Copy 2

On the history and natural arrangement of insects / By William Swainson and W.E. Shuckard.

  • William Swainson
Date:
1840
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the history and natural arrangement of insects / By William Swainson and W.E. Shuckard. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    393/420 (page 383)
    which feeds upon the juices of a warm-blooded ani- mal.* ; (344.) The Arachne may be divided into— Ist. Those which are the Vagabonda, which quit their dwell- ings to chase and catch their prey; 2dly, The Wanderers, which roam about in the vicinity of the nests they have constructed, or the nets they have spread to entangle their prey; and, 3dly, Those which are sedentary, which construct large nets for the apprehension of their prey, | and in the centre or sides of which they lurk, awaiting it. Among the Vagabonda, we find some with six eyes, and others with eight. Those with six form either tubes or cells of silk, within which they dwell; and these consti- tute the genera Dysdera, Segestria, Uptiotes, &c. The possession of eight eyes, we, however, find the most prevalent peculiarity, being all but universal in this divi- sion. Among the Vagabonda with eight eyes, we observe the Runners,—those which run with agility to catch their prey, including Lycosus, Sphasus, Ctenus, &c.; the Leapers,—-those which leap and jump lightly upon their prey, as Myrmecia, Eresus, Attus, or Salticus, &c.; and the Walkers, which walk laterally and backwards, and occasionally spread nets to supply themselves with pro- visions. (345.) In the second division, or WANDERERS, we find—1. The Niditéeles, which form a web of their nests, whither filaments converge, by which they catch their prey; they consist of Ciubiona, Desis, and Drassus: 2. The Filitéles, which spread long filaments of silk wherever they move, to catch theirs; and here we find Clotho, Enyo, Pholeus, &c.: 3. Tapitéles, which manu- facture large webs of a close tissue, and within which they reside, awaiting their prey; and here we have Tegenaria, Lachesis, &c.: 4. The Orbitéles, which con- struct webs with open meshes, and formed either in regular concentric circles, or in spirals, and which lurk * From a letter to me dated 7th April, 1840, brought by Mr. Gould from Sydney. [W. E, Sh.]