These spiders are all pale and most of them without markings. The eyes
are close to the front edge of the head and cover more than half its
width (figs. 50, 54, 56). The upper row is longer and the eyes larger
and the middle pair farthest apart. The distance between this pair
varies according to the species. In _crassipalpis_ and _canadensis_ it
is little more than that between the middle and lateral eyes, while in
_rubra_ it is nearly twice as great. The mandibles of the females are
swelled at the base in front, and this swelling is greatest in
_canadensis_ (fig. 55). The mandibles of the males are longer and are
shaped in a variety of ways according to the species. The shape of the
epigynum is indistinct and variable, and females of different species
are difficult to distinguish. The females of _ornata_ and _excepta_ are
known by their markings and those of _rubra_ by their size and
resemblance to the male. The females of _crassipalpis_ and _tibialis_
are doubtful. The palpal organs and male palpi are of great variety and
distinguish the males of all species without much difficulty.
[Illustration: FIG. 48. Female Clubiona crassipalpis, enlarged four
times.]
The Clubionas live in flat tubes of silk on leaves of low plants in
summer and under bark and stones at all seasons.
$Clubiona crassipalpis.$--A quarter of an inch long and pale, without
markings. The head is sometimes a little darker than the rest of the
body, and the mandibles and ends of the male palpi are always darker.
The eyes of the upper row are almost equidistant, the middle pair only a
little farther apart than they are from the lateral eyes. The mandibles
of the male (figs. 49, 50) are elongated as usual, narrowed toward the
end, and thickened in front just above the middle. On the outer side in
front is a sharp ridge that extends from the base of the claw halfway up
the mandible. The inner edges of the mandibles are thin and inclined
backward toward the mouth, but there is no line or ridge between the
thick and thin portions as in some other species. The palpi of the male
(fig. 51) have the patella and tibia both short. The tibia is widened on
the outer side and laps over the tarsus, extending in a blunt hook for
half its length.
[Illustration: FIGS. 49, 50, 51, 52. Clubiona crassipalpis.--49, head
and mandibles of male from the left side. 50, head and mandibles of male
from in front. 51, palpus of male. 52, maxillæ, labium, and ends of
mandibles.]
[Illustration: FIGS. 53, 54. Clubiona tibialis.--53, end of palpus of
male, showing large tibia. 54, head and mandibles of male.]
$Clubiona tibialis.$--Quarter of an inch long, the same size and color
as _crassipalpis_, with no markings and no dark color except on the
mandibles and male palpi. The middle eyes are a little farther apart
than in _crassipalpis_. The male mandibles (fig. 54) are narrower than
in _crassipalpis_ and without the sharp ridge on the outer side, but on
the inside they are sharply hollowed out with a ridge between the thick
outer and thin inner portions. The male palpi (fig. 53) have the patella
about as long as wide, as it is in _crassipalpis_ and _canadensis_, but
the tibia is very large, with a hook in the usual place on the outer
side and a much larger process, which extends forward over the tarsus.
The tarsus is long and thickened in the middle where it rests against
the process of the tibia.
[Illustration: FIGS. 55, 56, 57. Clubiona canadensis.--55, head of
female, showing the swelled mandibles. 56, head and mandibles of male.
57, palpus of male.]
$Clubiona canadensis.$--Quarter of an inch long and without markings.
The upper eyes are nearly equidistant, as they are in _crassipalpis_,
but the legs and palpi are shorter. The male mandibles (fig. 56) are
much like those of _crassipalpis_, but have not so sharp a ridge on the
outer side. The male palpi (fig. 57) have the patella longer than wide
and the tibia wider than long, with two processes on the outer side. The
upper tibial process is a simple point extending along the outer side of
the tarsus for a quarter of its length. The under process is twice as
long, with a projecting corner at its base and running forward to a
sharp point, with a round notch halfway between the point and base. The
female has the head wider and the mandibles very much swelled in front
at the base (fig. 55). The fourth leg is longest and about as long as
the body.
[Illustration: FIGS. 58, 59. Clubiona rubra.--58, front of head and
mandibles of male. 59, palpus of male.]
$Clubiona rubra.$--Smaller than the other species, a sixth to a fifth of
an inch long. Cephalothorax light yellow brown, darker toward the front.
Abdomen pale in front and darkened with brownish red at the sides and
behind and along the middle of the back. The hind middle eyes are nearly
twice as far apart as they are from the lateral eyes. The fourth legs
are longest in both sexes, and there is little difference in the length
of the legs of the two sexes. The mandibles of the female are but little
swelled in front, not much more than those of the male, and the male
mandibles (fig. 58) are only a little narrowed at the ends. The male
palpi (fig. 59) have the tibia very much widened on the outer side, with
a short tooth in the middle and two larger short processes on the outer
side. The palpal organ has a large dark-colored process in the middle.
The epigynum is pointed behind, with a notch in the middle and two black
spots under the skin toward the front of the abdomen.
[Illustration: FIGS. 60, 61, 62. Clubiona ornata.--60, back of female
enlarged four times to show markings. 61, palpus of male. 62, front of
head and mandibles of male.]
$Clubiona ornata.$--This is one of the few Clubionas that have markings
on the abdomen. The general color is pale as usual, but the abdomen has
a dark stripe in the middle, broken into spots behind and bordered by
pale yellow. At the sides are oblique dark and light transverse
markings. These marks are of different sizes in different individuals
and connected in different ways. The length is from a third to half an
inch. The abdomen is wide across the middle and more pointed behind than
in most species. The front middle eyes are about as far apart as in
_tibialis_ and nearer than in _rubra_. The mandibles are not much
swelled in front. The legs of the male are longer than those of the
female, with the first pair longest, while in the female the fourth pair
is longest. The male mandibles (fig. 62) are narrow at the end and
hollowed on the inner edges as in _tibialis_, with a sharp ridge between
the thick and the thin portions. The male palpi (fig. 61) have two
processes on the outer side of the tibia longer than in _rubra_ and
shorter than in _canadensis_. The tibia is a little widened toward the
end and curved outward.
[Illustration: FIGS. 63, 64, 65. Clubiona excepta.--63, front of head
and mandibles of male. 64, palpus of male. 65, back of female enlarged
four times to show markings.]
$Clubiona excepta.$--A third of an inch long and with very distinct gray
markings on the abdomen. The cephalothorax is light yellow brown, and
the legs are more deeply colored with yellow than in most species. The
abdomen is white, with sometimes a yellow mark on the front of the
abdomen, and on the hinder half of the abdomen is a middle row of gray
spots and a row of larger transverse spots on each side. The fourth legs
are longest in both sexes. The male palpi have the tibia longer than
usual and patella and tibia about the same length. The tibia has a small
process with two teeth (fig. 64). The tarsus is oval and narrow and the
palpal organ small.
[Illustration: FIG. 66. Trachelas ruber, enlarged four times.]
$Trachelas ruber.$--One-third of an inch long, with the cephalothorax
short and wide like Clubiona, and the deep orange-brown color of
Dysdera. The cephalothorax is almost as wide as long, and widest
opposite the second legs. The head is three-quarters as wide as the
thorax and as high in the middle halfway between the eyes and the dorsal
groove. The front of the head is low, as in Clubiona. The front row of
eyes is a little curved, so that the middle pair are half their diameter
higher than the lateral. The upper row is much longer and the lateral
eyes are farther from the middle than these are from each other. The
labium and maxillæ are like those of Clubiona and the palpi very
slender. The first pair of legs are thicker than the others and as long
as the fourth. The second pair are also somewhat thickened. The legs are
orange brown, darkest on the front pair. The cephalothorax is dark brown
and finely roughened over the whole surface, without hairs except in
front. The abdomen is pale, with no markings except over the dorsal
vessel and the muscular spots. Some light-colored individuals have all
the colors paler. Under stones and leaves.
[Illustration: FIGS. 67, 68, 69. Chiracanthium viride.--67, female
enlarged four times. 68, eyes from in front. 69, maxillæ, labium, and
mandibles from below.]
$Chiracanthium viride.$--This has the color and general appearance of
the Clubionas, but the legs are longer and the first legs are
considerably longer than the fourth. The body is shorter and the abdomen
is wider and thicker in the middle. The female (fig. 67) is a third of
an inch long and the front legs two-fifths of an inch. The eyes (fig.
68) are arranged as in Clubiona. The maxillæ and labium are like those
of Clubiona, but the sternum is shorter and rounder. The head is but
little narrowed and the eyes cover almost its whole width. The upper
spinnerets are longer than the lower and distinctly two-jointed. The
spines of the legs are small and inconspicuous. The color in life is
greenish white, the mandibles brown, and the stripe over the dorsal
vessel darker than the rest of the abdomen.
The male has the front legs nearly three times as long as the body,
though the other legs are not much longer than in the female. The
mandibles are also elongated, as in the males of Clubiona. The male
palpi have the tarsus long, with a pointed process that extends backward
over the tibia between two processes on that joint.