowish-brown colour, the femora being 
marked with brown, longitudinal streaks; each tarsus is terminated by the customary number 
of claws of the usual structure. The palpi are short and of a yellowish-brown hue, the radial 
and digital joints being the darkest. The abdomen is oviform, glossy, convex above, and 
projects greatly over the base of the cephalo-thorax; the upper part is of a pale, yellowish- 
brown colour, and is marked with four minute, brown spots, which form a quadrilateral figure 
whose anterior side is the shortest; an irregular, dark-brown line extends from the anterior 
extremity, above each side, more than two thirds of its length, and contiguous to the exterior 
margin of these lines, which are most conspicuous at their extremities, there is a parallel band 
of yellowish-white; the sides are of a dark-brown colour, freckled with paler brown, and the 
under part, which has a brownish-black hue, is bounded laterally by a yellowish-white band 
extending beyond the spinners; the sexual organs are almost concealed by a scale-like process 
situated on each side of them. 
An immature female of this interesting Epeira was received in October, 1853, from the 
