E peira quadrata. PI. XXIII, fig. 236.
Epeira quadrata, Walck., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt., tom. ii, p. 56.
— — Sund., Yet. Acad. Handl., 1832, p. 239.
— — Koch, Die Arachn., Band v, p. 66, tab. 162, figs. 381, 382.
— — Blackw., Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., second series, vol. ix,
p. 468.
Titulus 8, Lister, Hist. Animal. Angl. de Aran., p. 42, tab. 1, fig 8.
Length of the female, ^ths o f an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, ^ths, breadth, jth ;
breadth of the abdomen, | ; length of an anterior leg, &ths; length of a leg of the third
pair, Uths.
The four intermediate eyes form a square, and those of each lateral pair are seated on a
tubercle, and are nearly contiguous. The cephalo-thorax is moderately convex, compressed
before, truncated in front, rounded on the sides, and has a large indentation in the medial
lin e ; it is clothed with whitish hairs, and its colour is very pale, yellowish-brown, with a
broad, brownish-black band on each side, nearly parallel with the lateral margin, and another
o f the same hue extending along the middle, which increases in breadth as it approaches the
eyes. The falces are short, strong, conical, vertical, and armed with teeth on the inner surface
; their colour is pale, yellowish-brown, with the exception of the extremity, which has a
brownish-black tint. The maxillae are straight, powerful, and greatly enlarged' at the
extremity, which is rounded; the lip is semicircular, but somewhat pointed at the apex.
The colour of these parts is black, the apices having a yellowish-brown hue. The sternum
is heart-shaped, and has prominences on the sides, opposite to the leg s; it has a black tint,
with a small, yellowish streak in the middle of the anterior part. The legs are robust, provided
with hairs and numerous erect spines, and of a yellowish-white or very pale, yellowish-
brown colour, with brownish-black annuli; the tarsi, in addition to the three claws of the
usual structure by which they are terminated, have several smaller ones situated below them.
The palpi resemble the legs in colour, and have a curved, pectinated claw at their extremity.
The abdomen is large, of a subglobose form, projecting over the base o f the cephalo-thorax;
the upper part is of a greenish-yellow hue; four oval, white spots, conspicuous in the anterior
region, form a trapezoid, whose anterior side is the shortest, and from the outer extremity of
each of the posterior spots a white, sinuous line extends to the spinners; along the medial
line there is a series o f white streaks and spots, and from the anterior streak, which is the
longest, several white spots pass to the sides, and are succeeded by some faint, oblique dashes
of white; the sides and under part are of an orange-brown colour, a broad, longitudinal band
of a deeper shade, obscurely bordered with yellow anteriorly, occurring in the middle of the
latter; the sexual organs have a curved, wrinkled, taper, membraneous process connected
with their anterior part and directed backwards; its colour, and that of the branchial
opercula, is] dark-brown, the inner margin of the latter being paler. Individuals o f this
species vary in colour from pale, greenish-yellow to dark, orange-brown, but the four oval,
white spots on the upper part of the abdomen, which are usually conspicuous, serve to distinguish
it from other nearly allied species.
The male is much smaller than the female, and its colours are darker, but it resembles
her in the design formed by their distribution. The tibiae of the first and second pairs of
legs are abundantly supplied with strong, black spines on their anterior surface, and the
maxillae have a conical process on the outer side, immediately before the insertion o f the
palpi. The cubital and radial joints of the palpi are short; the former has two long bristles
at its extremity, in front; and the latter, which is the larger, is very prominent on the outer
side, and has a strong, obtuse apophysis at its extremity, underneath ; the digital joint is of
an elongated oval form, with an obtuse, black process at its base curved outwards; it is
convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs, which are very
highly developed, prominent, very complicated in structure, and of a dark-brown colour,
tinged with red. The convex sides of the digital joints are directed towards each
other.T
his large and handsome E peira appears to prefer wild uncultivated districts, and is not
uncommon in many parts of England and Wales. It pairs in autumn, and in October the
female attaches to the stems of heath or gorse a subglobose cocoon composed of coarse
yellow silk of a looseish texture, measuring seven tenths of an inch in diameter, which sometimes
comprises between 900 and 1000 spherical eggs of a yellow colour, agglutinated
together in a lenticular form. In constructing the cocoon the female presses her spinners
against the mass of eggs and attaches a compound line to it, then drawing out the line by
elevating the body, she again applies the spinners to the eggs and cements the line to them
in the form o f a small lo op ; this operation is continued (the lines being united to each
other when the eggs are covered) till the cocoon is completed, and, as it consists of a congeries
of short silken loops, it cannot be otherwise than loose in texture.
The snare of this spider has the appearance of being constructed with geometrical precision,
and is similar in design to the nets fabricated by the E p eirida generally. Near the
snare, and connected with its centre by a strong line, the spider constructs a dome-shaped
cell of compact white silk which it usually occupies.
E peira apoclisa. PI. XXIII, fig. 237.
Epeira apoclisa, Walck., Hist. Nat. des Insect. Apt., tom. ii, p. 61,
— — Sund., Yet. Acad. Handl., 1832, p. 243.
iRStogi — Hahn, Die Arachn., Band ii, p. 30, tab. 48, fig. 116.
— arundinacea, Koch, Uebers. des Arachn. S-yst., erstes Heft., p. 2.
—- — Koch, Die Arachn., Band xi, p. 109, tab. 385, fig. 913.
Titulus, 6, Lister, Hist. Animal. Angl., D e Aran., p. 36, tab. 1, fig* 6*