. Annual report - Entomological Society of Ontario. Entomological Society of Ontario; Insect pests -- Periodicals; Insects -- Ontario Periodicals. 61 with the liiding-place of the spider by means of a silken tunnel, through which the crea- ture darts when it feels the vibration of an insect in its web, and to the bottom of which it retreats when danger threatens. The species of this family are very numerous, building their webs on stone buildings, often to their great disfigurement, in cellars, the corners of windows, (fee. They are, no doubt, familiar to every observer. The Lycosidce., or Wol
. Annual report - Entomological Society of Ontario. Entomological Society of Ontario; Insect pests -- Periodicals; Insects -- Ontario Periodicals. 61 with the liiding-place of the spider by means of a silken tunnel, through which the crea- ture darts when it feels the vibration of an insect in its web, and to the bottom of which it retreats when danger threatens. The species of this family are very numerous, building their webs on stone buildings, often to their great disfigurement, in cellars, the corners of windows, (fee. They are, no doubt, familiar to every observer. The Lycosidce., or Wolf-spiders, live on the ground and take their prey in fair chase instead of catching it in webs. They are mostly found among herbage, low bushes, fallen leaves, and similar localities, and if they should feel alarmed, they run for safety under stones, mosses, rocks, and into any accidental crevice in the earth. They are fierce and determined hunters, chasing their prey wherever it may seek shelter. Some of them are semi-aquatic in their habits, and are not only able to run fearlessly upon the surface of the water, but can descend along the aquatic plants until they are deeply immersed, breathing by means of the air which is entangled among the hairy clothing of their bodies. They have long legs, the hind pair being the longest; the head is high, and the eyes are arranged in a peculiar manner, as shown at the bottom of Fig. 15, which represents a species of Lycosa. The celebrated Tarantula spider belongs to this genus. It is so called from the town of Tarentum, in Italy, where it is very common. There was a deeply rooted belief among the inhabitants of that town and neighbourhood that if any one were bitten by this spider, he would be instantly afflicted with an extraordinary disease called tarentismus, v/hich exhifc- Fig. 15. ited itself in one of two extremes, the one being a profound and silent melancholy, and the other a continual convulsive movement of the whole bodv. It was
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