This spider, which occurs in autumn on the trunks of trees in woods at Oakland, M.
Walckenaer has portrayed in his | Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt.’ pi. xxi, fig. f . 2 d, under
the name of Tliêridion gonflé ; but has prefixed to his description of it, tom. ii, p. 274, the
appellation of L inyphia bucculenta, conferred by Professor Sundevall on a very different
species; namely, on that designated Linyphia reticulata, by M. Walckenaer (‘Yet. Acad.
Handl.,’ 1831, p. 109).
Both sexes of L inyphia socialis have been received from Mr. J. Hardy, who took them
in Berwickshire.
Linyphia crypticolens. PI. XV.T, fig. 148.
Linyphia crypticolens, Walck., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt., tom. ii, p. 275.
— — Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. ix,
p. 16.
— nebulosa, Sund., Yet. Acad. Handl., 1829, p. 218.
H |g H pallidula, Blackw., Besearch. in Zool., p. 403.
Meta cellulana, Koch, Die Arachn., Band viii, p. 123, tab. 287, figs. 691, 692.
Length of the female, gth of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, Ath, breadth, i?th;
breadth of the abdomen, ^ th ; length of an anterior leg, *§ths; length of a leg of the third
pair, Jfths.
The legs are long, slender, moderately hairy, and of a pale yellowish-brown hue, with
black annuli; the first pair is the longest, the fourth pair rather surpasses the second, and the
third pair is the shortest; each tarsus is terminated by three claws ; the two superior ones are
curved and pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected near its base. The palpi resemble
the legs in colour, and have a curved, pectinated claw at their extremity. The eyes are
seated on black spots; the *four intermediate ones form a trapezoid whose anterior side is the
shortest, and those of each lateral pair are placed obliquely on a tubercle and are almost
contiguous; the posterior eyes of the trapezoid are the largest, and the anterior ones the
smallest of the eight. The cephalo-thorax is compressed before, rounded on the sides,
convex, glossy, with furrows on the sides converging towards a large indentation in the
medial lin e ; it is of a pale yellowish-brown colour, with black lateral margins, a black spot
in front, between the eyes and the falces, and a band of the same hue, which is contracted
near the middle, extending along the medial line. The falces are conical, vertical, and
armed with a few teeth on the inner surface; the colour of their base is yellow-brown, that
of their extremity pale red-brown, and they have a black streak in front. The maxillae are
straight, somewhat quadrate, and of a pale yellowish-brown hue, with the inner margin
black, and a spot o f the same tint on the outer side. The lip, which is somewhat quadrate,
is blackish at the base and yellowish-brown at the apex. The sternum is heart-shaped, and
has small prominences on the sides, opposite to the le g s ; it is of a pale yellowish-brown
colour, with black margins. The abdomen is oviform, slightly hairy, very convex above,
projecting over the base of the cephalo-thorax; it is of a pale yellowish-brown colour,
marked with black lines ; one, curved in front and passing to the sides, has its extremities
enlarged, and several short, longitudinal ones,, slightly inclined towards each other, extend,
in pairs, along the middle of the upper part, about half of its length, the first pair uniting
before in the curved, frontal lin e ; between them and the spinners there are two parallel rows
of oblique lines whose anterior extremities nearly meet, and a few irregular lines, diverging
from those near the medial and (posterior regions, extend to the sides; on the under part,
near its connexion with the cephalo-thorax, there is a small, transverse, black streak, and in
the middle two oblique, black lines occur, which almost unite near the spinners, but diverge
widely and abruptly at their anterior extremities ; the spinners have a yellowish-brown tin t;
a pair of small, black spots is situated on each side of them, near their base, and a larger
one, of a triangular form, underneath; the branchial opercula are whitish; and the colour
of the sexual organs is red-brown.
The male is smaller and darker coloured than the female, and its legs have a redder hue,
the Mack annuli with which they are marked being fewer and less distinct. The palpi have
a pale red-brown tin t; the humeral joint is long, and the cubital and radial joints are short,
the latter being the stronger; the digital joint is somewhat oval, with a very large, prominent
process at the base, which is curved downwards, and an angular projection near the middle
of the outer sidej§|t is convex and hairy-externally, concave within, comprising the palpal
organs ; they are highly developed, complicated in structure, with a strong, black, prominent
process at the upper part, on the inner side, which is directed downwards, and has an obtuse
projection on its upper side ; a very prominent, membranous, semitransparent process;, curved
and black at its point, is situated a little lower, on the same side ; and opposite to it, on the
outer side, there is an erect, black spine, pointed and slightly curved at its extremity, and
having a prominent, bilobed process at the upper part of its base, and the point of a long,
black spine, which is curved under the processes on the inner side, m contact with its lower
part; these organs are of a red-brown colour. The convex sides of the digital joints are
directed towards each other.
On examining specimens of this spider in the summer of 1834, it was found to possess
the essential characters of a lin y p h ia , and was described in the ‘ Researches m Zoology as
new to science, under the specific name ofpaM dula. Since then ft has been ascertained that
M. Walckenaer had included it among the T hendia, in his ‘ Tableau des Araneides,’ p. 75,
and that Professor Sundevall had previously described it in his excellent publications m this
department of zoology.
L inyphia crypticolens is met with in North Wales under stones, and in cellars, vaults, and
other obscure, damp places. In June or July the female constructs a globular cocoon of
yellowish-brown silk of a loose texture, measuring one-sixth of an inch in diameter; it is
commonly attached to her spinners by fine lines, and contains about ninety-eight spherical
eggs of a brown colour, not adherent among themselves.