38 
THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 
Fig. 42.— 
Face of 
Epeira. 
The orb weavers (Family 
Epeiridce) are usually plump 
spiders, the abdomen being 
large, and often nearly spher¬ 
ical. The space between the 
eyes and front edge of the 
head is less than the region 
Fjg. 43.—Foot of Epeira. 
occupied by the eyes (Fig. 42). 
The eyes are arranged in two rows. The front legs are 
longer than the others. The feet have three claws (Fig. 43), 
and the spinnerets are all short. In some species of this 
family the male is much smaller than the female. 
Family ULOBORID^E (U-lo-bor'i-dae). 
The Curled-thread Weavers with Regular Webs. 
The Uloborids ( U-lo-bo'rids ). 
We have already described the thread-curling habits of 
the Dictynids (p. 32), and the curious organs called cribel- 
lum and calamistrum (Fig. 44), by which these curled threads 
are made (p. 23). Similar organs and 
a similar habit are possessed by the spi¬ 
ders of the family Uloboridce . These 
spiders, however, make webs which are 
p .G. 44.-Caiamistrum of regu i ar j n f orm . There are only tw6 
genera belonging to this family in the United States ; but 
as the webs made by these are very different, we will de¬ 
scribe both. 
The Triangle Spider, Hyptiotes cavatus (Hyp-ti'o-tes ca- 
va'tus).—This spider is common all over New England and 
the Middle States, and has been found as far to the south¬ 
west as Texas. Its web is most often found stretched be¬ 
tween the twigs of a dead branch of pine or spruce. At 
first sight this web appears like a fragment of an orb web 
(Fig. 45); but a little study will show that it is complete. 
The accompanying figure, by Dr. Wilder, who first described 
