Mrs. Epeira’s Mouth 
inner margins with the same kind of 
saw-teeth that you saw on the maxillae. 
But this is not all. At the tip of 
each mandible, Mrs. Epeira carries her 
weapons. For you must know that 
all the Spinners make their living 
in the old-fashioned way, by hunting 
or trapping. That being the case, they 
must carry about with them some sort 
of weapons with which to kill their 
prey. The weapons are strong spears, 
sharp enough to pierce through the 
~ skin of any insect the Spinner may 
capture. 
I am afraid you will think Mrs. 
Epeira is a dreadful little savage, for 
she poisons her spear before she strikes 
with it. At the tip of each spear is a 
tiny opening, so small that you cannot 
see it without the aid of a microscope, 
and yet it is large enough to allow a 
jet of poisonous liquid to pass into the 
wound made by the sharp point. In 
25 

