The Common Spiders of the United States

published by scientific societies, and so little known to the public. Since publishing my papers on the New England and Canadian spiders in the Transactions of the Connecticut Academy from 1882 to 1894, I have had frequent calls for a smaller and simpler book to meet the wants of readers who, without making a special study of the subject, want to know a little about spiders in general and especially those species that they often meet with. It is hoped this book will answer the purpose and help to lessen the prejudice against spiders, and lead to a more general acquaintance with them, like the popular knowledge of birds and butterflies. The characters used in the descriptions are, as far as possible, those that can be seen without microscopic examination and without much experience in the handling of small animals. The illustrations, which show the form and markings of every species, are from my own drawings and photographs, a large part of them made new for this book. J. H. EMERTON. April, 1902. CONTENTS Introduction Page Number and Names of Spiders vii Anatomy viii Silk and Spinning Organs x Colors and Markings xi Habitats of Common Spiders xii-xiv Cobwebs xvi Catching and Preserving Spiders xvii The Drassidæ 1-21 Clubiona 15 The Dysderidæ 22 The Thomisidæ 24-40 Misumena 25 Xysticus 30 Philodromus 35 The Attidæ 41-66 The Lycosidæ 67-90 Lycosa 68 Pardosa 78 Dolomedes 85 Ocyale 88 Oxyopes 88 The Agalenidæ 91-106 The Therididæ 107-133 Theridium 110 Steatoda 119 Pholcus 128 Scytodes 131 The Linyphiadæ 134-153 Linyphia 134 Erigone 148 The Epeiridæ 154-204 Round Webs of the Epeiridæ 155-159 Species of Epeira 160-181 The Three Species of the Genus Zilla 184 Acrosoma 188 Argiope 192-198 Tetragnatha 198-204 The Ciniflonidæ, or Cribellata 205-220 Dictyna 205 Amaurobius 213 Uloborus 216 Hyptiotes 218 Filistata 220 INTRODUCTION This book is designed to make the reader acquainted with the common spiders most likely to be found over a large part of the United States as far south as Georgia and as far west as the Rocky Mountains. Local collections show that in the neighborhood of any city in the country there are at least three or four hundred species of spiders; but few such collections have been made, and it is not yet possible to tell all the kinds of spiders that live in any particular place, or how far any species extends over the country.…