American Spiders and their Spinningwork

Book 1: Text and Figures

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Henry C. McCook
ISBN 1-930585-32-2
Retail $39.95 (USD)
828 pp. / Paperback

Wish you knew more about our native spiders?

The Rev. Henry C. McCook spent literally decades researching and writing his 3-volume set, American Spiders and their Spinningwork. The three volumes were originally self-published in 1889, 1890, and 1894, under the auspices of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia (where McCook was vice-president).

While the focus is on orb-weaving spiders, there is plenty of spider information to help identify spiders in other groups: jumping spiders, wandering spiders, trapdoor spiders, crab spiders, and more. This is one of the most thorough examinations of the natural history of North American spiders, but due to its scarcity (only a limited number of volumes of this spider book set were originally printed), it is not well known by spider enthusiasts today.

For the purpose of this reprint, the text and figures of all three volumes have been placed in Book 1. The color plates have been placed in Book 2.

Sample Chapters (PDF):

• Epeira
• Argiope
• Color Sense
• Ballooning