8 
NATURE STUDY. 
Incidents of Spider Life. 
BY SUSY C. FOGG. 
Early in the spring, before small life becomes abundant, the 
bright-eyed boy or girl may observe upon the bark of a tree, 
the side of a building, or sunny window-pane, a small, black 
spider, which attracts attention by its quick, jerky movements, 
sidewise or backwards, as well as forward, and the spot and 
narrow bands of white or orange upon the abdomen. 
Upon looking again one sees that the legs are comparatively 
short and strongly developed, that the jaws, or cheliceres, are 
metallic green, and that the whole appearance of the spider is 
self-contained and rather bold and jaunty as he rears the front 
portion of his body to listen for his prey. 
This spider is Attus tripunctatus, of the family Attidae, the 
jumping spiders, and is common throughout our country, espe¬ 
cially New England. This g nus secures its prey by jumping 
upon it and holding it fast with its strong jaws, and has no use 
for the web, strewn with remnants of past-enjoyed feasts, pecul¬ 
iar to other spiders, and spins only a silken case in which to 
lay the eggs, to moult or hibernate. 
If one of these spiders be magnified the body is seen to be 
thickly clothed with whitish hairs, and the prominent eyes to be 
arranged in a semi circle on the head part of the cephalothorax 
"" ” u own in the cut, which is reproduced from 
z, plate 18, figure 75, as reprinted by the 
n Society of Natural History. The 
it of these can be seen with the eye alone. 
The eyes of spiders are curious and varia¬ 
ble in arrangement. Attus, as represented in 
the diagram, has four pairs, a usual number, 
but Professor Comstock states in his “ Man¬ 
ual,” that there may be spiders with “ one, two or three pairs ; 
and certain cave spiders are blind.” 
Upon observation Attus has shown good powers of sight an d 
