rails at Oakland and Crumpsall Hall. The attention of observers is directed to this common
aeronautic spider by the frequency of its aerial excursions.
Neriene graminicola. PI. XIX, fig. 186.
Neriene graminicola, Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. ix,
p. 269.
Linyphia — Snnd., Yet. Acad. Handl., 1829, p. 213,
Theridion rubripes, Hahn, Die Arachn., Band i, p. 92, tab. 22, fig. 70.
Micryphantes rubripes, Koch, Die Arachn., Band iv, p._L21, tab. 142, figs. 328, 329.
Argus graminicolis, Walck., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt., tom. ii, p. 351.
Length of the male, ^th of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, ^th, breadth, ^th ;
breadth of the abdomen, ^ th; length of an anterior leg, jth ; length o f a leg of the third
pair, |th.
The cephalo-thorax is oval, convex, glossy, rather prominent before, and has an indentation
in the medial line ; it is of a pale-brown colour, with narrow, dark-brown lateral margins.
The falces are powerful, subconical, convex near the base, armed with teeth on the inner
surface, and a pointed, conical protuberance in front, nearer to the extremity than the base;
they are o f a red-brown colour, and are inclined towards the sternum, which is broad, heart-
shaped, and of a dark-brown hue. The maxillae are convex at the base, and provided with a
conical process near the extremity, on the outer sid e; they have a red-brown tint, and are
strongly inclined towards the lip, which is short, somewhat quadrate, and of a dark-brown
hue. The legs are of a yellowish-brown colour, tinged with red, particularly the femora, and
the anterior and posterior pairs are equal in length; each tarsus is terminated by three claws;
the two superior ones are curved and minutely pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected
near its base. The palpi resemble the legs in colour; the cubital joint is clavate, and has a
prominent, conical, pointed apophysis at its extremity, on the under side; the radial is stronger
than the cubital joint, and is terminated by three apophyses; two, which are large and obtuse,
project over the base of the digital joint, and the other, which is small and pointed, is
situated underneath ; the digital joint is oval, convex and hairy externally, concave within,
comprising the palpal organs, which are moderately developed, complicated in structure, with
a strong, prominent process on the outer side, a smaller and darker one at the extremity, and
are of a reddish-brown colour. The lateral eyes are rather the largest, and the anterior ones
of the four forming the trapezoid are the smallest o f the eight. The abdomen is oviform,
convex above, projecting over the base of the cephalo-thorax; it is thinly clothed with hairs,
and o f a black hue.
According to M . Koch, the female is rather larger and lighter-coloured than the male.
An adult male of this spider, which has the essential characters of a Neriene, was taken
among herbage in a field at Southgate in May, 1850, and is in Mr. Walker’s cabinet.
N eriëne cornigera. PI. XIX, fig. 187.
Neriene cornigera, Blackw., Annals and Mag. o f Nat. Hist., second series, vol. xvii,
p. 233.
— — Blackw., Ibid., vol. xx, p. 501.
Length of the male, ^th of an inch ; length of the cephalo-thorax, ^th, breadth, ^th ;
breadth of the abdomen, ^th ; length o f an anterior leg, 1th ; length of a leg of the third
pair, ^th.
The eyes are seated on black spots ; the four intermediate ones describe a trapezoid, the
two anterior ones, which form its shortest side, being the smallest of the eight. The cephalo-
thorax is oval, convex, glossy, slightly elevated before, where the eyes are situated, and has an
indentation in the medial line ; th e falces are conical, divergent at the extremity, armed with
teeth on the inner surface, and somewhat inclined towards the sternum, which is broad,
convex, glossy, and heart-shaped ; the maxillæ are inclined towards the lip, which is semicircular
and prominent at the apex ; the legs are slender and slightly hairy ; the anterior and
posterior pairs are the longest and equal in length, and the third pair is the shortest ; each
tarsus is terminated by three claws; the two superior ones are curved, and the inferior one is
inflected near its base. These parts are of a brownish-yellow colour, the sternum, base of the
lip, and tibiæ o f the first and second pairs of legs being the brownest. The palpi have a
brownish-yellow hue, the digital joint being the brownest ; the cubital and radial joints are
short, the latter, which is the larger, is prominent at its extremity, in front, and has several
long bristles at its base ; the digital joint is oval, with a long, conical, hornlike process at its
base, whose pointed termination extends to the extremity of the cubital joint, and is provided
with one or two long bristles ; it is convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising
the palpal organs, which are highly developed, prominent, complicated in structure, with a
small, black, curved, pointed spine at the base, on the outer side, and are of a yellowish-
brown colour. The abdomen is oviform, convex above, and projects a little over the base of
the cephalo-thorax ; it is thinly clothed with hairs, and of a dark, dull-brown hue, that o f the
spinners being pale, yellowish-brown.
This remarkable spider was discovered among moss growing under trees in a wood on the
northern slope of Gallt y Rhyg, in the autumn of 1854.
Neriene Montana.
Neriene montana, Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. xvii,
p. 234.
PEBagraj — Blackw., Ibid., vol. xx, p. 501.
Length of the male, ^th of an in ch ; length o f the cephalo-thorax, ^th, breadth, ^ th ;