$Epeira pratensis.$--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