The Common Spiders of the United StatesEmerton, J. H. (James Henry)
Science
The Common Spiders of the United States
Emerton, J. H. (James Henry)
Spiders -- United States
[Illustration: FIGS. 241, 242, 243, 244, 245. Tegenaria
longitarsus.--241, back of female. 242, epigynum. 243, palpus of male
seen from above. 244, head of Tegenaria medicinalis. 245, head of
Tegenaria longitarsus.]
[Illustration: FIGS. 246, 247, 248, 249. Tegenaria complicata.--246,
female enlarged four times. 247, epigynum. 248, 249, male palpus.]
$Tegenaria (Cicurina) complicata.$--A small spider, resembling the young
of the larger species of Tegenaria, found usually under dead leaves in
woods (fig. 246). It is a fifth to a quarter of an inch long, with the
longest legs one and one-half times as long as the body. The spines of
the third and fourth legs are long and stout, and there are long fine
hairs on all the legs and the abdomen. The color is pale yellowish
brown, lighter on the abdomen, which has faint gray markings. The sexes
are much alike, and both vary in size. The palpi of the males are very
large and conspicuous (figs. 248, 249). The patella is short and wide,
and the tibia is narrower at the end and wide toward the base, where it
has a short process on the outer side. On the under side of the tibia is
a long thin appendage of irregular shape that is nearly as long as the
tarsus. The tarsus itself is long and narrow, and the palpal organ
large and complicated, with a long fine tube that extends from the base
along the outer side and back to the hard appendages in the middle. The
epigynum (fig. 247) has a small, transverse, oval opening at the hinder
end, in front of which the coils of long tubes can be seen through the
skin.
In New England Agalenidæ Pl. VII, fig. 2 is the epigynum of this species
and not of _Cælotes longitarsus_.
[Illustration: FIGS. 250, 251. Hahnia bimaculata.--250, female enlarged
twelve times. 251, under side showing the peculiar arrangement of the
spinnerets.]
$Hahnia bimaculata.$--The Hahnias resemble Tegenaria, but are much
smaller and have the spinnerets extended in a line across the under side
of the abdomen (fig. 251). _Hahnia bimaculata_ is about one-eighth of an
inch long, with the abdomen large and oval, widest behind, as it is in
Cælotes (fig. 250). The cephalothorax is bright orange brown, and the
legs and abdomen pale yellowish with gray markings. The legs are ringed
with gray, the longer joints having two rings, and the abdomen has a
pattern of light yellow and gray spots. The spinnerets are all long and
in a nearly straight line, half as long as the width of the abdomen. The
outer or upper pair are half as long as the abdomen, and the two joints
are nearly of equal length. The tracheal opening is in the middle of the
abdomen, nearer the epigynum than the spinnerets. The sternum is as wide
as long, widest opposite the second legs. The maxillæ are straight in
front and have a slight projection at the outer corners, where there are
two or three stiff hairs. In some other species there is a longer
process at these corners.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account