The Epeiridæ are the makers of the familiar round cobwebs. Like the
Therididæ and the Linyphiadæ, they live always in their webs or nests
back downward or, when in the round web, head downward. The
cephalothorax is generally short, as in Therididæ, and low and wide in
front, with the eyes near the front edge, the lateral pairs close
together and farther from the middle eyes than the latter are from each
other. The mandibles are large and strong. The maxillæ are short, often
as short as wide, and parallel or a little divergent and rounded at the
ends, never pointed or turned inward. The labium is shorter than wide
and rounded or slightly pointed at the end. The legs are usually long
and, more commonly than in the other cobweb spiders, stout and furnished
with spines.
Most of the common species belong to the genus Epeira and its allies,
having rounded abdomens and stout legs, some of them with humps and
spines and peculiar angular forms of the abdomen. The colors are often
bright, and those of the abdomen arranged in a triangular or leaf-shaped
pattern. In Meta (p. 190) and Argyroepeira (p. 191) the abdomen is
more elongated and the form and marking more like Linyphia. In
Tetragnatha (p. 201) the whole body is long and slender, the abdomen
several times as long as the cephalothorax, and the maxillæ and
mandibles, especially in the males, much elongated. The colors are more
uniform and the markings faint, usually light gray, yellow, or green,
like the plants among which they live. The round webs of the Epeiridæ
consist of a number of radiating lines, varying in different species
from a dozen to seventy, crossed by two spirals,--an inner spiral that
begins in the center and winds outward, and an outer spiral that begins
at the edge of the web and winds inward. The inner spiral is made of
smooth thread like the rays, and dust will not stick to it. The outer
spiral is made of more elastic and sticky thread, which, when it is
fresh, is covered with fine drops of a sticky liquid. In the finished
web (figs. 379, 380) the outer spiral covers three-quarters or more of
the diameter and the inner spiral a quarter or less, but in the
unfinished web (fig. 381), before the sticky thread is put in, the inner
spiral covers nearly the whole of it and is cut out, piece by piece, to
make room for the outer spiral.
[Illustration: FIG. 379. Web of Epeira strix covered with dew hanging
between the rails of a fence. One-third the real size.]
[Illustration: FIG. 380. Finished web of Epeira sclopetaria with
unusually small number of rays. The spider hangs in the center, head
downward, in its customary position. The lower half of the web is wider
than the upper half, as it usually is. The cross threads with triangles
at the ends are caused by two or more threads sticking together in the
middle.]
In beginning a web, after the radiating threads are finished, the spider
fastens them more firmly at the center and corrects the distances
between them by several short, irregular threads (fig. 379) and then
begins the inner spiral with the turns, at first close together and then
widening, in some species gradually, in others suddenly, until they are
as far apart as the spider can reach with the spinnerets on one and the
front feet on the next, and so goes on nearly to the outside of the web,
where it stops abruptly (fig. 381). The spider usually rests a moment
and then begins, sometimes at another part of the web, the outer sticky
spiral. In the outermost parts of the web it usually forms several loops
(fig. 381, _b_ to _f_), filling in the corners until it approaches the
inner spiral and finds room to pass completely around the web. As soon
as the inner spiral is found in the way a part of it is cut out, and by
the time the outer spiral is finished the inner is reduced to the small
and close portion near the center.
[Illustration: FIG. 381. Unfinished web of Epeira sclopetaria showing
the completed inner spiral ending at _a_. The outer spiral began at _b_,
went to _c_, and returned to _d_; turned and went to _e_, and then to
_f_; and from there nearly around the web to _g_. From _g_ it returned
to the lower part of the web and made loops at _i_ and _j_, and then
started around the web until it was stopped at _k_.]
While the temporary spirals are made as far apart as possible, the
threads of the outer spiral are placed as close together as they can be
without danger of their sticking to each other, and usually a little
closer together toward the center of the web than they are at the
outside. In fastening this thread to the rays of the web the spider
first feels for the last thread with the first and second feet, and,
having found it, turns the body slightly around and grasps the ray with
the nearest foot of the fourth pair at a short distance from the point
where the last thread crosses. After taking hold of the ray with the
fourth foot, the spider turns down the abdomen so as to place the
spinnerets against the ray and fastens the thread to it, at the same
time holding the thread off with the other fourth foot to prevent its
sticking to anything around it. The whole making of the web seems to be
done entirely by feeling and is done as well in the dark as in daylight.
When the spider is active and the food supply good, a fresh web is made
every day, the old one being torn down and thrown away. In tearing down
a web (fig. 382) the spider walks out from the center on one of the rays
and gathers in what web he can reach with the front feet, chews it into
a ball, and drops it; then, having put in new rays in the cleared space,
he goes to another part of the web and tears down another piece.
The variations between the webs of different species are chiefly in the
central portion. In the webs of _hortorum_ (p. 191), _gibberosa_ (p.
177), and _placida_ (p. 178), which spend most of their time in the web,
the close part of the inner spiral is very large, circular, and finely
finished, usually showing no trace of the wide temporary spirals. The
number of rays is very large, and there is a wide clear space between
the inner and outer spirals. In Argiope the inner spiral is very large
and widens gradually until it almost touches the outer spiral. It has a
closely woven mat in the center and two zigzag bands of white silk
extending up and down.
The webs of Tetragnatha, Meta, and Acrosoma have a hole in the middle,
the irregular center being entirely removed. _Insularis_ and _trifolium_
live always in tent-shaped nests, with a thread, or several threads,
leading to the center of the web. _Globosa_, _labyrinthea_, and Zilla
have a similar thread from nest to web, and leave open a segment of the
web through which it passes.
[Illustration: FIG. 382. Epeira sclopetaria tearing down an old web and
beginning a new one. Five new rays have been made and a quarter of the
old web remains at the right.]
Insects flying through the web strike the sticky threads and, trying to
free themselves, fall against others. The spider at the center of the
web feels the movements of the insect and goes toward it by the nearest
ray and, drawing out silk from the spinnerets, throws it around the
insect until it is tied fast. Adult male Epeiridæ are seldom seen in
webs of their own, but some of them do occasionally make webs. The male
_E. sclopetaria_, for instance, sometimes makes a web nearly as large as
that of the female and stands in it waiting for insects to be caught.
[Illustration: FIGS. 383, 384, 385.--383, Epeira sclopetaria. 384,
Epeira patagiata. 385, Epeira strix.]
$The Three House Epeiras: E. sclopetaria, patagiata,$ and
$strix.$--These are the round-web spiders most commonly found about
houses, barns, and fences. They are all about the same size, a third of
an inch in length, and of various shades of brown, with a distinct
scalloped middle stripe on the abdomen. _Sclopetaria_ (fig. 383) has the
middle stripe broken at the edges just in front of the middle of each
side, so as to form two separate figures, one covering the front and the
other the hinder half of the abdomen. In _patagiata_ (fig. 384) and
_strix_ the edges of the stripe are usually entire for their whole
length. In _strix_ (fig. 385) the middle stripe is narrower than in the
others and usually lighter in color. The color of _sclopetaria_ inclines
to black, with the light marks yellow. _Patagiata_ is oftener reddish
brown, especially in alcohol, and the middle stripe is often dark and
uniform in color, less broken by spots and transverse marks than in the
others. The front legs of _sclopetaria_ are longer than those of the
other species, and the front legs of _strix_ shorter and stouter. The
cephalothorax of _strix_ is more plainly marked than the others, with
three longitudinal stripes. There is not much difference in the markings
of the under side. The epigynum has two hard brown prominences at each
side, with a soft finger-like appendage between. In _sclopetaria_ and
_strix_ this finger is slender and tapers slightly toward the end. In
_patagiata_ it is wide at the end and flattened. In the palpi of the
males there is a similar difference. Those of _sclopetaria_ and _strix_
are much alike, but that of _patagiata_ has the forked hook at the base
much thicker and more curved. _Patagiata_ is a northern species, common
in Canada and found occasionally as far south as Massachusetts and New
York. It is also common in the north of Europe. _Sclopetaria_ is also a
European species, and is seldom found far from houses. It is more common
north, but has been found as far south as Norfolk, Va. _Strix_ is common
all over the country, both around houses and in bushes.
The webs of these spiders have usually from twelve to twenty rays, and
the inner spiral is small and carelessly finished (figs. 379, 380). The
webs are made usually at nightfall, very young individuals beginning to
spin soon after sunset, and larger ones beginning later, those that are
full grown often waiting until dark, but some of them will occasionally
spin their webs at any time of day. They stand in the web during the
night, but seldom during the daytime, going then to their usual nests or
hiding places, sometimes, especially with _Epeira strix_, a long
distance from the web. As a rule, they have no special thread by which
to enter or leave the web, but use any one of the rays which may be
convenient, always injuring the web more or less; but occasionally, if
_Epeira sclopetaria_ has a nest in a convenient situation, he will make
the web near it and have a thread direct from the nest to the center of
the web, as is the usual habit in some other species. The eggs of
_sclopetaria_ are laid in the early summer in large, round, white
cocoons (fig. 386), fastened in sheltered places on the walls of houses
and covered with a loose mass of silk threads.
[Illustration: FIG. 386. Egg cocoon of Epeira sclopetaria under the edge
of a clapboard. Natural size.]
$The Angulate Epeiras.$--_E. angulata_ (fig. 389), _silvatica_ (fig.
390), _nordmanni_ (fig. 387), _cinerea_ (fig. 391), and _corticaria_
(fig. 392) all have the humps on the front of the abdomen, and in young
spiders this is the widest part. _Angulata_, _silvatica_, and _cinerea_
grow to a large size. _Cinerea_ is light colored and lives in great
numbers about houses and barns in northern New England. _Angulata_ and
_silvatica_ are found among trees and are dark colored like bark.
_Angulata_ has a yellow stripe on the sternum and yellow spots under
the abdomen between the spinnerets and epigynum. _Silvatica_ has the
sternum and under side of the abdomen brown, without any distinct
markings. The male _angulata_ has the thickened tibia of the second leg
nearly as long as the tibia of the first leg. The male _silvatica_ has
the second tibia less thickened and a fourth shorter than the first
tibia. The male _angulata_ has a pair of long spines under the coxæ of
the second legs, but in _silvatica_ these spines are so small as to be
hardly visible. _E. nordmanni_ is a smaller species, about as large as
_sclopetaria_ and _strix_, with light gray colors and generally distinct
marking both above and below. _E. corticaria_ is not more than half as
large as _silvatica_ and might be mistaken for the young of that
species, but the colors are lighter and the rings on the legs narrower
and more numerous. The epigynum of _corticaria_ is nearly as large as
that of _silvatica_, and the middle appendage is often wanting as if
broken off.
[Illustration: FIGS. 387, 388. Epeira nordmanni.--Upper and under
markings of female enlarged twice.]
$Epeira nordmanni.$--This is a little smaller and a little longer legged
than _cinerea_ and _angulata_. The abdomen is longer than in those
species and has two similar humps in front (fig. 387). The female is not
more than half an inch long. The colors are white and gray or black. The
cephalothorax is light gray, darkest at the sides, but without stripes.
The legs have a dark ring at the ends and a lighter one in the middle of
each joint. The abdomen has a distinct middle stripe on the hinder half.
In front there is an indistinct dark area extending to the top of the
humps and, in the middle, inclosing a bright, long, white spot, with a
round spot on each side sometimes united with it. The sternum is dark
brown, without any stripe. The under side of the abdomen has a middle
dark area in which are four yellow spots, two just behind the
respiratory openings and two farther back, halfway to the spinnerets.
[Illustration: FIGS. 389, 390.--389, Epeira angulata. 390, Epeira
silvatica. Both enlarged twice.]
$Epeira angulata$ and $silvatica.$--These spiders, which are perhaps
varieties of the same species, live usually among large trees and grow
to over half an inch in length. The abdomen has two slight humps on the
front. The colors are dark, like the bark of trees. The cephalothorax is
dark brown, with traces of darker lines in the middle and at its sides.
The legs are brown, with darker rings at the ends of the joints and less
distinct rings in the middle. The abdomen has a bright yellow spot in
front. The middle stripe is darker brown than the rest and has a
scalloped edge marked by a dark and light line, which may be entire or
broken into lines of spots. The under side of the abdomen is black or
brown, with sometimes several yellow spots. The sternum is uniform brown
in _silvatica_ and has a yellow middle stripe in _angulata_. The males
are colored like the females and are about half as large, with the legs
longer, especially the front pairs. The tibia of the second legs is
twice as thick as that of the first pair, a little bent, with the spines
stouter and more numerous than in the female. In the male of the
_angulata_ variety the tibia of the second pair is nearly as long as
that of the first, but in _silvatica_ it is distinctly shorter. On the
under side of the coxæ of the second legs is a conical spine, which is
longest in the _angulata_ variety. The epigynum is small for so large a
spider and has a long slender finger in the middle. These spiders are
found singly or in small numbers, usually in the woods, sometimes in
webs hung between trees high above the ground.
[Illustration: FIG. 391. Epeira cinerea.--Back of female enlarged
twice.]
$Epeira cinerea.$--This large spider is common in the northern part of
New England, from Maine to New York, where it lives in great numbers
about barns and houses. It grows to three-quarters of an inch in length,
with the abdomen proportionally larger than _angulata_ and with two
small humps on the front part (fig. 391). The color is dirty white, with
grayish markings and long white hairs scattered all over the body. The
cephalothorax is a little darkened at the sides, but has no distinct
stripes. The legs have gray rings at the ends and middle of each joint,
which are hardly visible in some individuals and almost black in others.
The markings are like those of _angulata_, but paler and often
indistinct. The sternum is brown, and the under side of the abdomen has
a central dark stripe bordered by curved yellow markings. The epigynum
is small, as in _angulata_, but the finger is flattened and turned up at
the end. The male is colored like the female, with the hairs on the legs
coarser and darker. The tibia of the second legs of the male is not
thickened or modified as it is in _angulata_. The webs resemble those of
_E. sclopetaria_, and the spider has similar habits, standing in the web
at night and usually leaving it in the daytime; and it has no special
thread from the web to the nest.
[Illustration: FIG. 392. Epeira corticaria.--Back of female enlarged
eight times.]
$Epeira corticaria.$--This is a small species about quarter of an inch
in length, with the abdomen angular in front, where it is as wide as
long (fig. 392). The colors are generally lighter and brighter than in
_angulata_ or _silvatica_. The cephalothorax has the cephalic part brown
and the sides pale. The legs are marked with broken brown rings at the
ends and middle of each joint. The abdomen is brown of various shades,
with light markings on the front part that are often bright red or
yellow. There is a narrow light line across the abdomen from the middle
to each hump and around the outer side of it. In front of these light
lines the abdomen is generally darker, except a light spot, sometimes
cross shaped, in the middle. The hinder half of the abdomen has
sometimes an indistinct middle stripe. The under side of the abdomen has
the usual middle dark area, with a curved yellow mark each side of it.
The finger of the epigynum is usually absent, as if broken off.
[Illustration: FIGS. 393, 394, 395. Epeira trivittata, enlarged four
times.--393, female. 394, male. 395, markings of under side of abdomen.]
$Epeira trivittata$ and $domiciliorum.$--These spiders, which may be
considered varieties of one species, are among the most common Epeiridæ,
at least in the northern part of the country, the smaller variety,
_trivittata_, quarter of an inch long, living in small bushes and marsh
grass, and the larger variety in trees and fences. The abdomen is only
a little longer than wide and is proportionally smaller than in
_insularis_ and _thaddeus_. The legs are long and slender, the first
pair being nearly twice as long as the body. The color is most commonly
light yellow, with brown markings. Sometimes the abdomen is thickly
spotted with red, especially toward the latter part of the summer, and
_domiciliorum_ has usually gray and even black markings. The
cephalothorax has three dark stripes not very sharply defined, and the
legs have brown or gray rings at the ends of the joints. The back of the
abdomen has a row of light spots in the middle, sometimes united into a
stripe, and on each side of this a row of dark spots nearly surrounded
by lighter color. The sternum is bright yellow in the middle, and the
under side of the abdomen has a dark center and two or three pairs of
yellow spots.
The males are usually smaller than the females, but resemble them in
color and markings. On the under side of each femur is a single row of
long spines. The tibia of the second legs is curved more in the small
than in the large variety and has a row of strong spines on the inner
side.
The webs are made usually just before dark, and the spider stands in
them more in the night than during the daytime. Sometimes they make a
thread from the center of the web to the nest, but this is not a regular
habit, as it is with _insularis_ (fig. 397).
Very young spiders make proportionally larger nests, often on the ends
of grasses, where their round webs are destroyed every day by the wind.
Some of them mature as early as June, and others, especially of the
_domiciliorum_ variety, as late as August.
[Illustration: FIG. 396. Epeira pratensis, enlarged four times.]
$Epeira pratensis.$--This is the same size and color as _Epeira
trivittata_, and lives, like that species, in grass and low bushes. The
cephalothorax and abdomen are both slightly longer than in _trivittata_,
and the color is more uniform. The cephalothorax is dull yellow, with a
middle and two lateral stripes, but these are often absent in light
specimens. The legs are colored like the cephalothorax, sometimes a
little darker at the ends of the joints. The abdomen has a middle dark
stripe, at the sides of which are two narrow bright yellow lines, which
are sometimes bordered with red. Outside of the middle stripes are six
pairs of black spots partly surrounded by yellow. On the under side the
sternum has a yellow stripe in the middle, and the abdomen two curved
yellow marks, which may be broken into spots. In the male the body is
longer and narrower than in the female and longer than the male
_trivittata_, and the tibiæ of the second legs are a little thickened
and curved as in _trivittata_.
[Illustration: FIG. 397. Web of Epeira insularis, with nest above
covered with leaves and several threads leading from the nest to the
center of the web. One-third the real size.]
[Illustration: FIGS. 398, 399. Epeira insularis, enlarged twice.--398,
female. 399, male.]
[Illustration: FIG. 400. Web of young Epeira insularis, showing the nest
above and the straight thread leading from the nest to the center of the
web. Half the real size.]
$Epeira insularis$ or $marmorea.$--The adult females are half to
three-quarters of an inch long, the abdomen large and oval, and bright
yellow or orange color, with brown or purple markings (fig. 398). The
cephalothorax is dull yellow, with slightly darker lines in the middle
and at the sides. The femur and patella of all the legs are bright
orange, darker toward the ends. The other joints are white, with brown
ends. The light parts of the abdomen are bright yellow marked with
brown. In the middle is a narrow deeply scalloped stripe, bordered by a
wide yellow line, outside of which are oblique yellow and brown
markings. In the middle of the stripe is a row of light spots, each
connected at the sides with two others, smaller and round, forming a
large figure at the anterior end. On the under side the sternum is brown
and bright yellow in the middle. The abdomen is dark brown, with two
semi-circular yellow spots. The males (fig. 399) are about half as long
as the females. The tibiæ of the second legs are thickened, and the
spines on the inner side short and stout. The coxæ of the second legs
have a conical spine near the base. This spider lives in bushes three or
four feet high. It makes a tent of leaves (fig. 397), in which it
usually stands out of sight, holding a thread which leads to the center
of the nest. Young spiders make larger tents in proportion to their size
and make them entirely of silk (fig. 400). In Massachusetts and
Connecticut it matures about the first of September. It is found all
over the country, and is probably a variety of the European _Epeira
marmorea_.
[Illustration: FIGS. 401, 401 _a_. Epeira thaddeus, enlarged four
times.]
$Epeira thaddeus.$--A small species resembling the young of _insularis_,
but with less distinct markings on the back. Full-grown females are
about quarter of an inch in length, with the abdomen large and round
(fig. 401). The colors are orange and light yellow like _insularis_. The
two front pairs of legs have the femur, patella, and tibia orange,
darker toward the ends. The third and fourth legs have the femur and
patella orange. The other joints are white, with dark rings at the ends.
The tibia of the fourth pair has a wide dark ring at the end. The
abdomen is white or light yellow on the upper side, and brown
underneath, the edge of the dark color coming far enough up to be seen
from above, around the sides and front (fig. 401). Under the middle of
the abdomen is a yellow spot just behind the epigynum (fig. 401 _a_). In
some individuals there is a trace of markings on the hinder part of the
abdomen, and the under side is sometimes light, so that there is a dark
ring around the middle of the abdomen. This spider makes a tent near the
web and lives in it like _insularis_.
[Illustration: FIG. 402. Epeira trifolium in its nest in a plant of
golden-rod. Natural size.]
[Illustration: FIGS. 403, 404. Epeira trifolium, enlarged twice.--403,
female. 404, male.]
$Epeira trifolium.$--This is one of the largest species of the family,
measuring from half to three-quarters of an inch long, with a large
round abdomen, usually of a purplish brown color, and legs strongly
marked with black rings (fig. 403). The cephalothorax is white, with
three wide black stripes. The legs are white, with a black ring at the
end of each joint and in the middle of the fourth femur. The back of the
abdomen varies in color from dark purplish brown to light gray or white,
or sometimes light yellow, and the same individual will change from
light color to dark. The usual markings are four white spots and a
middle row of smaller spots, with several oblique rows still smaller.
All trace of the usual middle stripe is wanting except in very young
individuals. The under side of the abdomen is dark brown, and the usual
semicircular yellow marks are absent except in the young. The males
(fig. 404) are not more than half as long as the females and slender and
light colored. The markings are like those of the female, but less
distinct. The tibiæ of the second legs are not thickened or modified in
shape as they are in the male _insularis_. _Trifolium_ makes a large web
in bushes, but seldom stands in it. It has near by a tent above the web
(fig. 402) made of leaves, drawn together and lined with silk, connected
with the center of the web by a strong thread, and it usually remains in
this tent with one foot on the thread, so that it feels when anything is
caught. The spiders mature in September, when the males may sometimes be
seen about the nests of the females. In October they lay their eggs and
all die before winter.
[Illustration: FIG. 405. Epeira displicata, enlarged four times.]
$Epeira displicata.$--Large females are quarter of an inch long, but
they are usually smaller. The cephalothorax and legs are brownish
yellow, without markings. The abdomen is oval and light yellow or
crimson, the latter color more common in the young. Sometimes there are
two white lines in the middle. At the sides of the hinder half of the
abdomen are three pairs of round black spots surrounded by lighter rings
(fig. 405). The under side of the abdomen is a little darker than the
upper side, with no distinct markings.
The male has the legs and cephalothorax darker brown than the female,
and the black spots on the abdomen larger and surrounded more distinctly
with white, which sometimes forms a stripe on each side. The tibiæ of
the second legs are not thickened. The webs are usually small and among
leaves.
[Illustration: FIG. 406. Web of Epeira globosa in the corner of a
doorway, showing the large tent at the top, from which a coarse thread
runs to the center of the round web.]
$Epeira globosa$ or $triaranea.$--Length about a quarter of an inch, the
male a third smaller. The abdomen is round and as wide as long, and in
the female large for the size of the spider. The front half of the
abdomen is nearly covered by four white, yellow, or pink spots, partly
united into a rectangular figure surrounded by an irregular black line
(fig. 407). The hinder half has three or four pairs of black spots. The
general color is light brownish yellow. The cephalothorax has a fine
middle line from the eyes to the dorsal groove and indistinct dark marks
at the sides of the head. The first and second legs have slightly darker
rings at the end and middle of each joint, the third and fourth pairs at
the ends of the joints only. The male is marked like the female and has
the tibia of the second legs slightly curved and thickened with large
spines on the inner side.
[Illustration: FIG. 407. Epeira globosa, enlarged four times.]
This spider makes a very large tent, out of which a strong thread runs
to the center of the round web (fig. 406). From the tent a loose and
irregular web extends downward, sometimes covering half of the round web
(fig. 406). Opposite the thread leading to the tent, a segment of the
round web is left open or partly open without any sticky threads.
[Illustration: FIG. 408. Epeira labyrinthea, enlarged four times.]
$Epeira labyrinthea.$--This spider makes a large irregular web in which
is a tent connected by a thread with the small round web below, much as
in _Epeira globosa_. The female is a fifth of an inch long. The abdomen
is oval and not unusually large, as it is in _globosa_ (fig. 408). The
cephalothorax is long, dark brown in the middle and lighter at the
sides, and almost white in front around and behind the eyes. The legs
are white, with narrow dark brown rings at the ends of the joints and
wider yellow rings on patella and femur of the first and second pairs.
The abdomen is marked with four long white spots in front and a dark
brown middle band behind. At the sides the abdomen is light brown or
yellow. On the under side the ends of the mandibles and the maxillæ are
black. The sternum is black, with a white middle stripe. The abdomen has
a short middle white stripe surrounded by a large dark spot, and there
are several yellow spots along the sides and around the spinnerets.
[Illustration: FIG. 409. Web of Epeira labyrinthea with large irregular
web around the nest. One-third the real size.]
[Illustration: FIG. 410. Web of Epeira labyrinthea with string of
cocoons in the upper part over the spider's nest. One-third the real
size.]
The round web of this spider is not large, generally three or four
inches in diameter, but the irregular part above and partly covering it
may be much larger, sometimes as much as six inches across, where the
shape of the surrounding plants allows it (fig. 409). One segment at the
upper part of the round web is partly open, as in _globosa_ (p. 173) and
Zilla (p. 185), and here a strong thread passes to the nest, which is
often covered by a large spreading tent. In the last of the summer
several small, flat, brown cocoons are strung together in the irregular
web above the tent (fig. 410), which is then smaller and less regularly
made.
[Illustration: FIGS. 411, 412. Epeira gibberosa, enlarged eight
times.--411, back of female. 412, side view to show humps on the
cephalothorax.]
$Epeira gibberosa.$--A small and light-colored species living among
grass and in bushes in open fields. The adult female is from a sixth to
a quarter of an inch long, and the male smaller. The cephalothorax and
legs are light greenish yellow, and the abdomen gray, or light yellow
covered with lighter spots and black and yellow markings (fig. 411).
The abdomen is marked with two parallel lines on the hinder half and
three smaller black spots in front, the latter often absent. The
parallel lines are sometimes broken up into rows of spots, and these may
form part of several transverse black and yellow marks. The
cephalothorax has a narrow black line in the middle from the dorsal
groove nearly to the eyes. The feet are black toward the claws, and the
spines of the legs are long and black. The first and second femora have
a longitudinal black line on the under side. The abdomen is oval, half
longer than wide. The cephalothorax is high in the middle and slopes
forward toward the eyes almost as steeply as backward (fig. 412). The
web (fig. 413) is horizontal or inclined, with a round well-defined
central portion, in the middle of which is sometimes a round opaque
screen that nearly covers the spider. In the finished web there is
usually no trace of the temporary spiral, but sometimes, as in the
figure, a little of it is left, showing how it starts abruptly from the
closer spirals that form the center of the web. The outer spirals are
very fine and close together and the number of rays unusually large,
sometimes as many as sixty.
[Illustration: FIG. 413. Web of Epeira gibberosa, showing the round
center of the inner spiral, the great number of rays, and the closeness
of the spirals. Torn in several places by use. Half the real size.]
[Illustration: FIG. 414. Epeira placida, enlarged eight times.]
$Epeira placida.$--This is a small spider, about a fifth of an inch
long, with the longest legs about a quarter of an inch. The
cephalothorax is high in the middle where it rests against the abdomen
very much as it is in _gibberosa_ (fig. 412). The abdomen is oval, and
widest behind. The legs are comparatively short and tapering, and the
femora thick. The cephalothorax is brownish yellow, with three brown
stripes. The legs are the same color, a little darker at the ends of the
joints. The abdomen has a middle brown stripe, narrow in front and
widening to the middle, from which it extends to the spinnerets, keeping
about the same width, with a row of black spots on the edge at each side
and a pair of white spots in the middle (fig. 414). The sides of the
abdomen are white or yellow, and underneath it is brown, with two white
stripes in the middle and four white spots around the spinnerets. The
male is marked like the female and has no peculiar modifications of the
legs. This spider matures early, sometimes before the first of June in
Massachusetts, and half-grown young are found in the autumn. The web is
like that of _gibberosa_, with a large, round, and close inner spiral
from which, in the unfinished web, the temporary spiral starts abruptly.
The web is made in low bushes and may be vertical or inclined.
[Illustration: FIG. 415. Epeira scutulata, enlarged four times.]
$Epeira scutulata.$--A light yellow spider, a sixth to a fifth of an
inch long, with the abdomen angular behind and at the sides and as wide
as long (fig. 415). The cephalothorax is half as wide in front as it is
behind, and the lateral eyes are as far from the middle eyes as they are
from each other. The front legs are a fourth longer than the second. The
general color is light yellow, the legs darker at the ends of the
joints, with long black spines. The head has a few brown or red marks
behind the eyes and back to the dorsal groove, but these are often
entirely absent. The abdomen is lighter across the front between the two
corners, and there is sometimes a distinct white transverse stripe. In
front of each corner is a black spot, and there is generally a row of
small black spots around the front of the abdomen, and two rows behind
converging toward the spinnerets. In the hinder rows of spots the middle
pair are generally longest, and sometimes these are the only pair
present. The under side has no distinct markings. The epigynum is dark
at the sides, and the finger is short and flat at the end and turned a
little outward. The male has the legs longer, and the cephalothorax
wider behind. The abdomen is not much larger than the cephalothorax and
less angular than in the female. The colors are the same as in the
female, some individuals being light and some dark.
[Illustration: FIGS. 416, 417, 418. Markings of the abdomen of Epeira
parvula, enlarged twice.]
$Epeira parvula.$--A common spider all over the country, with the
abdomen wide in front and bluntly pointed behind, gray and brown colors
and a great variety of markings. The length is quarter to three-eighths
of an inch, with the abdomen two-thirds as long and as wide across the
front. The abdomen is as high behind as it is in front, and the pointed
end is sometimes turned a little upward, as it is in _conica_. The front
of the head is narrow, not more than half as wide as the back of the
thorax. The front legs are half longer than the body. The cephalothorax
is gray, darker at the sides, and sometimes with a few black spots. The
legs are irregularly marked with rings and spots, and the femora are
dark toward the end. The abdomen is commonly gray, with a tapering
scalloped middle stripe and a distinct dark middle spot and two large
light spots at the front end (fig. 416). Sometimes there is a middle
narrow dark stripe the whole length of the abdomen (fig. 418), and
sometimes all the middle is white or light yellow. The males have the
head a little narrower and more pointed, the legs longer, and the second
tibia slightly thickened, but not curved. The webs are in low bushes.
[Illustration: FIG. 419. Epeira stellata, enlarged four times.]
[Illustration: FIG. 420. Unfinished web of Epeira stellata with the
spider hanging near the center. Half the real size.]
$Epeira stellata.$--A brown spider, a quarter to a third of an inch long
and nearly as broad, with pointed humps around the abdomen. The
cephalothorax is wide in front, and the lateral eyes are on the outer
sharp corners. The legs are short and usually drawn up and partly
concealed under the abdomen. The abdomen has a sharp point in front
that extends over the cephalothorax as far as the base of the first
legs, and a large point behind, with a smaller one under it. At the
sides are five pairs of points, and over the first of these another pair
a little higher on the back. The cephalothorax is brown, lighter in the
middle and darker at the sides, and covered with short gray hairs. The
abdomen is marked with lighter and darker spots of brown, the front part
generally dark with a very light middle spot, and the hinder half
showing traces of the usual middle stripe of Epeira. The legs have dark
rings at the ends and middle of the joints. It lives among low bushes a
foot or two from the ground all over the country. This spider, as well
as several other species, often leaves a web unfinished with the inner
spiral still covering a large part of it, as in fig. 420.
[Illustration: FIGS. 421, 422, 423. Epeira verrucosa.--421, female
enlarged twice. 422, under side of female. 423, male enlarged twice.]
$Epeira verrucosa.$--Common in the South and as far north as Long
Island, N.Y. The body is about a quarter of an inch long. The abdomen is
narrow behind but not pointed, and in front nearly as wide as long. The
middle is nearly covered by a triangular light spot,--white, yellow, or
pink in different spiders,--surrounded by a darker color of various
shades of brown or gray. The cephalothorax is yellow or light gray, with
sometimes some darker spots in the middle. The legs are colored like the
thorax, with darker rings at the ends of the joints and in the middle of
the first and second femora. The spines are slender and colored like the
hairs. The abdomen has a prominent tubercle behind, at the end of the
light spot, and under it in the middle line two others. At the sides
near the posterior end are two pairs of tubercles, and sometimes two
other pairs farther forward, and two at the corners of the light spot.
The colors of the under side are as variable as those above,--sometimes
light without distinct markings, and sometimes almost black at the
sides, on the sternum, and around the spinnerets. The epigynum (fig.
422) has a slender pointed finger reaching halfway to the spinnerets.
The male (fig. 423) has the head narrower than the female, and the
abdomen as small as the cephalothorax. The legs are longer and more
slender, with the metatarsus of the second pair curved inward, and a
long forked spine on the inside of the tibia of the same legs.
[Illustration: FIGS. 424, 425, 426, 427. Larinia directa.--424, male
with one front leg to show its great length. 425, female with the legs
of one side drawn up in a natural position, showing the spots. 426,
female with four large spots on the back. 427, under side. All enlarged
four times.]
$Larinia directa.$--This resembles a much elongated _Epeira pratensis_
(p. 167). It is about as long as _pratensis_, a quarter to a third of an
inch, but very slender,--not much more than a quarter as wide as long
(fig. 425). The general color is yellowish but pale and translucent,
marked with very distinct black spots. The spots are usually in six
pairs on the abdomen, sometimes so small as to be hardly visible,
sometimes so large as to be the most distinct part of the spider. In
some individuals there is a row of black spots on the upper side of each
leg, so that when these are drawn up over the back hardly anything is
visible except the spots. In some individuals the first and third pairs
of spots on the abdomen are very large and the others very small (fig.
426). The sternum is nearly twice as long as wide, with the sides of the
front half parallel. It is darker at the sides. On the under side of the
abdomen are two parallel dark stripes. In the male (fig. 424) the front
legs are nearly three times the length of the body, but neither the
first nor the second pair is curved or thickened. It is found in South
Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.
[Illustration: FIGS. 428, 429. Cyclosa conica, enlarged four times.]
$Cyclosa conica$ or $caudata.$--This spider may be known by the blunt
conical hump at the hinder end of the abdomen, extending upward and
backward over the spinnerets (figs. 428, 429). Full-grown females are
about quarter of an inch long. The color is a mixture of gray and white,
different individuals varying from almost white to almost black. The
cephalothorax is longer than wide, the front part narrow, and the top of
the front of the head extended forward beyond the base of the mandibles.
The hump on the abdomen varies considerably in size, and is generally
about half as long as the rest of the abdomen and slopes gradually into
it. In light individuals the markings of the abdomen are obscure, but
usually there is a distinct dark middle stripe, widest near the base of
the hump. The under side is black, with a pair of very distinct light
spots across the middle. The cephalothorax is dark gray or black without
stripes, sometimes a little lighter around the eyes. The legs are white,
with dark rings at the end of each joint and in the middle of each
except the femora. On the first and second femora the dark rings are
very wide, covering sometimes more than half the joint. The males have
the cephalothorax darker and narrower in front, and the abdomen smaller,
with only a slight hump. The spider seems to live all the time in the
web. The inner spiral is large and widens gradually from the center
outward. There is usually a line of silk across the web, in which are
fastened parts of dead insects and other rubbish and, in the middle of
the summer, the cocoons of eggs. The spider, standing in the middle of
this band where it crosses the center of the web, looks like part of the
rubbish. When an old web is torn down this band of rubbish is left in
place, and the new web made across it. A peculiarity of the web of this
spider is that the inner spiral has one, and sometimes two, loops in it,
making it wider than it is high (fig. 430).
[Illustration: FIG. 430. Half-finished web of young Cyclosa conica,
showing sticks and rubbish across the lower half. The inner spiral has a
loop in the left side.]