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
$Theridium spirale.$--This is a round-bodied spider of the same size as
_differens_ and _murarium_. The cephalothorax is orange brown above and
below, with an indistinct dark stripe as wide in front as the eyes and
narrowed behind. The abdomen has a middle stripe like _differens_,
nearly as wide in front as it is in the middle (fig. 271). The rest of
the abdomen is gray, darkest toward the stripe. The legs are pale,
sometimes with faint gray rings at the ends and middle of each joint.
The middle stripe of the abdomen is sometimes reddish as in _murarium_,
but oftener gray, with a dark spot near the front end. The males (fig.
270) have the same color and markings as the female and are sometimes
more distinctly marked. The male palpi (fig. 272) are very large, and
the palpal organ has a long tube coiled on the under and outer side. The
openings of the epigynum (fig. 273) are about their diameter apart.
[Illustration: FIG. 274. Theridium frondeum.--Varieties of marking,
enlarged four times.]
$Theridium frondeum.$--White, light yellow, or greenish white, with
black markings that are very variable (fig. 274). Usually the
cephalothorax has two fine black lines running back from the eyes and
uniting behind the dorsal groove, and black edges. The legs are usually
darkened with brown at the ends of the joints. The abdomen is large and
round, and has on the back a light undulated band bordered by brownish
translucent spaces, with two black spots just over the spinnerets.
Sometimes there are black spots in the translucent spaces, especially
toward the hinder end, and these may be united into two long black
stripes. In some individuals of either sex the black on the
cephalothorax forms a wide band in the middle, almost covering the back,
and a black stripe of similar width extends backwards on the abdomen for
half its length. These black-striped individuals have all the other
variations of color and markings. The males have all the colors and
spots brighter and the legs longer than the females. The mandibles of
the male are longer than those of the female and have at the base, in
front, a low conical point.
This species is found from the White Mountains to Alabama. In New
England it matures in July and is found on bushes all summer.
[Illustration: FIG. 275. Theridium unimaculatum, enlarged eight times.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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