834 E P E lR ID « .
■with hoary hairs, and has a large indentation in the medial lin e ; the ifalces are short, strong,
conical, vertical, convex in front, and armed with teeth on the inner, surface; the maxillse are
powerful and rounded at the extremity; the lip is nearly semicircular, but somewhat pointed ;
and the sternum is heart-shaped, sparingly supplied with hoary hairs, and has on the sides
eminences opposite to the legs. These parts are of a dark-brown colour, approaching to
black, with the exception of the extremities of the maxillse and lip, which have a yellowish-
brown tint. The legs are robust, provided with hairs and erect spines, and have a dark-
brown hue approaching to black, with pale, reddish-brown or yellowish-brown annuli; each
tarsus is terminated by three claws of the usual structure, below which there are several
smaller ones. The palpi resemble the legs in colour, and have a curved, pectinated claw at
their extremity. The four intermediate eyes are seated on an eminence, and nearly form a
square, the two anterior ones, which are rather wider apart than the posterior ones, being the
largest of the e igh t; the eyes constituting each lateral pair are placed obliquely oil a tubercle,
but are not contiguous.
The sexes are similar in colour, but the male is the smaller. The cubital and radial
joints of its palpi are short; the former has one or two long bristles at its extremity, in front,
and the latter, which is the stronger, is prominent on the under side; the digital joint is
somewhat oval, with a process at the base, curved outwards and notched at the extremity,
and a lobe on the lower sid e ; it is convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising
the palpal organs, which are highly developed, prominent, complicated in structure, with a
bold process, whose extremities are pointed, contiguous to the lateral lobe, and are of a dark,
reddish-brown colour. The convex sides of the digital joints are directed towards each
other.
Epeira wniratica is much more abundant in various parts of England and Wales than it
is generally supposed to be, its apparent scarcity being attributable to its nocturnal habits and
the care with which it conceals itself during the day.
In June the female constructs, under the exfoliating bark of trees and in crevices in old
rails a subglobose cocoon of white silk, of a slightish texture, measuring Jths, of an inch in
diameter, in which she deposits about 160 spherical eggs of a yellowish-brown colour, ao-glu-
tinated together in a lenticular mass. On the exterior surface of the cocoon small pieces of
bark, wood, and other extraneous materials, are distributed, which serve to assimilate it' to
surrounding objects.
This spider spins a large net, having wide intervals between the radii and the circumvolutions
of the elastic spiral line, and preys chiefly on moths.
Epeira agalena. PI. XXIV, fig. 242.
Epeira agalena, W a lck ., H is t. N a t. des In s e c t. A p t., tom . ii, p. 36.
— Blackw., A n n a ls an d M ag . o f N a t. H is t., second series, vol. xiv,
p . 32.
— Sturmii, H a h n , D ie A raclin ., B an d i, p . 12, ta b . 3 , fig. 8.
Atea agalena, Koch, D ie A ra c h n ., B an d xi, p . 1 3 7 , ta b . 391, figs. 936__ 93 8 (the
specific n am e hyalina is in co rre c tly connected w ith th e n um b ers
9 3 6 , 9 3 7 , in th e p la te , b u t th is e r ro r is rectified in th e tex t).
Length of the female, ^ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-thorax, ^th, breadth, rath;
breadth of the abdomen, jth ; length of an anterior leg, Ithi-^ength of a leg of the third
pair, 5th.
The four intermediate eyes are placed on a slight prominence and form a square, the two
posterior ones being the largest of the eight, and the eyes of each lateral pair are seated
obliquely on a tubercle, but are not contiguous. The cephalo-thorax is convex, glossy, compressed
before, rounded on the sides, depressed behind, clothed with whitish hairs on the
anterior part, and has an indentation in the medial line; the falces are powerful, conical,
vertical, and armed with teeth on the inner surface; the maxillae are short, strong, straight,
and rounded at the extremity; the lip is semicircular, but somewhat pointed ; and the sternum
is heart-shaped, with small eminences on the sides, opposite to the legs. These parts are of
a red-brown colour; the falces, sternum, and base of the lip are much the darkest, and the
cephalic region, which is the palest, has a faint tinge of yellow. The legs are provided with
hairs and erect spines, and their colour is yellowish-brown, with dark-brown annuli; each
tarsus is terminated by three claws of the usual structure, and below them there are several
smaller ones. The palpi resemble the legs in colour, and have a curved, pectinated claw at
their extremity. The abdomen is large, of a somewhat subglobose form, and projects greatly
over the base of the cephalo-thorax ; it is thinly clothed with hairs, and of a pale red-brown
colour above, faintly mottled with dull, yellowish-white spots, the anterior extremity being
the darkest; on the upper part there is a leaf-shaped mark, which is broad before and tapers
to the spinners; it is obscurely defined by sinuous lateral margins of a dark-brown hue, and is
bordered by white spots, which converge abruptly in front, presenting the appearance of a
short pedicle to the leaf-shaped mark; above the spinners some transverse, dark-brown bars
occur, and the sides are marked with a few oblique, red-brown streaks ; the under part,
including the branchial opercula and spinners, is of a dark red-brown colour, a broad band of
a dull-yellow hue, mingled with pale reddish-brown, extending along each side of the medial
lin e ; the sexual organs have a small, black prominence on each side, and an oval, membraneous
process, directed obliquely backwards, is connected with their anterior margin.
The male bears a close resemblance to the female, but may be distinguished from her by
its smaller size, darker colour, and by its first pair of legs being armed with long spines on
their anterior surface. The cubital and radial joints of its palpi are short; the former has
two long, curved bristles at its extremity, in front, and the latter, which is the broader, has
two fine ones on its outer side, which is prominent; the digital joint is somewhat oval, with a
process at its base curved outwards ; it is convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising
the palpal organs, which are very highly developed and complicated in structure,
with a yellowish-brown bilobed process on the under side; one of these lobes is directed
outwards, and is terminated by three pointed spines of unequal length; the other lobe is
contiguous to the inferior margin of the joint, and is terminated by a prominent, slightly
curved, pointed spine; these organs have a very dark-brown hue. The convex sides of the
digital joints are directed towards each other.
In the month of June this Epeira may be found in a state of maturity on trees and
bushes in woods about Oakland.