$Lycosa pratensis.$--A small species, four-fifths to half an inch long, yellowish brown, with indistinct light and dark markings. The cephalothorax has a middle light band as wide as the eyes, narrowed a little in front of the dorsal groove and broken in the middle by two brown spots (fig. 168). The sides of the cephalothorax near the edge are faintly lighter than the rest. The abdomen has a pointed middle stripe, dark at the edges, extending back half its length, and behind this four or five dark cross stripes. The legs are darker toward the ends; the femora are marked with two broken dark bands, and the patella and tibia of the third and fourth legs have faint dark rings. The spines are small and, on the two front pairs of legs, hardly visible among the other hairs. The under side is light colored, with the ends of the legs darker. The epigynum is short and wide. The males differ little from the females. This does not seem to be a very active spider and is commonly found under stones. [Illustration: FIG. 171. Lycosa polita, enlarged three times.] $Lycosa polita.$--This is a short-legged species resembling in size and color _Lycosa pratensis_. The hairs are very short and often entirely absent from the cephalothorax, which is smooth and shining. The eyes are very close together, especially the two of the middle row, which is much shorter than the front row (fig. 171). The cephalothorax and legs are often light brown without any markings, but in some individuals there are irregular dark marks along the sides of the thorax and broken rings on the legs. The abdomen is gray, light in the middle, with dark transverse marks behind and closely placed dark spots at the sides, much as in _Tegenaria medicinalis_ and Amaurobius. The abdomen is light underneath, with a darker middle line and irregular oblique rows of spots at the sides. [Illustration: FIG. 172. Mouth of hole of Lycosa nidifex in sand, and footprints of the spider where it ran out from the hole and back again. One-third the real size.]