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diff --git a/old/64941-0.txt b/old/64941-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b1b968b..0000000 --- a/old/64941-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5969 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Supplement to Harvesting Ants and Trap-Door -Spiders, by J. Traherne Moggridge - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Supplement to Harvesting Ants and Trap-Door Spiders - -Author: J. Traherne Moggridge - -Release Date: March 27, 2021 [eBook #64941] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Mark C. Orton, T. Cosmas and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The Internet - Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUPPLEMENT TO HARVESTING ANTS AND -TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS *** - - - - - -Supplement to Harvesting Ants and Trap-door Spiders. - - -J. Traherne Moggridge - - -Transcriber's Note: Text emphasis denoted as _Italic_ and =Bold=. -Whole numbers and fractional parts as 123-4/5. - - - - - SUPPLEMENT - - TO - - HARVESTING ANTS - - AND - - TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. - - - - - SUPPLEMENT - TO - HARVESTING ANTS - AND - TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. - - - BY - J. TRAHERNE MOGGRIDGE, F.L.S., F.Z.S. - - - _WITH SPECIFIC DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SPIDERS,_ - - BY THE - - REV. O. PICKARD-CAMBRIDGE. - - - [Illustration] - - - LONDON: - L. REEVE & CO., 5, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. - 1874. - - - LONDON: - SAVILL, EDWARDS AND CO., PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET, - COVENT GARDEN. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - SUPPLEMENT TO HARVESTING ANTS 157 - - SUPPLEMENT TO TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS 180 - - SPECIFIC DESCRIPTIONS OF SPIDERS 254 - - - - -EXPLANATION OF PLATES. - - Plate XIII., p. 183, fig. A.--Silk lining of tube of _Atypus - piceus_ (Sulz.), taken at Troyes in Champagne, and - communicated to me by M. E. Simon; B, drawing of portion - of nest of _Cyrtauchenius elongatus_ (Sim.) made after the - description of the discoverer, and subject to his (M. E. - Simon's) corrections. This is the only illustration in the - present work not taken from an actual specimen. These figures - are of the natural size. - - Plate XIV., p. 193.--Diagrams of the known types of trap-door nest. - Fig. A, nest of _Atypus piceus_ (Sulz.); B, nest of cork - type; B 1, the layers of silk with earth rims of which a cork - door is composed; C, single-door unbranched wafer type; D, - single-door branched wafer type; E double-door unbranched - wafer type; E 1, lower door of the same, of the natural size; - F, Hyères double-door branched wafer type; F 1, lower door - of the same, of the natural size; G, and G 1, double-door - branched cavity wafer type. At G 1 the perfect type is seen, - while at G, the descending cavity, the outlines of which are - indicated by dotted lines, has been filled up; G 2, lower - door of the same of the natural size. (Figs. A, B, C, D, - E, F, G and G 1, diagrammatic representations of nest on a - reduced scale, Figs. B 1, E 1, F 1 and G 2, of the natural - size). - - Plate XV., p. 198, fig. A.--Nest of _Cteniza Californica_ (Camb.) - nearly entire, enclosed in the clayey earth of the bank from - which the specimen was taken, the door being artificially - represented as being partly open; A 1, door of the same as - seen when closed; B, _Cteniza Californica_ (Camb.) from a - living specimen; B 1, the same seen in spirits, the legs not - represented; B 2, the same seen sideways; (figs. A, A 1, B, B - 1 and B 2, are of the natural size); B 3, the eyes, greatly - magnified; B 4, the three claws terminating the tarsal joint - of the hindmost left leg; B 5, line representing the measured - length of the spider excluding the falces and spinners, the - uppermost division gives the length of the caput terminating - at the half-moon-shaped fovea, the middle division that of - the thorax, and the lowest that of the abdomen, while the - transverse line gives the breadth of the cephalothorax; B 6, - eggs laid by the spider in captivity on the under side of the - gauze which covered the box (the position is reversed here) - of the natural size; B 7, the same magnified; B 8, another - group of eggs, magnified; B 9, a portion of the same still - more highly magnified; B 10, lines showing measured lengths - of legs of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th pairs, and of palpus, - with those of the several joints. - - Plate XVI., p. 211, fig. A.--Part of the nest of _Nemesia Simoni_ - (Camb.) taken at Bordeaux; A 1, _N. Simoni_ (Camb.) from - life, of the natural size; A 2, the same seen in spirits, - the legs not represented; A 3, the same seen sideways and - magnified; A 4, the eyes, magnified; A 5, the thoracic fovea, - magnified; A 6, line showing measured length of spider, (see - above explanation of fig. B 5, plate XV.); A 7, lines showing - measured lengths of legs of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th pairs, - and palpus of spider, with those of the several joints. B, - cephalothorax and abdomen of another specimen of _N. Simoni_, - in which the proportions are different, taken from life, of - the natural size. - - Plate XVII., p. 215, fig. A.--Part of the nest of _N. suffusa_ - (Camb.) taken at Montpellier; A 1, _N. suffusa_ (Camb.) - from life, of the natural size; A 2, the same in spirits, - seen sideways and magnified, the legs not represented; A - 3, another view of the same; A 4, the eyes, magnified; A - 5, length of spider (see above, fig. B 5, plate XV.); A 6, - measurements of legs and palpus; B, _N. meridionalis_ (Costa - and Sim.), male, from a specimen in spirits, of the natural - size, legs not represented; B 1, the same magnified; B 2, the - eyes, magnified; B 3, radial and digital joints of the left - palpus with bulb, magnified; B 4, another view of the same, - magnified; B 5, back view of the same, magnified, but less - highly; B 6, length of spider (see above, fig. B 5, plate - XV.); C, _N. meridionalis_ (Costa and Sim.) female, from a - specimen in spirit of wine, of the natural size, legs not - represented; C 1, eyes of the same, magnified; C 2, length of - spider. These two specimens (male and female) were collected - in Corsica, and named by M. E. Simon, who kindly presented - them to me; they are now in the possession of the Rev. O. - Pickard-Cambridge. - - Plate XVIII., p. 225, fig. A.--Part of nest of _N. congener_ - (Camb.) taken at Hyères; A 1, lower door of this nest viewed - from above, of the natural size; A 2, side view of the same; - A 3, _N. congener_ (Camb.) taken from life, of the natural - size; A 4, side view of the same, enlarged to twice the - natural size, the legs not represented; A 5, cephalothorax - and falces from specimen in spirits, magnified;[108] A 6, the - eyes, magnified; A 7, femur, patella (or genual joint) and - tibia of leg of third pair, showing the three spines on the - outer side of the patella, magnified. B, lower door from a - smaller and younger nest, viewed from above, of the natural - size; B 1, the same viewed sideways. - -[Footnote 108: While these pages were passing through the press -(Hyères, Oct. '74), I have had an opportunity of examining 17 -additional specimens of _N. congener_. I learn from this that the -pattern represented on the caput in fig. A 5, does not accord with -that in the majority of adult specimens, being usually less defined -and composed of three converging bands. Mr. Pickard-Cambridge's -description (p. 293 below) is, however, quite correct. I may mention -that three spines were present on the patella (genual joint) of legs -III in 16 specimens, the 17th specimen having but a single spine.] - - Plate XIX., p. 229, fig. A.--Nest of a young specimen of _N. - Manderstjernæ_ (Ausserer = _N. meridionalis_ Camb., in "Ants - and Spiders," p. 101) from Mentone, showing the descending - cavity, with the lower door pushed across, so as to close - the main tube and join the cavity; A 1, upper portion of - the same, showing the lower door closing the branch. B, - _N. cæmentaria_ (Latr.) from a living specimen taken at - Montpellier; B 1, the same seen in spirits of wine, legs not - represented; B 2, the eyes, magnified; B 3, one of the two - larger claws; and B 4, the small claw of the tarsus of one of - the hindmost legs; B 5, length of spider; B 6, measurements - of legs and palpus. C, the eyes of _N. Moggridgii_ (Camb.) - (= _N. cæmentaria_, Camb., in "Ants and Spiders," p. 92), - magnified. D, _N. incerta_ (Camb.), male, from a specimen - preserved in spirits, collected at Digne in the Basses - Alpes, by M. E. Simon, who kindly lent me the specimen for - examination, represented of twice the natural size, and - without the legs; D 1, another view of the same; D 2, radial - and digital joints of the palpus and palpal bulb, magnified; - D 3, back view of the same; D 4, the eyes magnified. E, eyes - of _N. dubia_ (Camb.), male (= _N. cæmentaria_, Sim.), from - a specimen in spirits, collected in the Pyrénées Orientales, - communicated by M. Simon, magnified; E 1, radial and digital - joints of the palpus with palpal bulb of the same, magnified; - E 2, another view of the same. - - Plate XX., p. 254, fig. A, _Cteniza Moggridgii_ (Camb.), male (= - _Ct. fodiens_, Camb., in "Ants and Spiders," p. 89), from - a living specimen taken at Mentone, of the natural size; A - 1, the same seen sideways, the legs not represented; A 2, - cephalothorax and falces of the same; A 3, the eyes; A 4, - radial and digital joints and the palpal bulb; A 5, another - view of the same; A 6, one of the two large claws, and A - 7, the small claw of the tarsus of one of the legs of the - hindmost pair; A 8, length of the spider and breadth of the - cephalothorax; A 9, measurements of legs and palpus. (Figs. - A 1, A 2, A 3, A 4, A 5, A 6, and A 7, are all magnified.) - B, _N. Manderstjernæ_ (Ausserer), male (= _N. meridionalis_, - Camb., in "Ants and Spiders," p. 101), from a living specimen - taken at Mentone, of the natural size; B 1, the same seen in - spirits and magnified to twice the natural size; B 2, the - same viewed sideways; B 3, the eyes; B 4, tibia, metatarsus - and tarsus of the right leg of the first pair showing the - spine and process on the under and inner side of the enlarged - tibia; B 5, right leg of the third pair showing the three - short spines on the patella; B 6, one of the two large claws, - and B 7, the small claw of the tarsus of one of the legs of - the hindmost pair; B 8, radial and digital joints of palpus - with palpal bulb; B 9, another view of the same; B 10, back - view of the same (figs. B 1 to B 10, all magnified); B - 11, measurements of legs and palpus. C, tibia, metatarsus - and tarsus of right leg of _N. Manderstjernæ_ (Ausserer), - male, viewed from the under side and magnified, drawn from - the original specimen belonging to Dr. L. Koch, collected - at Nice, and described as _N. Manderstjernæ_ by Professor - Ausserer. My best thanks are due to Dr. L. Koch for having - enabled me to examine this valuable specimen. [In fig. C, - the curved spine should bend towards, and not away from, the - process on its right and inner side.] - - -LIST OF SPIDERS DESCRIBED. - - - Cteniza Moggridgii, sp. n. ♂ p. 254, pl. XX. fig. A. - " Californica, sp. n. ♀ p. 260, pl. XV. fig. B. - Nemesia cæmentaria (Latr.) ♀ p. 264, pl. XIX. fig. B. - " Eleanora (Cambr.) p. 272. - " Moggridgii, sp. n. ♀ p. 273, pl. XIX. fig. C. - " incerta, sp. n. ♂ p. 276, pl. XIX. fig. D. - " dubia, sp. n. ♂ p. 280, pl. XIX. fig. E. - " Manderstjernæ (Auss.) ♂ and ♀ p. 283, pl. XX. fig. B. - " meridionalis (Costa) ♂ and ♀ p. 289, pl. XVII. fig. B. - " congener, sp. n. ♀ p. 292, pl. XVIII. fig. A 3. - " suffusa, sp. n. ♀ p. 295, pl. XVII. fig. A 1. - " Simoni, sp. n. ♀ p. 297, pl. XVI. fig. A 1. - - - - -SUPPLEMENT TO HARVESTING ANTS. - - -During the short time which has elapsed since _Harvesting Ants and -Trap-door Spiders_ left the printer's hands, fresh material has -rapidly accumulated, and an assiduous search after these creatures, -and the continued study of their works and ways, has met with ample -reward and encouragement. - -It was my wish, when originally publishing these observations, many -of which were due to the active co-operation of friends, to invite -my readers to take part with me in my pleasure and pursuits, so -that we should from that time work together, and, by communicating -our discoveries to each other, increase our knowledge, and at the -same time enlarge the field of our research. My intention was -that we should leave to others the necessary work of collection, -preservation, and arrangement, and that, while our fellow naturalists -pin specimens into classified cabinets, and devote long hours to the -description of peculiarities of form and colour, we should undertake -the lighter task of complementing their labours by observing and -recording the habits and conditions of existence of the creatures -themselves. - -Looked at in this light, the present pages and those of the -preceding work may be regarded as so many drawers in our _Cabinet -of Habits_, and though, as we open drawer after drawer, many gaps -and blank spaces remind us how much remains to be done in order to -complete the collection, yet the interest and suggestiveness of -the specimen-facts already secured, should encourage and direct us -onwards. There have not been wanting instances in which my readers -have associated themselves with me in the way indicated, and it is -with pleasure, when reviewing the entire work, that I recall how -many of its most interesting features are due to the researches and -assistance of friends,[109] and commemorate at once their discoveries -and unfailing kindness. I had certainly expected that before this -time some new species of harvesting ants would have been discovered, -either on the Riviera, where attention has been especially called to -the subject, or in other parts of Europe, where dissimilar conditions -might have been expected to be associated with a different fauna; but -this has hitherto not been the case. - -[Footnote 109: To all who have rendered me this valuable help I tender -my cordial thanks. I am under very special obligations to Mr. -Pickard-Cambridge, for descriptions of spiders, and to Mr. F. Smith -for the names of the Ants; assistance which I should have found it -almost impossible to dispense with or to replace.] - -One might naturally suppose that if harvesting ants were discovered -in localities very widely distant from each other, they would prove -to belong to different species, but thus far, both in Europe and -Northern Africa, it is the same two well-known species of _Atta -barbara_ and _A. structor_ that constantly reappear. - -For instance, I have recently learned that harvesting ants are found -at Cadenabbia on the lake of Como, and at Montpellier in Southern -France; but on examination, the ants from the former place are -clearly seen to belong to the species _structor_, and those from -Montpellier to the two species _structor_ and _barbara_. - -I was greatly interested to receive specimens of ants, and of the -seeds which they were carrying and storing beneath the stones of a -paved road at Cadenabbia, for this is the northernmost point[110] at -which the habit of harvesting has as yet been noted. This discovery -suggests the possibility of the occurrence of the habit in the warmer -and more sheltered of the Swiss valleys. When at Montpellier in May -last I frequently observed long trains of ants bringing seeds and -small dry fruits to their nests, but these harvesters also turned -out on close inspection to be _Atta structor_ and _A. barbara_, -with its red-headed variety. These, it will be remembered, are the -only species of European ants which have as yet been proved to be -harvesters and seed-storers in the fullest sense of the term, that is -to say, which not only gather and carry seeds, but also store them in -large quantities below the surface of the ground.[111] - -[Footnote 110: I have related in a note at the foot of p. 4 in _Ants -and Spiders_ how _Formica nigra_ in England, though paying no -attention to seeds generally, will sometimes collect the fresh seeds -of the sweet violet (_Viola odorata_). - -When I published this account I was quite unaware that the fact that -certain English ants collect sweet violet seeds had been observed by -Mr. R. Wakefield forty years before. - -This was communicated by Mr. Wakefield in a letter to Mr. John -Curtis, the substance of which was read before the Linnean Society -in 1854, and published in their Proceedings (see Proceedings of the -Linnean Society, ii. 293), where we read: "He (Mr. Wakefield) states -that he has seen the black species (_Formica nigra_, L.) for days and -nights together industriously occupied in dragging to its cells the -seeds of the common violet (_Viola odorata_, L.) - -"He first noticed this fact on the 3rd of July, 1832; and he regards -it as a curious subject of inquiry for what purpose, if not for -their own future provision, they could accumulate these stores?" Mr. -Wakefield appears to accept this as evidence that these ants possess -the habit of storing seeds; but this is not so, as will be seen by -reference to my note alluded to above, and I am inclined to believe -that they collect these particular seeds either under the mistaken -belief that they are larvæ, to which when fresh they bear some -resemblance, or for the sake of some juices which they may obtain -from the fleshy appendage attached to the seed.] - -[Footnote 111: Six other species belonging to the genus _Atta_ are -found in Europe, but they are all unknown to me. - -It seems likely that, if other harvesting ants do exist in Europe -they may belong to one of these six species; for we have seen (_Ants -and Spiders_, p. 59) that all the ants which are known to possess -this habit are either members of the genus _Atta_ or belong to genera -closely related to it.] - -In the case of _Pheidole megacephala_ (the only other European ant -which I have detected collecting seeds in large numbers), I have -never been able to find granaries or subterranean stores of any -kind, though I have frequently made extensive search for them, and -explored, to all appearance, the whole nest. - -When we remember the great variety of ants which inhabit Europe alone -(a recent list[112] enumerating no fewer than 104 distinct species), -it certainly may seem strange at first that only two of their number -should possess this habit. Perhaps, however, we may yet discover -that some other of these species are true harvesters; but at present -the chances seem rather against it, since the harvesters found at -such distant points as Algiers, Cadenabbia, and Montpellier have all -turned out to belong to one or other of the two species, _structor_ -or _barbara_. - -[Footnote 112: _Description des Fourmis d'Europe pour servir à l'étude -des insectes myrmecophilis_, by Ernest André, in _Rev. et Mag. de -Zool._ 3^{e} ser. tom. ii. (1874), p. 152, &c.] - -Indeed it may very well be that the numerical superiority and wide -distribution of these two species have served to secure to them a -more or less exclusive right to the habit of harvesting, for it -is clear that a given tract of country can only afford supplies of -grain to a limited number of colonies; so that, if these ants have -taken up the ground and are strong enough to maintain possession, no -others would have a chance. However this may be, I find that the more -insight I gain into the distinctive habits and relations of animals, -the more the belief impresses itself upon me that wherever we find -many closely-allied species inhabiting restricted areas, there we may -safely look for important differences among these species in respect -of their modes of life, and in the development of their instinct and -intelligence. And indeed this may be considered as a corollary of -the great law of natural selection, which uniformly tends to secure -the greatest possible amount of divergence in this respect, and to -prevent the co-existence in close proximity to each other of distinct -species having the same requirements and manner of life. - -Thus, for example, even _Atta barbara_ and _structor_, though most -closely related as species, differ in habit; the former leading a -much more active life during the winter months at Mentone than the -latter, and seeking its home rather in wild than cultivated ground. -Then what differences different ants present in respect of strength, -speed, powers of offence and defence, numerical strength of colonies, -timidity, date and frequency of departure of winged ants from the -nest, odour emitted, combativeness, architecture and selection of -localities, nature of food, nocturnal and diurnal habits, and in -many other properties and conditions! It is doubtless owing to -dissimilarity in these and other respects that it becomes possible -for so many species to co-exist within very narrow limits, so that -even three or four distinct kinds sometimes form their nests so close -to each other that their galleries interlace and almost touch. - -There are probably very few conditions of life (except those -concerned with the nature and manner of obtaining food) which have a -greater influence either in keeping creatures apart or in bringing -them into collision, than those which constitute differences in their -respective periods of activity and development. Thus, two species of -which one has nocturnal and the other diurnal habits, or of which -one is dormant while the other is active, may be said to travel -different roads and to be complete strangers to one another. Complete -separation of this kind is, of course, not the rule, and the greater -number of species find themselves in more or less constant rivalry, -but possess a sufficient number of points of dissimilarity in habit -and requirements to make their co-existence possible. - -It is curious to note what little differences, as they seem to us, -may determine the fate of an ant. For example, the lizards will -lie in wait for and greedily seize and devour the winged males and -females of _structor_ and _barbara_, though they dare not attack the -assembled workers. It is curious to watch the way in which these -worker ants will protect the winged ants which are about to leave -the nest, by gathering round and swarming over them. When, as often -happens, the nest is placed in an old terrace-wall, one may see the -lizards creeping along or lying moulded into the inequalities of the -stones, all having their eager eyes directed towards the swarm. One -may then see the worker ants walk with impunity straight up to the -very noses of the lizards, while the male or female which should -chance to straggle in the same direction would infallibly be eaten -up. The lizards plainly show their fear of the workers by the way in -which, when they make up their mind to try a dash at some outlying -part of the ant colony, they leap through the lines in the utmost -haste as if traversing a ring of fire. - -Now these worker ants are destitute of stings, and I can only suppose -that their power of combination, stronger jaws and more horny coats, -have gained them this immunity. I remarked that the smaller lizards -appeared to have some difficulty in dealing with the males and -females which they captured, and would beat and pound them against -the stones before devouring them, while the larger ones would often -make but one mouthful of them, swallowing wings and all! - -If it were not for this body-guard of workers it is difficult to -see how the males and females in such situations could ever escape. -It is also plain that if the worker harvesting ants were as liable -to be seized and devoured as their winged companions, the species -would soon become extinct, for they expose themselves more than ants -ordinarily do, and their long provision-laden trains would be almost -at the mercy of any enemy which could attack them without fear of -results.[113] - -[Footnote 113: Speaking of the enemies of ants, I may mention having -seen a young robin in England picking up and swallowing the workers -of _Formica nigra_ just as if they were crumbs. I knew that birds -would eat the male and female ants, but I had thought the workers -were exempt from their attacks, and, indeed, they must be so as a -rule, for otherwise they would speedily become extinct.] - -Remembering this, it is interesting to note how differently the -tiger-beetle (_Cicendela_) behaves when hunting the powerful -harvesting ants and when preying upon the weak little _Formica -(Tapinoma) erratica_; for, while it seizes the latter without taking -any precautions, it is evidently more than half afraid of the former. - -I have seen this beetle lying in wait near a train of _structor_ or -_barbara_ ants, watching until some individual separated a little -from the main body, when it would rush forward and make a snap at it, -retiring again as quickly as it came. If the tiger-beetle fails to -seize its prey exactly behind the head it will let it go again, and -two or three ants are often thus cruelly mutilated before a single -one is carried off. - -No doubt the beetle has learned that if once this ant clasps its -mandibles upon either antennæ or legs, nothing, not even death -itself, will make it release its hold. It therefore tries to pin the -ant in such a way that it cannot use its formidable jaws. Perhaps the -habit of forming long compact trains may have been acquired by the -ants partly with a view to guarding against attacks of this kind. - -The colonies of the little _F. erratica_, on the other hand, -apparently have to trust to their habit of working under the covered -ways which they construct, as well as to their activity and great -numbers for their preservation. - -I had thought that the very powerful, and, to me, disagreeable, odour -of these little ants might have rendered them distasteful to the -tiger-beetle, but this is evidently not the case. - -I have said above that, as far as our present knowledge goes, only -two out of the 104 species of European ants are possessed of the -habit of collecting and storing seed, and it may be reasonably asked -how it can have come about, if this is the case, that the ancient -authors were so well acquainted with the fact. - -The explanation is that these writers lived on the shores of -the Mediterranean, where these two species--_Atta barbara_ and -_structor_--are extremely common objects, both on account of their -abundance and their habits. The long trains of harvesters remain -exposed to view for hours together, and _structor_ seeks the -neighbourhood or even the interior of towns, so that these ants -arrest the attention even of the unobservant, and often become -familiar as the sparrows. - -There can be little doubt that these two ants display the same habits -throughout all the warmer districts which they inhabit, but whether -they do so in Switzerland, Germany, Northern France, and the other -colder portions of their range, remains one of the many interesting -questions which still await investigation. - -Mr. F. Smith has recorded the presence of _Atta barbara_ in -Palestine, and I have lately obtained some curious evidence which -goes to show that harvesting ants not only carried on their -operations in times past in that country, but that their seed-stores -were on a much larger scale than any I have observed on the Riviera. - -I am indebted to Dr. F. A. Pratt for the information that mention -was made of ants and their stores in the Misna, that codification of -the traditionary and unwritten laws of the Jews, which was commenced -after the birth of Christ under the presidency of Hillel, and which -has at least the merit of serving as a record of a multitude of very -ancient customs and observances which, but for it, would probably -have long ago been forgotten. - -Now it so happens that the very first section of the Misna is called -_Zeraim_, and has to do with seeds and crops, and I was thus enabled, -without any very prolonged search, to light upon one of the passages -in question.[114] It occurs in a chapter entitled _De Angulo_ in the -Latin version, treating of the _corner_ of the fields bearing crops -which should be set aside for the poor, and of the rights of the -gleaners, and may be freely rendered as follows: "The granaries of -ants (_Formicarum cavernulæ_), which may be found in the midst of a -growing crop of corn, shall belong to the owner of the crop; but, if -these granaries are found after the reapers have passed, the upper -part (of each heap contained in these granaries) shall go to the poor -and the lower to the proprietor." And then is added: "The Rabbi Meir -is of opinion that the whole should go to the poor, because whenever -any doubt arises about a question of gleaning the doubt is to be -given in favour of the gleaner." - -[Footnote 114: "Formicarum cavernulæ in media segete proprietarii -censentur; pone messores superiore parte pauperum, inferiore -proprietarii. R. Meir totum pauperum esse censet, quia quod dubium -est in spicelegio, spicilegium est." And to this the following -explanatory note is appended: "Formicarum cavernulæ, Frumentum inibi -repertum." Misna, Sect. I. Zeraim. Cap. IV. p. 25. Latine vertit et -commentario illustravit Gulielmus Guisius. _Accedit_ Mosis Maimonidis -_Præfatio in_ Misnam, Edo. Pocockio _Interprete_, Oxoniæ A.D. 1690.] - -The intention of this very quaint bit of legislation, or rather -of the ancient custom which gave rise to it, appears to have been -the following; it was to settle once and for all a nice point of -conscience with reference to the claims of the poor upon these ant -stores. If the heaps of grain were found among the standing corn -before the reapers reached the spot or while they were still at -work, the proprietor might claim them without any hesitation; but, -if they were discovered after the passing of the reapers, then it -was conceivable that the ants, which during the whole time had never -ceased their labours, might have collected some of the grain from the -fallen ears of corn which lay upon the ground, and were the property -of the gleaners. These grains would be those which the ants had -collected most recently, and would therefore lie on the surface of -each granary heap. Thus it was settled that the upper portion of each -heap should belong to the poor, and the lower, that collected from -the standing crop, to the proprietor. - -We may perhaps laugh at the notion of critically discussing and -legislating upon such a subject, and think that such a pitiful matter -might have been allowed to pass among those _minima_ about which even -the Jewish law need not care. - -Be this as it may, it is interesting for us to learn that a custom of -the kind had its place among the recognised traditions of the people, -and that the harvesting ants of Syria had earned a place in these -records by amassing stores of sufficient size, and so disposed as to -make them worth collecting. - -This reminds us of what M. Germain de St. Pierre has related (_Ants -and Spiders_, p. 29) of the extent of the depredations made among the -corn crops at Hyères by these ants; and doubtless other observers who -have opportunities for watching the ants during the summer months -might supply further confirmation. - -It would be of interest to learn the extent and manner of concealment -of these large stores of grain, but, during the months from October -to May, I have never seen corn in any quantity in the granaries, -though there was frequent evidence of its late presence in the -dense masses of husks of oats and other large grain lying near the -nests. In October, 1873, I found near the entrances to a nest of -_structor_ a circular mound formed of this refuse, twenty-seven -inches in diameter, and averaging two inches in thickness, while -near other nests I have found the chinks between the stones of the -terrace-wall behind which the nest lay, literally stuffed with husks. -It was plain that these grains of cereals and the larger grasses -had been collected during the summer. The granaries in the winter -and spring contain the grains of some few of the autumnal grasses, -but are principally filled with seeds of the other more abundant -autumn-fruiting plants belonging to the neighbourhood. - -I have now collected from the granaries of these ants the seeds or -small dry fruits of fifty-four distinct species of wild plants, and -on examination I find that during my stay in the south (from October -to May) the seeds of the distinctively spring and summer-flowering -plants are either entirely absent or are very scarce, while the -great bulk of the seeds belong to plants which ripen their fruits -in the autumn. Thus the grains of oats, of the large fescue and -brome grasses, of quaking grasses (_Melica_), and other kinds common -near the nests in May, are conspicuously absent in the winter, as -are the fruits of all the sedges but one, and this one (_Carex -distans_) retains its fruits till late in the autumn. Among other -spring-flowering plants common near the nests, the seeds of which -are also absent, I may mention violets (_Viola odorata_), poppies, -(_Papaver_), certain species of _Veronica_, _Helianthemum guttatum_, -_Silene quinque-vulnera_ and _Plantago Bellardi_. - -Here a curious question arises--viz., What becomes of the large -stores of seeds which one may still find in the nests in May, when -the ants are busy pouring fresh supplies into the nest? The answer -probably is, that, as the weather becomes warmer, ever-increasing -calls are made by the larvæ upon the food-resources of the nest, and -that old and new seeds rapidly disappear together, and all the energy -and activity of the colony is needed to meet the increased demand. - -Still, it would be interesting, if it were possible, to assure -oneself whether this is the case; that is to say, whether the -residue of the winter stores is really consumed during the summer, -or whether a portion of it remains in the granaries until the -following autumn. One might perhaps learn something as to this if -one had an opportunity of opening a nest late in July, and before -the characteristic autumn-fruiting plants had set their seed. If the -granaries were then principally filled with seeds of spring-fruiting -plants, and the winter seeds were almost or entirely absent, this -would afford tolerably good negative evidence in favour of the latter -having been eaten during the summer. - -One thing is certain, and that is, that these harvesting ants do not -habitually abandon their nests every year. On the contrary, while -many swarms leave the nests at different seasons, a portion of the -original colony, or of its descendants, still remains in the old -home, and very few out of the many nests which I have watched during -the past three years, and of which I have noted and mapped the -positions, have been deserted. On my return to Mentone in October, -1873, I hastened to examine the nests between which war had been -carried on in the previous year (_Ants and Spiders_, p. 38), and -found in one case that the vanquished nest was completely lifeless -and abandoned, while the victorious colony was remarkably thriving, -and its granaries teemed with seeds. The locality occupied by the -other belligerent colonies had unfortunately been built over. - -I have often been asked whether I could give an approximate estimate -of the quantity of seeds contained in a nest of average size, but -I have hitherto felt unable to do this in a satisfactory manner. I -am now in possession of more reliable data, and believe that the -following calculation may be taken as a near approximation to the -truth. During the spring of 1873 I removed with but very little loss -the contents of two granaries from a very extensive nest of _Atta -structor_, consisting principally of seeds of clover, fumitory, and -pellitory. These seeds, when perfectly clean and freed from earth, -weighed in the one case 4 sc. 4 grs., and in the other 5 sc. 8 grs. -Now there cannot have been less than eighty such granaries in this -nest, so that, if we take five scruples as the average weight of the -seeds in each granary, and this, allowing for loss in collection, -which we may fairly do, we should have a total weight of more than -sixteen ounces, or one pound avoirdupois weight of seeds contained -in the nest. But, though this mass of seeds represents the result -of infinite labour on the part of the ants, each individual granary -contains but an insignificant quantity, and the store-chambers often -lie at great distances apart; it is therefore impossible to believe -that the stores alluded to in the Misna can have been as small and -scattered as these were, and we must, on the contrary, suppose them -to have been both larger and more accessible.[115] - -[Footnote 115: Perhaps these heaps of corn may have been piled up at -the entrance to the nest, as is sometimes the case when the workers, -in their eagerness to secure as much as possible of a passing -harvest, bring in the supplies too fast for their companions within -the nest to be able to find room for and accommodate. When this -happens the seeds lie outside the nest until fresh chambers are -prepared for their reception.] - -The means employed by the ants to prevent the germination of the -seeds contained in their granaries still remain secret, and all the -experiments and investigations which I have hitherto been able to -make have failed to give me the clue. - -The problem to be solved is the following: Given seeds, the readiness -of which to germinate has been proved, to place them in damp soil at -depths varying from half an inch to twenty inches below the surface -in such a manner that they shall remain there dormant, neither -germinating nor decaying, for weeks and even months. These very seeds -must be capable of germinating after the conclusion of the experiment. - -This is what the ants do for millions of seeds, for the instances -in which a few seeds appear to have sprouted within the nest in -defiance of the ants, are very rare and wholly exceptional; and -when after prolonged wet weather germinated seeds are seen outside -the nest, it will usually be found that these have the little root -cut off, and are eventually carried back into the nest and used as -food. By a fortunate chance I have been able to prove that the seeds -will germinate in an undisturbed granary when the ants are prevented -from obtaining access to it; and this goes to show not only that the -structure and nature of the granary chamber is not sufficient of -itself to prevent germination, but also that the presence of the ants -is essential to secure the dormant condition of the seeds. - -I discovered in two places portions of distinct nests of _Atta -structor_ which had been isolated owing to the destruction of the -terrace-wall behind which they lay, and there the granaries were -filled up and literally choked with growing seeds, though the earth -in which they lay completely enclosed and concealed them, until by -chance I laid them bare! In one case I knew that the destruction of -the wall had only taken place ten days before, so that the seeds had -sprouted in this interval. - -My experiments also tend to confirm this, and to favour the belief -that the non-germination of the seeds is due to some direct influence -voluntarily exercised by the ants, and not merely to the conditions -found in the nest, or to acid vapours which in certain cases are -given off by the ants themselves. - -In order to put this latter point to the test of experiment, I -confined about a hundred harvesting ants (_A. structor_), with their -queen and several larvæ, in a glass test-tube eight inches long and -one inch in diameter, closed with a cork and filled up to within -about an inch of the cork with damp sandy soil, most of which was -taken from the ants' nest. - -I added six peas, six cress and six millet, and then kept the tube -tightly corked for nine days, only once removing the cork for a few -seconds in order to sprinkle a little water on the ants, which were -evidently in need of it. On the ninth day I turned out the contents -of the tube and found that all the peas, millet and cress, had -germinated and were growing strongly. One of the cress, however, had -had its root, which lay across the gallery constructed by the ants, -gnawed off; four clover seeds, which had come with the soil taken -from the nest, and which had formed part of the ants' stores, had -germinated also. Here the small quantity of air contained in the -test-tube must certainly have become saturated with any vapour which -the ants may be supposed to give off, and we cannot therefore accept -this as the cause of the dormant condition of the granary seeds. - -I made other experiments in which harvesting ants were imprisoned -along with various seeds in small, cylindrical, closed vessels -containing a little damp sand. Here the vessels were frequently -rolled from side to side or shaken, during the twenty-two hours for -which the experiment lasted, so as to excite the ants and make them -give off such odours as they possessed, but no trace of injurious -influence was produced upon the seeds, which germinated and grew -normally afterwards. - -At Mr. Darwin's suggestion I made a long series of experiments -with formic acid, in which measured quantities, pure or diluted, -were placed in a watch-glass on damp sand and surrounded by seeds, -the whole being enclosed in a covered tumbler, so that the effects -produced on the seeds by the vapour rising from the acid might be -noted. Similar seeds were sown at the same time and in the same -way, but without the acid, so as to permit of comparison. These -experiments have afforded some interesting results,[116] but do not -supply any positive data which might help us to discover the secret -of the ants. They narrow, indeed, the area in which search can -profitably be made, indicating as they do that the vapour of formic -acid is incapable of rendering the seeds dormant after the manner of -the ants, and showing, on the contrary, that its influence is always -injurious to the seeds, even when present only in excessively minute -quantities. - -[Footnote 116: I hope shortly to offer these observations, together -with another series of a similar nature in which my friend Mr. J. B. -Andrews has taken part, to the Linnean Society.] - -It appears to me now that the most promising field for experiments -made with a view to clearing up this difficulty, is that afforded by -the closer investigation of the phenomena of normal germination, and -by a study of the conditions under which seeds remain dormant, as -they are occasionally known to do, in situations which our general -experience would have selected as favourable to germination. - -I have good hopes, also, that when we come to know more of the habits -of harvesting ants in tropical countries, and when naturalists have -excavated and described their subterranean stores--a thing which has -not yet been done as far as I know--we may gather fresh indications -to guide us in our search. - -I am puzzled to account for the fact, which I have seen stated by -more than one observer in India, that the ants there have a habit -of bringing out large quantities of grain and seed and laying them -in heaps outside their nests at the commencement of the wet season. -Dr. King, the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Calcutta, -has told me that when in the Gwalior territory during the beginning -of the rainy season, he saw heaps of seeds, principally those of a -leguminous plant (_Alyssocarpus_), piled up round the entrances to -the ants' nests, and that it was precisely at that time that flocks -of a rock-grouse (_Pterocles exustus_) first made their appearance. -They fed freely upon the seeds, and Dr. King found the crops of some -of these birds, which he had shot, filled with them. - -It is difficult to imagine why these Indian ants should turn out from -their nests the very seeds which it had cost them so much labour to -collect, and the more so as we find that these seeds are devoured -by birds. It seems just possible, however, that the ants, remaining -torpid during the rainy season, do not require the seeds, and know -that, under these circumstances, if left in the nest, they would -sprout, and choke up the galleries and granaries. Perhaps also they -may have learned that a certain number of the ejected seeds will -spring up and afford future harvests within easy reach of the nest. - -All this, however, and especially the suggestion as to the dormant -condition of the ants during the rainy season, might easily be proved -or disproved by direct observation; and at present we have nothing -but mere speculation to go upon. - -It is curious to find that the native population in a certain part -of India pay a kind of tribute to the ants, for Dr. King informs me -that the Hindoos in Rajputana, a province in which the old traditions -and superstitions retain especial hold, have a custom of scattering -dry rice and sugar for the ants, and thus apparently recognise both -their love of sweet things and their habit of collecting seeds. -It may be that this custom is now little more than a meaningless -rite; but in the past it probably had its origin, either in a wish -to propitiate the good will and avert the destructive attacks of -creatures which are the scourge and dread of entire districts, or in -a sentiment of combined fear and admiration--fear of the power, and -admiration of the energy, forethought, perseverance, and sense of -duty to the community displayed by these marvellous insects. - -That the latter feeling may have had some share in prompting this -act is suggested by another custom which is stated[117] to prevail in -Arabia, in accordance with which an ant is placed in the hand of a -newly-born child, in order that its virtues may pass into and possess -the infant. - -[Footnote 117: Freytag, paragraph under the Arabic word for Ant, in -his _Lexicon Arabico-Latinum_, vol. iv. p. 339, where he quotes from -a local dictionary.] - -Among the many curious and obscure features in the economy of ants, -one of the most interesting is the occasional presence in their nests -of different creatures which live among and often in harmony with -them, the nature of the relations between host and guest being for -the most part quite unknown. - -When examining the contents of some granaries from an extensive nest -of _Atta structor_ at Mentone last spring (1874), I found large -numbers of a minute, shining-brown beetle moving about among the -seeds. These little creatures were themselves not unlike some very -small seeds, and were of an elliptic form, measuring a trifle less -than one line in length. They proved to belong to the scarce and very -restricted genus _Coluocera_.[118] This species, named by Kraatz _C. -attæ_, on account of its inhabiting the nests of ants belonging to -the genus _Atta_, has been found in Greece. - -[Footnote 118: I am indebted to Mr. F. Smith of the British Museum -for the name of this beetle and for the following reference to its -description; Kraatz in _Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift_ for -1858-9, p. 140.] - -Mr. Bates,[119] in his most interesting account of his travels on the -Amazons, remarks upon the singular fact, of which the above instance -is an example: "that some of the most anomalous forms of Coleopterous -insects are those which live solely in the nests of ants," and he -then goes on to allude to the strange snake _Amphisbæna_, a native -of that region, which also lives in the nests of the Sauba ants -(_Œcodoma cephalotes_), observing how curious it is that an abnormal -form of snakes should be found in the society of these insects. He -is of opinion, however, that the _Amphisbæna_ is not an inoffensive -guest, but lives upon the ants whose nest it selects for its home. - -[Footnote 119: _Naturalist on the Amazons_, p. 61-2 (Ed. 2, 1864).] - -Another remarkable inhabitant of ants' nests is a minute cricket, of -which I found a single example in the midst of a colony of black ants -at Mentone in February, 1874. This miniature cricket is scarcely as -large as a grain of wheat, the body, excluding the antennæ and other -appendages, measuring only two lines in length. It has been described -by Dr. Paolo Savi[120] under the name of _Gryllus myrmecophilus_. He -detected it in the nests of several species of ants in Tuscany, where -it lived on the best terms with its hosts, playing round their nests -in warm, and retiring into them in stormy weather, while allowing the -ants to carry it from place to place during their migrations. - -[Footnote 120: Dr. P. Savi, _Osservazione sopra la Blatta acervorum di -Panzer_ in _Bibliotheco Italiana_, tom. xv. p. 217.] - -_Gryllus myrmecophilus_ has also been observed in nests of the turf -ant (_Tetramorium cæspitum_) near Paris.[121] - -[Footnote 121: _Bulletin Soc. Entom. de France_ (1872), p. li.] - -At Mentone I have never found more than this one specimen, and the -ants among which it was domiciliated were of a species new to me -(_Camponotus_ (_Formica_) _lateralis_, Oliv.). This colony of ants -was composed of many winged males and females, as well as workers, -the last-named measuring from two and a half to three lines in -length, and black in colour. In other colonies I have found the -workers black, with red head and thorax. - -Another ant, not enumerated in my list in _Ants and Spiders_, is -_Camponotus_ (_Formica_) _sylvatica_, which I detected in March last -under stones on Cap Martin, near Mentone. When disturbed, this ant -runs along with its abdomen raised vertically in the air, much as -the devil's coachhorse (_Staphylinus_) does. The same curious habit -of erecting the abdomen is found in another ant, not uncommon in -decaying wood in the South, _Crematogaster scutellaris_; and probably -all three insects adopt this threatening attitude, which is that of -the scorpion preparing to strike and sting, in order to intimidate -their enemies, though _Crematogaster_ is the only one which really -possesses a sting. - -_Camponotus sylvatica_ has the same long legs and slender body as -_Formica cursor_, and is of about the same size; the workers, which -are of a dark brown colour, measuring about 3-1/2 lines in length. - -Perhaps it may be well, in concluding these remarks on Harvesting -Ants, to call attention to the principal questions which still await -solution. The first is one which any observer who travels in Central -Europe during the summer may help to solve. - -1. Do _any_ ants collect and store seed in Switzerland, Germany, -North France, England, or indeed in any of the colder parts of the -world? - -2. What are the habits of _Atta structor_ and _A. barbara_ when -living, as they are known to do, in Switzerland, Germany, and -Northern France? - -3. How do the ants contrive to preserve the seeds in their granaries -free from germination and decay? - -4. How are the seed-stores of tropical ants disposed below ground, -and of what do they consist? - -5. Do harvesting ants exist in the southern states of North America, -in Australia, New Zealand, or at the Cape? - - - - -SUPPLEMENT - -TO - -TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. - - -There would doubtless be a just feeling of pride and satisfaction -in the heart of a naturalist who could say that he had made himself -thoroughly acquainted with all the species of a particular group of -animals, had learned their most secret habits, and mastered their -several relations to the objects, animate and inanimate, which -surrounded them. But perhaps a still keener pleasure is enjoyed by -one who carries about with him some problem of the kind but partially -solved, and who, holding in his hand the clue which shall guide him -onwards, sees in each new place that he visits fresh opportunities of -discovery. The latter is certainly the condition of those who take -an interest in searching out the habits and characters of trap-door -spiders; for this subject, far from being exhausted, expands under -the light of recently acquired facts, and invites research in many -parts of Europe, north as well as south. - -We have only to compare the number of types of trap-door nest which -were known before the publication of _Ants and Spiders_, with those -at present recorded, to see how fruitful this field of inquiry has -already proved. - -Before this little work was published, only one type of trap-door -nest was known in Europe: two new types were described in its pages, -and I have now the pleasure of being able to bring three more -hitherto unknown European types before the notice of my readers, thus -raising the number to six in all. I do not include in these six types -the very curious, and still imperfectly-known nest of _Atypus_;[122] -a spider which is a true representative of the trap-door group as -far as its structural characters are concerned, but which, although -it excavates a silk-lined burrow in the earth, does not appear to -construct any kind of door at the mouth of its tube. - -[Footnote 122: See _Ants and Spiders_, page 78. _Atypus_ belongs to -the sub-family _Atypinæ_, a division which does not include any of -the _Nemesias_ or _Ctenizas_, and of which indeed _Atypus_ is the -only European representative.] - -Much uncertainty still hangs over the habits of this spider, as the -facts hitherto recorded, though perfectly authentic, are difficult -to piece together into a satisfactory whole. One thing, however, -is clear, and that is, that the nests and habits of the spiders of -the genus _Atypus_ (of which, as Mr. Pickard-Cambridge, informs me, -two if not three distinct species inhabit England) merit attentive -study, and would most certainly repay it. Hastings, Portland, the -coast of Dorsetshire, and the neighbourhood of London and Exeter, are -the habitats hitherto cited for this spider, but I cannot doubt its -existence in many sheltered localities on the south coast of England. - -The most recent contribution to our knowledge of this genus is -contained in a paper by M. Eugène Simon,[123] who describes three -species (two of which are new), as inhabiting France, and it remains -to be ascertained whether our British _Atypi_ agree in their -characters with any of these. - -[Footnote 123: Note sur les Espèces françaises du genre _Atypus_, -Latr. in Ann. Soc. Entomologique de France, 5^e ser. tom. iii. -(1873), p. 109.] - -He describes (p. 113-4) the nest and mode of life of _Atypus piceus_, -Sulzer (=_A. Sulzeri_, Latr.),[124] the commonest of the three -species, as follows:--"They (the spiders) seek dry and somewhat sandy -slopes, sometimes also woods, chiefly plantations of evergreens; -their retreat is always concealed either by stones, or in moss which -one must remove carefully and in large masses (_plâques_) in order to -detect them." - -[Footnote 124: Thus named by M. Simon.] - -"This Atypus excavates an oblique hole of 15 to 20 centimetres deep, -and of the size of its body; it lines it with a rather narrow silken -tube of a very close texture, the upper part of which, exceeding the -subterranean portion in length, lies horizontally on the surface -of the ground, and ends in an open tapering point. Near its lower -extremity the tube is suddenly contracted, and then dilates into -the form of a fairly spacious apartment, in which the spider lives; -the cocoon enclosing the eggs is suspended by a few threads at the -contraction. I have frequently surprised _Atypus_ in the act of -holding earth-worms in their falces, and I think that these Annelids -constitute the larger part of their food; indeed, if one examines -the lower portion of the silk chamber, one may remark a part where -the tissue is thinner and more transparent. I have not been able to -detect an opening, but it is probable that the _Atypus_ can easily -part the not very compact threads, and thus obtain for itself an easy -prey, and dispense with the necessity of ascending to the surface -of the ground. When taken out of its tube, _Atypus_ does not even -attempt to escape; it is therefore plain that it is not organized -for the pursuit of an active prey; and, on the other hand, the upper -extremity of the tube is ill-adapted for an ambuscade, being almost -closed, and without support. This small opening would seem to be -solely intended for the entrance and exit of the male (a very much -smaller creature than the female) during the breeding season, which -occurs in the month of October." - -[Illustration: _Plate XIII_] - -M. Simon says that this species of _Atypus_ is common in all the -centre, east and west of France, and that he has detected it in -great abundance in the neighbourhood of Troyes, in Champagne, in the -month of October, when the male was inhabiting the same tube with -the female.[125] I am greatly indebted to M. Simon for having given -me the specimen of a silk tube taken entire from a nest found in -this locality, which I have figured in Plate XIII., fig. A. It will -be seen that the tube has collapsed, but one may still trace the -enlargement near the base which forms the chamber, the elbow where it -is bent at the surface of the ground, the moss, scales, and fibres -of plants which are woven into, and serve to conceal the aërial -portion, and its termination in a twisted and apparently-closed mouth. - -[Footnote 125: M. Simon has discovered another species of _Atypus_ at -Digne in the Basses Alpes which constructs a similar nest to that -described above. This species was detected for the first time by M. -Simon and described by him under the name of _Atypus bleodonticus_.] - -Indeed, I believe that, in this specimen, the upper extremity of the -tube is really closed, for, when I succeeded in inflating this aërial -portion, the lips did not part, but remained drawn together. - -It seems very extraordinary that the mouth of the tube should be thus -closed, so that the female spider becomes a prisoner, self-immured, -and I can only suppose that this is a temporary condition, limited -perhaps to the period during which she receives the visits of the -male. - -At the very base of the tube I found a mass of earth, roots and -vegetable fibres, and in this I hoped to have detected the _débris_ -of insects or other food, such as I sometimes find at the bottom of -and below the tubes of the trap-door nests in the South, but of this -there was no trace. - -It is difficult to me to imagine how the spider could contrive to -live by the capture of worms, after the fashion suggested by M. -Simon; for who does not know the speed with which, on the slightest -alarm, worms draw back into their holes and escape pursuit, and the -muscular power which they exert in resisting any attempts to drag -them out of the earth? - -M. Simon's account of the closed tube and capture of worms by this -spider corresponds, however, with that given by Mr. Joshua Brown, the -first discoverer of _Atypus_ in England. - -This gentleman communicated his discovery to Mr. Edward Newman[126] -in 1856, since which time (with the exception of M. Simon's paper -quoted above) little or nothing seems to have been done to clear up -the points which remain doubtful in the history of these singular -creatures. - -[Footnote 126: Note on _Atypus Sulzeri_ of Latreille, by Mr. -Edward Newman, read before the Linnean Society; a report of this -communication is given in _The Zoologist_, vol. xiv. (1856), p. 5021.] - -Several nests of _Atypus_ were discovered by Mr. Joshua Brown in the -neighbourhood of Hastings, when traversing a lane bounded on either -side by high and steep sand-banks, partially covered with grass and -bushes. - -His attention was at first arrested by the sight of "something -hanging down which looked like the cocoon of some moth;" but, on -closer examination, the silk case proved to be empty, and was -continued as a tube into the ground to a depth of 9 inches, where he -came upon the spider lying at the bottom. Further research revealed -the existence of a number of these nests in the same locality, but -the length of the different tubes varied much; they were usually -about 9 inches long, but some were much longer, often baffling his -attempts to follow them; the longest which he was able to secure -entire measured 11 inches. All the nests were, however, alike in -having a tubular silk lining, about 3/4 of an inch in diameter, a -part of which protruded from the ground for about 2 inches, and was -pendent, inflated, and covered with particles of sand, assimilating -it to the surrounding surface; it was closed at the upper extremity, -leaving no exit to the open air. - -Mr. Brown took home some of these tubes in a collapsed state with -the spider at the bottom. In one case, on opening the box in which -the nest was placed, he perceived a movement throughout the tube, -as if it were being inflated; this however soon subsided, but the -following morning he was surprised to see that the whole tube was -inflated, especially at the end which had lain exposed on the bank. -He failed to find any aperture by which the spider could enter or -leave her nest, and his captives, though passing backwards and -forwards in their tubes, never came out at either end. He never saw -flies or any fragments of insects in the nests; but, on drawing out -one of the tubes, he observed a worm at the lower end, partially -within it, partially outside, and he perceived that the spider -had evidently been eating a considerable portion of its anterior -extremity. - -It will readily be seen that there are some discrepancies between the -different accounts which have been given of the nests of _Atypus_ -found in England and France,[127] and I think it quite probable that -some at least of the nests described may really differ, and be the -work of distinct species belonging to this genus. Mr. Brown describes -his nests as having by far the greater part of their length under -ground, while in those observed by M. Simon, as shown in my figure, -Plate XIII. fig. A, the exposed portion of the tube equalled or -exceeded the subterranean. - -[Footnote 127: A subject already alluded to in _Ants and Spiders_, at -p. 78.] - -An imperfect specimen at the British Museum, from some English -station (exact habitat not given), appears to have the proportions -described by Mr. Brown; the length of the aërial portion of the tube -being less than one-fourth of that of the subterranean; the upper -end of the tube is however open, but I am doubtful whether this was -originally so or not, for the silk is torn at this point, and the -opening may be a rent caused by rough handling. - -After a comparison of the above description, it appears to me that -the following are the principal points which remain to be cleared up: - -1. What is the precise structure of the nests of Atypus, and are they -always uniform in character at all seasons of the year? - -2. What is the use of the exposed aërial portion of the tube? - -3. Do the two British species make similar nests? - -4. What food, besides worms, does the female live upon, and how does -she obtain it? - -5. Does she ever leave the nest? - -6. What becomes of these spiders and their nests in the winter, and -how long do they live? - -7. When do the young leave the nest; and do they, like their -relatives in the South, construct nests like those of their parents -in miniature? - -I would commend all these points to any lover of Nature who may -seek the southern coasts of England during the autumn and winter -months, and I think it more than likely that a careful search in -the sandy banks near St. Leonards, the slopes under the fir-woods -of Bournemouth, and the deep lanes in the neighbourhood of Torquay, -would be rewarded with success. - -If the breeding season in England only commences in October, as -appears to be the case in France, it would seem most probable that -the spiders survive the winter. Very possibly these spiders and -their nests might be transplanted and placed for observation in a -garden; and if room were granted them in a greenhouse or Wardian -case, or even in a large flower-pot in a living-room, it is not -unlikely that the warmer temperature might waken them up to renewed -activity. - -It seems clear that _Atypus_ has to fear the insidious attacks of -enemies; for not only is the external portion of the tube closed or -almost closed at certain seasons, but it is covered outside with such -materials as may serve to make it resemble the surrounding surface -of the ground. Thus Mr. Brown's nests, lying on a sandy bank, were -covered with particles of sand, while my specimen from Troyes has -moss and fibres of plants woven into its upper extremity. - -Indeed, all the European representatives of the suborder -_Territelariæ_ which I have myself met with, conceal their nests -with great care and skill. There appear to be others, however, which -either make no nests at all but hide under stones, or only construct -a simple silk tube, open at the mouth, and without any special -contrivance for its dissimulation. Further observation of the habits -and dwellings of these apparently unworthy members of the trap-door -group is much to be desired. - -Mr. Bates,[128] in his work on the Amazons, describes _Mygale -(Theraphosa) Blondii_, a large and powerful spider of that region, as -burrowing into the earth and "forming a broad slanting gallery about -three feet long, the sides of which he lines beautifully with silk." -This spider "is nocturnal in his habits," and maybe seen "just before -sunset keeping watch within the mouth of his tunnel, disappearing -suddenly when he hears a heavy foot-tread near his hiding place." - -[Footnote 128: Bates, H. W., _Naturalist on the Amazons_, Ed. 2. -(1864).] - -This nest would therefore appear to have an open tube undefended -by any door; but in this case the great size of the spider and the -depth of the burrow, which is more than twice as long as that of the -average European nests, may help to explain this apparent want of -precaution. - -But, if we wish to learn with what different materials and by what -varied means the same end of self-preservation can be attained, we -have only to cast a glance at the sketch of a portion of a nest at -fig. B, Plate XIII., p. 183, where it will be seen that the entrance -to the nest, far from being concealed or obscured in any way, is -rendered a most striking object, and one which appears devised -for the very purpose of attracting attention. The nest to which I -refer is the work of _Cyrtauchenius elongatus_, from Morocco, and -consists, according to the account given me by its discoverer, M. -Simon, of a deep cylindrical burrow in the soil, the silk lining of -which is prolonged upwards for about three inches above the surface -of the ground, and enlarged into a funnel shape, so that it becomes -from two to three inches across at the orifice. This aërial portion -being snow-white, at once attracts the eye even from a considerable -distance, and the nests rising up amid the sparse grasses and other -small plants which serve to support but not to conceal them, present -the appearance of scattered white fungi. - -This is therefore quite a new type among the nests constructed by -trap-door spiders, new in form and probably in function also, and I -would propose to distinguish it provisionally as the _funnel type_. - -Now the female _Cyrtauchenius_ is, like its near relatives the -_Nemesias_, a sluggish and rather helpless creature, and shows no -apparent physical superiority which might countenance its dispensing -with the methods of concealment which form the characteristic habit -of the group. - -How then does this spider manage to escape its many enemies, -especially the insidious attacks of the insects of the _Sphex_ and -_Ichneumon_ families, which certainly abound in Morocco? - -Mr. Wallace, to whom I put the question, suggested that this species -may perhaps be chiefly nocturnal in its habits, and that, if this -is the case, the bright white and flower-like tube of the nest may -possibly serve to attract night flying insects, which would thus -become its prey. - -In any case, whether we can discover them or not, some curious points -of difference must exist between this spider and its allies, which -secure to it a comparative immunity. - -It appears to me that there are few questions which can be of greater -interest to the naturalist than those which have to do with the -conditions determining the existence of a given species in a given -place. - -Of the questions, Who are your relatives? Where do they live? and How -are you able to live here? surely the last is not the least important. - -And, if we wish to try to answer this question, we must do all in -our power to find out how the habits and conditions of life of the -creature in question, differ from those of its competitors; for we -may be quite certain that it does not exist where we see it by grace -and favour, but by merit; if it is neither stronger, cleverer nor -more numerous than its neighbours, we may be sure that it has found -some means of living which does not interfere fatally with their -requirements. Hence the endless diversity of function and habits in -all living creatures, which forms such a prolific and marvellous -subject for our study and contemplation. - -I am indebted to M. Simon for permission to publish the details given -above on _Cyrtauchenius elongatus_, and also for having given me such -directions as enabled me to make the sketch from which the drawing at -Plate XIII., fig. B, was copied. - -I must however state that this illustration is not taken from an -actual specimen, but is prepared solely from his description; so that -it cannot pretend to complete accuracy of detail. M. Simon assured -me nevertheless that it conveyed the general appearance of this -remarkable nest with sufficient fidelity, and I have been induced to -reproduce it here in the hope that it may serve to make my meaning -plainer, and to suggest the kind of object which one should look for, -if an opportunity offered. - -Another species of the same genus, _Cyrtauchenius Doleschallii_, is -known to inhabit Sicily, but the nest is undescribed. M. Lucas has -described two species,[129] belonging to the closely-allied genus -_Cyrtocephalus_, both of which appear to construct nests somewhat -similar in form to that discovered by M. Simon. Whether these -nests are equally showy we cannot tell, as the account is brief and -few details are given; but one, that of _Cyrtocephalus terricola_, -appears to differ in having threads stretched from the opening of its -funnel, which serve to ensnare insects and to give notice of these -captures. - -[Footnote 129: _Cyrtocephalus Walckenaëri_ and _terricola_, Lucas -(H.), _Animaux articulés de l'Algérie_ (Paris, 1847-9), vol. i. p. -94-5.] - -The great trap-door group therefore comprises spiders which differ -widely in respect of their dwelling places. Some construct no nest -at all or only an irregular web, and live under stones; others, -like _Theraphosa Blondii_, make a simple cylindrical tunnel, or, -like those just described, a tube having a prolonged, uncovered, -funnel-shaped mouth: others again, belonging to the genus _Atypus_, -form the curious and as yet imperfectly-understood nests with a -silken tubular lining, part of which hangs down outside; while on the -highest rung of the architectural ladder, stand the builders of the -veritable trap-door nests. - -It seems quite possible that, when we know more of the structures -made by _Territelariæ_ generally in various parts of the world, we -shall find that nests of various degrees of complexity and perfection -of structure exist, bridging over the gulf between the barbarous -dwellers under stones and the highly civilized inhabitants of the -branched wafer and cork nests. - -Indeed, thanks to recent discoveries, I am already able to do -something of this kind for one small group of spiders, namely, for -that of the European _Nemesias_ having nests with wafer doors. - -[Illustration: _Plate XIV._] - -I hope to make this plain by reference to the diagrams on Plate XIV., -where the figures C, D, E, F, and G represent on a reduced scale five -types of wafer nest constructed by as many distinct spiders, and -where a gradation may readily be traced between the simplest type at -C and the most complicated at G; but we shall speak more fully of -this matter by-and-by. - -In these diagrams I have placed that representing the nest of -_Atypus_ on the extreme left (A);[130] next to this stands that -of a nest of the cork type (B), a type which must be carefully -distinguished from all the rest. It must not be supposed that the -solid cork door (so called from its resemblance to a short cork -closing the neck of a bottle), is nothing more than a thicker edition -of the wafer door; it is not so, but, on the contrary, possesses a -very characteristic structure of its own, being composed of many -layers of silk, each furnished with a sloping rim of earth, while the -wafer door consists of but a single layer of silk. - -[Footnote 130: These types may be briefly enumerated as follows: - - A, nest of _Atypus_. - - B, cork nest, and B, 1, layers of silk and earth forming the door of the - cork nest. - - C, single-door, unbranched wafer nest. - - D, single door, branched wafer nest. - - E, double-door, unbranched wafer nest, and E, 1, lower door of the same. - - F, the Hyères double-door branched wafer nest, and F, 1, lower door of - the same. - - G, double-door branched cavity wafer nest, as seen in the oldest and - largest specimens, and G, 1, the same in the younger specimens. - G, 2, the lower door of this nest, being of the same form in young - and old nests. -] - -I have represented at B 1 the 14 layers of silk and earth which went -to make a single cork door examined by me. It will be seen that the -outermost of these layers is the largest, and the innermost the -smallest, and I have already (_Ants and Spiders_, p. 150) shown -reason for believing that the latter constituted the first door the -spider ever made, and that the consecutive layers mark successive -stages in the enlargement of the nest. - -There is therefore a broad distinction as to construction between -cork nests and wafer nests; moreover, while the former are, as far -as we know at present, all of one type, and only differ in size or -proportion, the latter appear under five distinct types. - -Thus, every known cork nest, whether found in Europe, America, or -the Antipodes, has the same solid door and simple tube; while of the -wafer nests, some have branched and others simple tubes, and some -again possess a lower door in addition to the upper or surface door. - -In the following pages I intend to treat of the trap-door spiders and -their nests in the same order in which the latter are placed in the -diagram, commencing with those of the cork type B, and then dealing -successively with the several wafer nests from C to G. We have -already spoken of A, the nest of _Atypus piceus_, and seen that our -present knowledge of this nest, of the habits of its occupant and of -those of its relations, is still far from complete. - -The cork type is, as my readers will perhaps remember, the great -cosmopolitan type which ranges round the world, and which, curious to -say, is built by many different spiders belonging to distinct genera. - -The idea of planning this very perfect bit of mechanism appears to -be the common inheritance of these several spiders, separated though -they are by wide intervals of geographical space as well as to -structural divergence. - -At Mentone two distinct spiders construct nests of the cork type, -one of these being a _Nemesia_ and the other a _Cteniza_. They are -as unlike each other as they well can be, and it seems remarkably -strange that their nest-building instinct should be so similar. The -nest of the _Cteniza_ is indeed shallower than that of the _Nemesia_, -and a practised eye can usually trace a difference between the -slightly less angular lower surface and more semi-circular outline -of the door of the former, and the more abruptly bevelled and more -circular door of the latter. - -These spiders and their nests have been already described and figured -in _Ants and Spiders_ under the names of _Ct. fodiens_ and _Nemesia -cæmentaria_. Recent discoveries have however shown that these spiders -possess distinctive characters of their own, and, though closely -allied to the species indicated, should be separated from them. - -Last spring when pulling down an old terrace-wall (by permission) I -had the good fortune to discover the very remarkable male _Cteniza_ -drawn at fig. A, Pl. XX., p. 254. I found no trace of a nest or web -of any kind, and the spider was merely hiding between the stones. - -There appears to be scarcely any doubt that this is the male of the -female Mentonese _Cteniza_ which has, up to this time, been called -_Ct. fodiens_. A comparison with typical specimens of the true _Ct. -fodiens_ from Corsica, has however shown that the two are certainly -distinct, and Mr. Pickard-Cambridge[131] now describes the Mentonese -form under the name of _Ct. Moggridgii_.[132] - -[Footnote 131: Mr. Pickard-Cambridge has once more kindly undertaken -the task of naming and describing my collections of trap-door -spiders, and the results of his labours will be found at the end of -the present work.] - -[Footnote 132: I take this opportunity of thanking him for the -compliment. A description of this new species will be found at p. -254, below.] - -The females of the true _Cteniza fodiens_ are far larger than those -of our new Mentonese species, and construct their nests in dry and -exposed places, instead of in the moist and shady ivy-covered banks -selected by the latter. I have found _Cteniza Moggridgii_ at San Remo -and Mentone, and it will probably be also discovered at Nice, but I -failed to detect it either at Cannes or Hyères. - -The Corsican male at the first glance curiously resembles that found -at Mentone, but differs essentially in details and especially in -having the surface of the caput unbroken, whereas the caput of the -latter presents a very peculiar character in an impressed line which -runs across it from side to side (figs. A 1 and A 2). Both agree, -however, in being strangely unlike their females. - -The other builder of a nest of the cork type at Mentone was, as has -been already stated, described and figured in _Ants and Spiders_ -under the name of _Nemesia cæmentaria_. Now the true _N. cæmentaria_ -of Latreille is found at Montpellier, the classical habitat where the -first discovery of trap-door spiders in Europe was made towards the -end of the last century, but its true characters have been hitherto -but imperfectly known. - -I have lately been able to secure several specimens at this place, -and they certainly differed in their markings from the so-called -_cæmentaria_ of Mentone. M. Simon had previously informed me that -he considered our Mentonese spider distinct from the typical -_cæmentaria_, and had kindly proposed to give my name to the -Mentonese species; and now Mr. Pickard-Cambridge, on the receipt -of the specimens collected by me at Montpellier, coincides with M. -Simon, and adopts his nomenclature, calling the Mentonese _Nemesia N. -Moggridgii_.[133] - -[Footnote 133: See below, p. 273.] - -I found but one nest of the cork type at Montpellier, where it was -most abundant, and invariably inhabited by the same spider, so that -there can be little doubt that this is the celebrated _Nemesia -cæmentaria_ of Latreille, the nests of which were described by the -Abbé Sauvages in 1763. - -When living, the pattern on the abdomen is far more distinct and is -traced on a paler ground than in _N. Moggridgii_, and the patterns -on the back of the caput, as seen in specimens preserved in spirits, -and the relative sizes of the lateral eyes, as well as other details -enumerated by Mr. Pickard-Cambridge, afford characters by which they -may be known apart; and it is probable that when the males, which -are at present unknown, shall be discovered, they will be found to -present other distinctive peculiarities. In the present instance -we have the reverse of the case described above, in which two very -distinct spiders constructed a similar nest, for here both spiders -and nests are much alike. - -We have yet to learn what are the special advantages which each -type of nest affords; but it is plain from the fact of the -same type being adopted indifferently by both nearly- and most -distantly-related spiders, that the form of the nest is governed far -more by the conditions which it is contrived to meet, than by the -affinity or resemblance of the spiders which construct it. - -I have found _N. Moggridgii_ at San Remo, Mentone, Cannes, Hyères, -and Marseilles, but thus far, I only know of the true _N. cæmentaria_ -at Montpellier. - -The latter spider is rather bolder than the former, and I frequently -saw it at Montpellier watching at the slightly raised door, with the -tips of the claws projecting from the nest, and it rarely failed to -resist most vigorously any attempt of mine to force the door open. - -During the summer of 1873, I received two specimens of trap-door -nests from California. Both of these nests were of the cork type and -nearly entire, wanting only a small portion of the base of the tube; -they most closely resembled one another and were probably the work -of the same spider. For one of these, coming from the San Joaquin -valley, between the Calaveras and the Tejon, I have to thank M. J. C. -Puls, a Belgian entomologist residing at Ghent; and for the other, -containing the spider which had constructed it _alive within its -tube_ (!), I am indebted to Mr. G. H. Treadwell of San Francisco. The -former nest is drawn at fig. A, Plate XV., and the spider[134] from -the latter at fig. B of the same plate. - -[Footnote 134: This spider, which proves to be a new species, is -described below (p. 260) as _Cteniza Californica_.] - -[Illustration: _Plate XV._] - -Mr. Treadwell had carried this spider and its nest, with the block -of earth in which it lay, all the way from Visalia, a town about 350 -miles south of San Francisco, where he had taken it; the nest and -spider travelled safe to London enclosed in an empty cocoatina tin, -4-1/2 inches deep, and 2-3/4 across. - -The nest was then entire, for these spiders appear to make singularly -shallow tubes; and it might have remained so up to the present day -had it not been for the rash curiosity of a chambermaid in the London -hotel where Mr. Treadwell was staying, who, smitten with a great -desire to learn what the heavy little box which came from the land of -gold might contain, proceeded to examine the earth, when the sudden -appearance of the spider frightened her so much that box and nest and -all were thrown with a crash upon the floor. - -Were it not for this unlucky incident I might have seen a complete -specimen of this curious nest; but as it was, though the spider -miraculously escaped uninjured, the bottom of the nest was pounded -into dust, and only the upper portion remained intact. - -Both this nest and that sent to me by M. Puls, were of the true cork -type, and presented a solid door with a bevelled edge, fitting into -the correspondingly bevelled lip of the tube, and shutting flush with -the surface of the ground. The lining of the tube was strong and -thick, but soft and silky to the touch. - -The tube itself in Mr. Treadwell's specimen, when intact, cannot have -measured more than 3-1/2 inches in length; and we learn from Dr. -Lanzwert, who collected the other specimen, that the average length -of these nests does not exceed three inches. Dr. Lanzwert, writing -in one of the local papers[135] of "The Mygales or Ground Spiders," -says, "the poisonous black tarantulas, so well known to naturalists, -are extremely common in California, but only in places upland, or -lowland which are very hot and dry. Their principal haunts are the -San Joaquin valley, between the Calaveras and the Tejon. A similar -species from the coast is not only smaller than the interior variety, -but the colours are much deeper. They both make a curious habitation -under the ground, composed of a glutinized, web-worked purse, about -three inches long, and which is furnished with a tightly-fitting lid -which they can open or shut at pleasure, and which is as cunning a -piece of insect architecture as is to be found in nature. These ugly -loathsome Californian spiders are often mentioned by thoughtless -scribes as carrying no more danger than a common wasp, like the -species of Italy, but it is well known that several persons, young -and old, have lost their lives in this State from the bite of such -tarantulas as are met with in our coast and interior country. Their -enemy in the Tulare valley is an immense shining black wasp,[136] -fully an inch long, which will pounce upon them, and after a short -battle drag the tarantula along in the most valiant style of heroic -conquest. These interior tarantulas are often seen measuring two -inches in the spread." - -[Footnote 135: _The Evening Bulletin_ for Oct. 25, 1866.] - -[Footnote 136: This insect was probably not a true wasp, though -belonging to an allied family; it may perhaps have been a _Pepsis_, -certain species of which genus Mr. Bates informs me he has frequently -seen near Santarem on the Amazon, hawking over the ground where the -huge trap-door spiders lived, and suddenly pouncing down upon one of -these creatures, often many times larger than themselves, when, after -paralysing their victim with their sting, they would deliberately saw -off the legs before dragging away the bodies!] - -Mr. Treadwell was quite as much impressed as Dr. Lanzwert with the -belief that the bite of these spiders is fatal, but it does not -appear that either of these gentlemen have obtained conclusive -evidence in support of this allegation. - -I have occasionally been bitten by the trap-door spiders in South -France, but have never experienced the slightest subsequent -inconvenience, nor was there any trace of inflammation or poisoning -about the punctures which they made. Mr. Blackwall[137] has made a -very careful set of observations on this head, and has caused some of -the largest species of British spiders to bite his finger and wrist -until the blood flowed, without the slightest ill effects. He also -inoculated himself at the same time with the poisonous secretion of -the spider and with that of the wasp; when the latter wound became -extremely painful, while the former was not perceptibly aggravated. -Mr. Blackwall obtained the spiders' poison by causing a spider to -seize a slip of clean glass with its mandibles, when a small quantity -of a liquid showing a slightly acid reaction was deposited. - -[Footnote 137: Mr. J. Blackwall, _Researches in Zoology_, ed. 2, 1873; -chapter on "The Poison of the Araneidea," pp. 240-256.] - -Mr. Treadwell informed me that these Californian trap-door spiders -leave their nests in the daytime, and may be seen walking by the -roadside, though they are always prepared to hurry back to their -nests on the approach of danger. - -I received the spider which I have represented at fig. B, Pl. XV., -p. 198 (_Cteniza Californica_), from this gentleman alive, and still -within the remaining portion of her nest, on the 6th of July, 1873. -She then had the legs and cephalothorax of a brownish-black, and -the abdomen of a dull, uniform, dusky chocolate brown, but with an -indistinct median line near the anterior end on the upper side, -intersected at right angles by a shorter line. Mr. Treadwell said, -however, that when captured, this spider was much darker, and of a -pitchy black colour. The hairs all over the body were short, but -especially so on the abdomen, which had the appearance of cloth or -felt. - -This creature in many ways recalls _Cteniza fodiens_ of Corsica, and -in a less degree the _Cteniza_ of Mentone and San Remo. - -We find not only the same general form of body, but also the same -claws furnished with only one tooth, instead of many as in _Nemesia_, -and other distinctive features; and it is interesting to observe in -the nest that the more semi-circular form of the door and the wider -hinge also connect it rather with _Cteniza_ than with _Nemesia_. - -Here, as in all spiders yet observed in cork nests, we find the habit -of resisting any attempt to open the door, and many a time when I -have wished to raise the lid in order to drop in flies or other -food, I have been obliged to desist because the bending blade of my -penknife showed that I should injure the nest if I used greater force. - -No doubt the shallowness of the nest is an advantage to its occupant -in one way--namely, that it enables the spider to start up at the -shortest notice, and cling on to the door. - -It is curious to find that, far as California is removed from the -Riviera, the same habits of construction and self-defence are common -to the spiders of both countries, and that the bond of kinship sets -time and space at defiance. - -I kept this spider all through the summer and early autumn at -Richmond (Surrey), sprinkling the nest from time to time with water, -and constantly supplying its inhabitant with flies, wood-lice, -grasshoppers, earwigs, and other similar dainties. She did not, -however, seem eager for food, and the insects provided for her, and -actually placed within the nest, were often turned out again almost -untouched. - -When I placed living insects, such as grasshoppers, for example, -within the nest over-night, she would often allow them to remain -there unharmed, so that I found them ready to escape on opening the -door the following morning. - -I never saw her leave the nest of her own free will, and when I made -her come out and set her to run in the garden, she began at once to -seek for a place to hide in, hobbling along in an ungainly way and at -a slow pace. - -She must, however, have left the nest on more than one occasion, -unseen by me, for she deposited several clusters of eggs at various -times upon the under-surface of the gauze net which was fastened over -the mouth of the box in which she was imprisoned. - -The first of these groups of eggs was laid during the night between -the 12th and 13th of July, and formed a raspberry-shaped cluster -attached to the gauze. - -I have represented this cluster of the natural size at fig. B, 6, and -magnified at fig. B, 7, on Plate XV., only in an inverted position, -for they really hung downwards from the under side of the net. - -These eggs were greyish white or pale brown, and varied in shape from -globose to oblong. - -All were very small, the largest only measuring 1/2 line in its -greatest length, but it is doubtful whether any of these eggs were -fertile, and, though they appeared full and plump, many presented an -irregular and fissured surface. - -A fortnight later (July 27) another cluster of eggs was laid, and -this time between the hours of five and eight P.M. When the lamp was -brought in at the latter hour, I perceived what I took to be a drop -of water hanging from the gauze cover above and rather in front of -the spider's door, the very position occupied by the cluster of eggs -previously described. On closer inspection this proved to be a drop -of a pellucid colourless liquid, in which some thirty eggs floated. -One egg was laid on the gauze at some distance from the main group, -and several were also attached to the inside of the tin box. - -At midnight I found that the drop had coagulated and contracted, and -by the following morning the mass was quite dry and resembled the -former group, only that it was not quite so convex. - -Some of the eggs forming this cluster were much larger than any in -the preceding one, and one measured as much as a line in length by -half a line in breadth. This group is shown magnified at fig. B, 8, -Plate XV., and some of the separate eggs more highly magnified at -fig. B, 9. - -Between this date and the end of November when the spider died, eggs -were laid on seven distinct occasions--viz., on July 31, August 11, -15, 31 (when I again found the eggs floating in a drop of liquid, -having been deposited on the gauze between two and half-past four -o'clock in the afternoon); September 9 (23 eggs laid on the earth -near the entrance to the nest); September 19 (about 30 eggs on the -gauze), and November 4 (about 30 eggs on the gauze). - -Thus, between July 13 and November 4, this spider laid nine clusters -of eggs, all but one of which were placed on the same part of the -gauze cover, above and a little in front of the door, and the total -number of eggs deposited cannot have been less than 250. It is -difficult to understand why she should have laid these eggs outside -the nest, unless indeed she knew them to be sterile, and so treated -them as refuse. I can scarcely believe that such a procedure is in -accordance with the ordinary habits of these spiders; for, if the -eggs and young are habitually exposed, then the perfect concealment -of the nest would lose one of its most important uses. When we -remember that there are minute hymenopterous insects which lay their -eggs within the eggs of the spiders, we can see how important it -may be that the entrance to a nest, which is at once nursery and -stronghold, should be closed by a well-fitting door, and one which -may exclude, not only the larger and more powerful enemies of the -full-grown spiders, but also the tiny and almost imperceptible -assailants of the eggs and young. - -This Californian spider was always careful to eject from the nest -the remains of insects with which I had supplied her, and, as she -did so deliberately and by day as well as by night, I had frequent -opportunities of watching her. Sometimes, if not alarmed by any -sudden movement, she would remain for one or two minutes at the mouth -of the nest with the door partly raised, and I was glad to seize -these opportunities for making some experiments, with a view to -learning whether she would prove as sensitive to sound as she did to -other vibrations and to the sight of moving objects. - -Placing myself so that the partly-opened door screened me from her -view, I was able to approach close to the nest without causing her -alarm, and to make different sounds and noises at distances varying -from three to fourteen inches. - -In no case, however, did she pay the slightest attention; and neither -shrill and sudden whistling, deep chest and buzzing sounds, an octave -of piercing notes struck upon brass bells, my best imitation of -the whirring of the fern owl, or finally, the angry hum of a large -humble-bee imprisoned in a paper box, and held within three inches of -the door of the nest, appeared to produce any kind of effect. This -surprised me, I confess, for, though I am aware that no auditory -apparatus has as yet been discovered in spiders, I can scarcely -believe that they stand at so great a disadvantage as creatures would -seem to do which lack the power of hearing. - -These experiments must not, however, be taken for more than they are -worth; and the results obtained may have been due rather to apathy -in the individual spider than to a want of perception in the race -generally. In any case they suggest the need of further experiment -and observation in this direction. - -In October I carried this Californian spider out with me to Mentone, -and she lived there and appeared plump and well until the end of the -following month, when she suddenly died, having laid one more group -of eggs in the interval. On examination, I found a dark brown spot on -one side of the abdomen, and this, I think, probably indicates that -her death was caused by some insect of the ichneumon family, which -had laid its eggs within the spider's body, after having stabbed it -at the place indicated by the discolouration. - -Not very long before this melancholy event occurred, I had put the -spider to some inconvenience in order to secure her portrait from -life, to effect which I took her from her nest and placed her in a -deep china saucer. - -She exhibited the strongest dislike to exposure, and sought to hide -herself even under a fold of blotting-paper which lay in the saucer -with her. I also noted that she appeared quite incapable of walking -up the sides of the saucer, and it would therefore seem that she was -destitute of the viscid hairs which enable some spiders to traverse -glazed and polished surfaces. - -Seeing this anxiety on the part of the spider for concealment, it -came into my mind that, perhaps, if she were placed on the surface -of a pot full of garden mould she might excavate a tunnel in order -to hide herself from view. This I accordingly did in the evening of -November 15, and on the following morning I was delighted to find -that she had commenced to dig and was still at work. - -In little more than an hour's time the hollow had become about the -size of half a walnut, and resembled in its nearly semi-circular -outline and size the surface of the door of her own nest. I was -greatly pleased to be able to watch the creature at the work of -excavation, a sight which I believe no naturalist has ever had before. - -The legs took no part in the digging, and the palpi were but little -used, the mandibles and their fangs being the implements chiefly -employed. As soon as a little earth had been loosened and gathered -up, the spider walked up to the edge of her excavation and deposited -there her mouthful of particles of earth, separating and working the -mandibles up and down in the effort to part with the pellet, which -had been carried between the fangs and the mouth-organs. Each pellet -was very small, and the operation appeared to be excessively tedious -and laborious. I had expected to see the spider scrape out large -quantities of earth at a time, and either drag it backwards or kick -it out behind her as a terrier does when working at a rabbit-burrow; -but no, every little pellet removed was carried forwards, and -deposited separately on the "tip." - -On the two following days, the 17th and 18th November, the spider -remained almost inactive, and brooded over the cavity she had made, -and which still remained too shallow to conceal or even contain her. -At 4 P.M. on the latter day I made a hole for her in the earth, and, -after some indecision, she took possession of it. Next day, however, -finding that she remained motionless in the hole which I had made, -and displayed no apparent intention of either lining it with silk or -furnishing it with a door, I replaced her in her own nest. - -Within a few days after this date I found her dead at the bottom of -her tube, and at first I was inclined to fear that the treatment -to which she had lately been subjected might have caused her end. -When, however, I detected the brown spot on the side of the abdomen, -described above, and which so strongly recalled the marks frequently -observable in caterpillars attacked by ichneumons, I came to the -conclusion that she had really died from the internal injuries caused -by the gnawing of these cruel parasites; and that the eggs, laid long -before by one of these insects, had been hatched within her body -and developed into larvæ, which, living upon her tissues, had at -length destroyed some vital part. It is surprising that a creature, -carrying within itself such a fatal brood, should not only live, -but be capable of undergoing such adventures and misadventures as -this travelled spider endured with seeming indifference; but similar -facts are familiar to all those who have attended to the rearing of -caterpillars, and the frequent disappointment caused by the death of -apparently sound specimens which have been attacked in this way is -but too well known. - -It would appear that _Cteniza Californica_ is peculiarly amenable to -captivity, and indeed to captivity of the strictest kind. - -My specimen lived during all the time she was in my possession -in a cocoatina tin, a cylindrical box 4-1/2 in. deep and 2-3/4 -in. in diameter, which always stood among the books and papers on -my writing-table. It is probable that those trap-door spiders -which inhabit nests with short tubes, and which therefore can be -transported nest and all, would be less disconcerted by imprisonment -than is the case with other kinds living at the bottom of a long -burrow which it is almost impossible to carry away entire. This is -borne out by what has been related (_Ants and Spiders_, p. 122) of -the habits of _Cteniza ionica_ in captivity, which not only endured -to have its nest set upside down in a flower-pot, but actually -furnished the inverted base of the tube with a door appropriate to -its new position. - -Canon Tristram (the well-known author and naturalist) was so kind -as to send me two trap-door nests from Palestine for inspection; -these were small cork nests, the doors of which resembled those -of the Mentonese _Cteniza_ (_Ct. Moggridgii_), but the tubes were -exceedingly short, and that of the more perfect specimen, as I gather -from Canon Tristram, measured only two inches and an eighth in length -when entire. - -The nests of _Cteniza ionica_ are but little longer, and that of the -Mentonese _Cteniza_, though never so shallow as these, are far less -deep than those of _Nemesia cæmentaria_, the builder of the typical -cork nest. - -And now we will leave the nests of the cork type and their -inhabitants, and turn to the more intricate group of nests belonging -to the wafer type. Following the order indicated in the diagrams, we -will begin with the simplest type of all, fig. C, and afterwards take -the remaining types one after the other, advancing until we reach the -most complex type, G. The nest represented diagrammatically at fig. -C, in Plate XIV., is shown of the natural size in Plate XVI., with -the spider (_Nemesia Simoni_, Camb.) which constructs it (fig. A 1). - -[Illustration: _Plate XVI._] - -It belongs to the single-door unbranched wafer type, of which one -example has already been described in the West Indian nest (see _Ants -and Spiders_, p. 79, fig. B in woodcut); for, though this latter has -a shorter tube and a much stouter silk lining than is the case with -its European representative, there does not appear to be sufficient -difference to justify their separation as distinct types. - -This, which is the simplest known form of trap-door nest, is quite -new to Europe, and the spider inhabiting it proves also to be one -hitherto undescribed; it has received from Mr. Pickard-Cambridge, -the name of _Nemesia Simoni_,[138] being so called in honour of M. E. -Simon, the well-known arachnologist. - -[Footnote 138: Mr. Pickard-Cambridge describes _N. Simoni_ at p. 297 -below. This species is remarkably well characterized, an assertion -rarely to be made in the case of those _Nemesias_ of which, as in the -present instance, the female only is known. The elevated, rounded, -and glabrous caput at once distinguishes it, not to speak of other -peculiarities. Mr. Pickard-Cambridge alludes to the presence, in the -specimens forwarded to him in spirits, of two singular indentations -on either side of the caput (fig. A 3, Plate XVI.). I did not observe -this when these spiders were alive, but I remember that the caput of -one of these spiders which had been injured in capture contracted and -expanded spasmodically, presenting a painful resemblance to laboured -breathing. I have not observed this in other spiders.] - -During last May (1874) we spent a few days at Bordeaux on our -homeward route. While there my sister was fortunate enough to -discover a single nest of this type when we were out together on a -spider-hunt near the little village of Lormont, which is situated on -the opposite bank of the river to that on which the city stands. We -subsequently found these nests in tolerable abundance in a deep shady -lane near a restaurant called Mon Répos, on the same side of the -river, but rather farther up. - -Here the hedge banks were high, and the soil was composed of a fine -even-grained loam of great depth, which permitted the spiders to -carry their tubes very far down, some of them attaining a length of -15 inches. - -This made it very difficult to follow them throughout their whole -course and so to assure oneself of the real structure of the nests, -but I succeeded in doing this in twelve instances. - -In every one of these I found the tube cylindrical and unbranched -throughout, and destitute of any trace of a lower door. - -This deficiency alone distinguishes the present type from that to -which the nest of _Nemesia Eleanora_ belongs; the latter being of the -_double-door_ and the former of the _single-door, unbranched wafer -type_. - -But perhaps it may be asked whether it is safe to assume that because -twelve examples of this nest were found to correspond in structure, -and were tenanted by the same occupant, that therefore all the -Bordeaux nests in which this particular spider might be found would -present similar peculiarities. - -I greatly hope that other naturalists will put this question to the -test of actual investigation on the spot, but I do not hesitate to -assert my conviction that this will prove to be the case. - -The result of my experience among the nests of the other _Nemesias_, -scores of which I have carefully examined in many widely separated -localities, shows that a given spider is invariably associated with -a fixed type of nest. - -Thus, Cannes is from fifty to sixty miles distant from San Remo, but -the nests of _N. cæmentaria_, _N. Manderstjernæ_, and _N. Eleanora_ -show precisely the same characteristics in either place. - -Moreover, the twelve nests referred to were not all taken from one -restricted locality at Bordeaux, but were found presenting the same -characteristics and occupied by the same spider in three distinct -habitats, distant some miles from one another. In two nests several -young spiders were found with the mother, and, in one case where the -family consisted of twenty-three young ones, I observed that they -were not all equally small, and some had nearly attained one-third of -their full size. - -This agreed with the fact that no very small nests were observed, and -it seems probable that the young are not turned out of their nursery -quite so early as some of their relations are at Mentone. This, -however, varies perhaps in accordance with changes of climate and -local conditions. - -We failed to detect any other type of nest at Bordeaux than the one -described above: and even the cork nests, which we had shortly before -seen in such abundance at Montpellier, were apparently absent. - -Bordeaux is by far the north-westernmost point in Europe[139] at -which any spider constructing a true trap-door nest has as yet been -discovered; and the fact that they exist in a climate so different -from that of the Riviera and of the whole Mediterranean region, -leads me to hope that their range may in reality be much more widely -extended than has hitherto been supposed to be the case. - -[Footnote 139: Cork nests have however been mentioned as occurring in -the neighbourhood of Lyons, which lies in nearly the same parallel of -latitude with Bordeaux.] - -A glance at the vegetation of this district will suffice to show how -little there is that betokens either a warm or dry winter climate; -for here the myrtles, oranges and olives are left far behind, and in -their place we see tall hedgerow elms, and poplars bearing mistletoe -on their branches. - -Here therefore we are met by the question, How do these Bordeaux -spiders contrive to live under conditions so different from those to -which their relations on the Riviera have adapted themselves? How do -they bear the cold and damp of the long winter, and how is it that -one frail upper door suffices to protect their nest from molestation? - -The thick coating of dead leaves, which covered the banks even when -we found them, no doubt aids largely in their concealment, and the -colder climate probably diminishes the number of their enemies, but -their means of subsistence are most likely also less abundant and -their period of active life shorter. - -The next type we have to consider is a totally new one, and may be -distinguished as the _single-door branched wafer nest_. I detected -this nest at Montpellier but a few days before the visit to Bordeaux -alluded to above. - -Circumstances unfortunately prevented me from following up my -discovery as closely as I could have wished, and it appears moreover -that this nest is far less common at Montpellier than the typical -cork nest (_Nemesia cæmentaria_). - -[Illustration: _Plate XVII._] - -I hope therefore that other naturalists will make further -investigations, and especially that they will endeavour to secure the -male. - -I obtained twelve spiders and thoroughly followed the course of -ten nests; I opened thirteen more nests, but failed to trace their -structure satisfactorily. - -The upper part of this nest is shown of the natural size in Plate -XVII. with the spider (_Nemesia suffusa_, Camb.[140]) which constructs -it. This is again a wafer nest without any lower door, and this -absence of a lower door alone distinguishes it as a type from the -branched nest represented at F in the diagram, just as the same -deficiency separated the Bordeaux type from that at fig. E. - -[Footnote 140: We have again in this instance an exemplification of -the rule that a new type of nest indicates the presence of a new -spider, and hitherto, this rule has proved without exception. Mr. -Pickard-Cambridge's description of _N. suffusa_ will be found at -p. 295, below. Its slender proportions, cylindrico-ovate abdomen, -marked with narrow linear chevrons, and caput without, or almost -without, any median line or marking, form some of its more striking -characteristics.] - -In this new single-door branched type, the branch makes a more or -less acute angle with the main tube, and reaches the surface of the -ground, but is there closed by a layer of particles of earth slightly -bound together with silk, forming an immovable cover or thatch. This -cover constitutes, however, but a slight obstruction and could easily -be torn away by the spider if she needed to use this passage as a way -of escape. - -These nests were tolerably plentiful at a place called Les Mourines, -a short distance from Montpellier, where they were mixed with cork -nests in the steep hedge banks. The nests were from 8 to 10 inches -deep, and, as in all the trap-door nests which I have examined, were -tenanted by the female alone. It seems strange that this spider, -building as she does a nest apparently but poorly furnished either -for concealment or defence, should be able to enter into competition -with _N. cæmentaria_, whose solid, closely-fitting door appears so -perfectly contrived for both. It will probably be found, however, -when we are better acquainted with their respective ways of life, -that they are really more nearly on a footing than they seem to be -at first sight. I detected the remains of ants and the elytra of a -beetle in one of these branched single-door nests. Now these may also -be found in cork nests, so that _Nemesia suffusa_ evidently competes -with _cæmentaria_ for its food, and this is of course the main cause -of contention between all living creatures. - -It is possible, that, if we knew all the uses to which the branch -is put by the spider which constructs it, we should find that the -advantages derived in the way of security from the existence of this -second passage, counterbalance those possessed by the cork nest, -which, though so perfectly closed, has only the one tube, and no -other possible way of escape. - -It may perhaps be no more than a coincidence, but we can scarcely -avoid commenting upon the fact, that, just as this Montpellier wafer -nest is simpler in construction than any found along the Riviera, so -in like manner is the Bordeaux nest simpler than that of Montpellier. -It thus becomes tempting to ask whether, in the case of these wafer -nests, we shall not discover that the colder and damper climates are -the homes of the builders of the simpler types, while the warmer and -drier ones, where more food, more enemies and more competitors are -found, are reserved for the architects of the more complicated nests. - -Doubtless naturalists will soon discover wafer nests on the slopes -of the Pyrenees, as for example at Pau and other winter stations in -South-western France; and perhaps the coast of the Bay of Biscay may -also yield specimens, even to the north of Bordeaux. If so, this -curious speculation as to whether there is any relation between -simplicity of structure and warmth of climate, will be put on its -trial. - -About the very time when I was engaged in digging out these new wafer -nests at Montpellier, the celebrated arachnologist, Dr. L. Koch of -Nuremberg, had just published[141] an account and figure of a very -remarkable nest which he had received from Australia, and which, -though differing both in form and proportions from the Montpellier -nest, may nevertheless perhaps be referred to the present single-door -branched wafer type. - -[Footnote 141: Dr. L. Koch, _Arachniden Australiens_, 10te. Lieferuug, -Nurnberg, 1874, tab. xxxvii. fig. 3, p. 484.] - -This Australian nest, the exact habitat of which is not mentioned, is -constructed by a spider now described for the first time under the -name of _Idioctis helva_. The nest has a wafer-door about the size -of a sixpence, closing a vertical tube less than half an inch long, -which meets and opens into a horizontal tube about three inches in -length, and forms with it what may be roughly likened to the figure -of a capital T inverted, thus, ┹. - -The upstroke of the T is however, very short, and one of the arms is -longer than the other, and curved downwards at its extremity. This -is, as far as I know, the first recorded example of a wafer-nest from -the Antipodes, and it may be regarded as one of the first fruits of -a harvest which lies ready for the reaping of any naturalist resident -in those parts. Hitherto the only nests which I have seen or heard of -from Australia were of the cork type (_Ants and Spiders_, p. 132). - -Next in order to the single-door branched wafer comes the -_double-door unbranched wafer_ type, which is the simplest of all -the nests possessing two doors. This habitation, the work of _N. -Eleanora_, has been already described (_Ants and Spiders_, p. 106), -and I have not much to add to the account there given. - -Perhaps some of my readers may remember that, while I was actually -engaged on the proofs of _Ants and Spiders_ I had one of these -_Eleanora_ spiders in captivity, and that I gave an account (p. 148) -of her behaviour up to the latest moment possible. She had been -captured on October 23, 1872, and placed, together with five young -ones found with her in the nest, on the surface of some earth in -a medium-sized flower-pot covered over with gauze. The young ones -soon made nests for themselves in the earth, each furnished with its -little door, but the mother roamed about on the surface of the soil, -and it was not until she had been twenty-one days in captivity that -she commenced spinning a silk cell. - -This cell in twelve days' time presented the form of a rude figure -of 8, and had an aperture at either end; it was just large enough to -contain the spider when the legs were extended; its upper surface -was attached to the gauze covering of the pot, and its lower to the -earth. It was at this stage that the record was broken off, and I -will now relate the remainder of the history. - -Four days before the cell was commenced, the spider had covered -the under surface of the gauze with a semi-transparent film of a -substance resembling varnish, which formed a band about three inches -long by half an inch wide, close to where the rim of the flower-pot -threw the most shade. It was at one extremity of this band that the -silk-cell was formed, but it is important to note that this band of -varnish was longer than the cell, which only measured an inch and a -quarter from end to end, for we shall see that the layer of varnish -was apparently laid with a view to further operations. - -In four days after the completion of the cell its form was modified, -and, during the next ten days (up to December 21st), the spider -gradually thickened the walls, and made the form of the cell more and -more cylindrical, sometimes closing and at other times opening the -extremities. - -Between December 14th and 25th, she lengthened out the cell by -spinning a cylindrical silk tube in prolongation of one end, and this -tube followed the course of the band of varnish, the whole measuring -three-and-a-half inches in length by about half an inch in diameter. - -It would appear therefore from the correspondence in length between -the band of varnish and this silk tube, that she had contemplated -the construction of the latter when she first commenced her work on -November 3rd. - -On January 19th the silk tube parted from the gauze, leaving only -the enlarged end which formed the cell still adhering to it. On the -following day I observed the very curious fact that when I sprinkled -the nest with water, as it was my custom to do every morning, the -tube, which had become somewhat flaccid since it had lost its -attachment to the gauze, gradually recovered its perfect shape. This -was repeated for eleven days, until on the morning of the twelfth -day (January 31st), finding the tube completely collapsed, instead -of merely sprinkling water over it, I drew a large camel-hair brush -loaded with water along its whole length, when the tube started up, -and almost instantaneously regained its cylindrical form. - -This morning the spider had left her cell, and was roaming about -the pot when I wetted the tube, thus proving that she was in no way -concerned with its movements, which were no doubt due to hygrometric -action. - -Between this time and February 25th, I constantly restored the tube -to its shape by wetting it in the way above described, but on this -day it remained very flaccid, and only expanded partially. For some -days previous to this date, the spider had left the tube when it -collapsed, and only returned to it again when it had resumed its -shape. On the following day I found the entire silk tube and the cell -again collapsed and lying flat upon the ground, and this time water -failed to produce its previous effect. - -The spider then became very restless and excited, and I observed -that the door of one of the little nests constructed by one of her -five offspring which had been imprisoned in the same pot with her, -had been torn off, and thrown on one side, and there could be little -doubt but that the mother had been guilty of this very un-maternal -action. By the evening she had pulled up her collapsed tube from -its attachment to the earth, and had coiled it in a confused heap. -Seeing this, and fearing that, in her distress and excitement, she -might do further damage to the young spiders, which had up to that -time thriven well, I made a cylindrical hole for her in the earth, -supposing that she would at once take possession of it. On the -following morning, however, the mother spider had advanced some way -in building another figure-of-8 cell, rising the shrivelled silk of -her previous dwelling as a foundation. - -In twenty-four hours this second cell was complete, and closely -resembled the former one, save that the smaller end of the 8 was -turned in the opposite direction, but, on examining it, I found to my -surprise that it was empty! The spider had taken possession of the -hole I had made for her, which she had at first refused to notice, -and was busily employed in lining it with silk and furnishing it with -a covering composed of silk with earth and fragments of moss woven -into the surface. By mid-day the aperture was completely closed, but -there was no moveable door. From this time (February 28) up to April -12, the spider lived in this hole, which she eventually furnished -with a distinct wafer-door, and, as I found on opening the nest, with -a typical lower door also. This latter was not neatly made, but still -it possessed all features the essential which characterize these -lower doors in the nests of _N. Eleanora_. - -So this captive _Nemesia Eleanora_ lived in a flower-pot in my -bedroom for more than five months and a half, during which time she -absolutely refused to burrow or to attempt any kind of excavation, -but passed the greater part of that period on the surface of the -earth in a silk tube ending in an oblong enlargement, utterly unlike -her normal habitation. Finally, when I had done the digging for her, -she furnished the cylindrical hole I had bored in the earth with a -silk lining, and made it secure with her own two typical doors. - -The figure-of-8 cell which she constructed at first, and subsequently -modified until it became the oblong enlargement of the tube alluded -to above, was totally unlike any form of trap-door spider's nest -known to me; but in its ultimate shape (which resembled that of the -glass part of a thermometer with an oblong bulb, save that it was -curved and not straight), I think we may trace some resemblance -to the silk tube which is made by _Atypus_, and of which a figure -is given at A, Plate XIII., p. 183; the mouth of the tube made -by my captive was, however, open. It is curious, also, when we -recall this resemblance, to note that Mr. Brown has recorded, in -his observations alluded to above (p. 185), that the tube of one -of the nests of _Atypus_, which he brought home in a collapsed -state, showed a somewhat similar tendency to become distended. For, -on opening the box in which they had been carried, he perceived a -movement throughout the tube as if it were becoming inflated, and -though this inflation appeared to subside shortly after, yet the -following morning the tube had recovered its cylindrical shape. I -am tempted to believe, though this is mere conjecture, that the box -in which these tubes were put contained moisture, and that their -apparent inflation was due to the same hygrometric action which, was -displayed in the tube of _N. Eleanora_. I regretted that I was unable -to continue my observations on this captive spider, as it would have -been interesting to know how long she would have lived contentedly -and in good health under the conditions described above, but I left -Mentone at the end of April, and was unable to take her alive with me -to England. When removed from her nest in the pot on April 12, she -appeared in perfect condition, and I placed her in a hole which I -made for her among some stones in a garden at the back of the house, -hoping to find her again on my return to Mentone in the autumn; this -hope was, however, not destined to be realized. - -I shall, however, have occasion to speak again of the young captives -of this species (_N. Eleanora_), in the concluding remarks which will -follow these detailed accounts of the nests and their occupants, when -the behaviour of captive trap-door spiders generally will be treated -of. - -The next type of trap-door nest is one to which I have found it -difficult to assign a descriptive name, and I am compelled for the -present to speak of it as the _Hyères double-door branched wafer_ -nest. - -One of its most distinctive features is found in the shape of the -lower door, fig. F 1, Plate XIV., and figs. A 1, A 2, Plate XVIII., -which may be said to be double, presenting two crowns, one of which -fits into the main tube and the other into the branch, but I could -not see my way to employing this character in naming the type. -The nest is, however, quite distinct from all the others, and is -inhabited by a new species of trap-door spider (_N. congener_, -Camb.[142]). The characteristic portions of this nest are shown -in Plate XVIII., and fig. A 3, in the same Plate, represents its -occupant. - -[Footnote 142: Mr. Pickard-Cambridge's description will be found at -p. 292, below. In its characters this female spider (the male is -unknown) most nearly resembles _N. cæmentaria_, but differs, among -other points, in markings and in having one or more spines on the -genual joint of leg, these spines being almost always absent in the -same joint in _cæmentaria_. The nests of the two species are totally -unlike.] - -The hedge-banks near Hyères, and also about the railway station -of the same name, which is some 4 miles from the town itself, are -frequently tenanted by this spider. During a short stay there in -May, 1873, I secured a large number of specimens, and verified the -structure of the nest by a careful examination of thirty-eight -examples. The nest is invariably branched and furnished with a lower -door, but the branch is of variable length, usually short, and never, -as far as I could detect, quite reaches the surface. In some cases -this branch was so short that it could scarcely contain the spider, -and, under these circumstances, it is not easy to conceive any other -use for it than that of retaining the lower door when not in use. It -may, however, enable the spider to take up a rather better position -when engaged, as she frequently is if disturbed, in keeping the main -tube closed by pressing the lower door upwards with her feet, for -then her head points downwards, and her abdomen rests in the branch. - -[Illustration: _Plate XVIII._] - -I have seen her in this attitude on several occasions when I had cut -out a block of earth similar to that figured in the plate. The lower -door is quite unlike that of either of the other two double-door -wafer nests, being wedge-shaped, tapering from below upwards to -the hinge, which is always placed at the point of bifurcation of -the tubes, and having two crowns separated from each other by the -gusset-like web of silk which connects the door on either side with -the lining of the main tube, one of these crowns fitting into and -closing the main tube, while the other fits into the aperture of the -branch. - -The wedge-shaped structure of the door is seen in its most -exaggerated form in the nests of the younger spiders (figs. B, -B 1, Plate XVIII.), and becomes less so in the older and larger -ones (figs. A 1, A 2). I have even seen some of these lower doors, -evidently made by old spiders, which were so much flattened as to -bear a considerable resemblance to that of _N. Eleanora_. - -The main tube of the nest is from 10 to 12 inches long, and usually -enters the earth almost horizontally, bending downwards from the -point at which the branch joins it, and where the lower door is -hung. This causes the lower door to lie nearly horizontally when not -in use, and its lower crown probably serves, by fitting into the -aperture of the branch, to sustain it in this position and prevent it -from falling forward. The point of bifurcation is placed, as a rule, -much nearer to the entrance of the nest, than it is in the two other -branched nests, and occurs usually within two inches of the surface -of the earth; so close is it indeed that, on lifting the upper door -and looking in, one may frequently see the lower door move across -and close the passage down the main tube, pushed by the spider from -below. This frequently enabled me to secure the spider without having -to follow her to the bottom of the nest; and, when fortune favoured -me, I secured a block of earth by one rapid sweep of the knife (a -common table-knife), which furnished me at once with a good specimen -of the nest and of its occupant. - -When the spider has once fairly determined upon resistance, it is -scarcely possible to make her retreat without destroying the nest, -and, in one case, when I tried to push the lower door down from -above, while she was pressing it upwards from below, I found that, -without crushing my opponent, I could not succeed. - -There were probably young in the nest on this occasion, for I have -frequently found them in the nests with the mother at this season. In -no case did I even catch a glimpse of the male, and this sex is at -present unknown. - -The young spiders make their nests at an early age, and there can -be no doubt that _N. congener_ enlarges its dwelling from time to -time as growth demands, just as the trap-door spiders at Mentone -do. Indeed in one of these new Hyères nests I found, outside the -main tube and some way above the existing lower door, a former -and disused lower door much smaller than the one then in use, and -which had evidently belonged to the nest at a previous stage of its -development. I have observed this before in the nests both of _N. -Manderstjernæ_ and _N. Eleanora_. - -This new type is strictly intermediate between the double-door -unbranched wafer nest constructed by _N. Eleanora_, and the -double-door branched wafer with the descending cavity which I am now -about to describe. - -This latter nest, the work of _N. Manderstjernæ_, Auss.[143] -(formerly called _N. meridionalis_), has already been partially -made known by the figures and description given of it in _Ants and -Spiders_ (Plates IX., X., and XI., pp. 98, 100, and 104); but I have -to confess, with great regret, that when these illustrations and -descriptions were published, I was not fully acquainted with the true -structure of this nest, having overlooked the existence of a short -descending cavity which leaves the main tube a little above and on -the opposite side to the ascending branch. This cavity is always -present, but the very largest and oldest spiders usually allow it to -become filled up with remains of food and particles of earth, and -sometimes even spin silk across its entrance, in which case it can -only be traced on very close examination. - -[Footnote 143: This spider was described by Mr. Pickard-Cambridge at -p. 101 in _Ants and Spiders_, under the name of _N. meridionalis_, -Costa. This name has now to be abandoned for reasons given in full -by Mr. Cambridge at p. 283, below. It would appear that a spider -discovered by M. Simon in Corsica corresponds more closely with the -_N. meridionalis_ of Costa than our spider of the Riviera does. -Moreover, since _Ants and Spiders_ was written I have had the good -fortune to obtain at Mentone four male examples of our supposed -_meridionalis_, and these prove to possess the same characters as -those assigned by Prof. Ausserer to a male spider which was captured -at Nice, and named by him _N. Manderstjernæ_. This specimen is now -in the possession of Dr. L. Koch, to whom I am much indebted for -having kindly entrusted it to me for examination. This enabled Mr. -Pickard-Cambridge to assure himself of the specific identity of his -_N. meridionalis_ with _N. Manderstjernæ_, which latter name it must -for the future bear.] - -It was from an old nest such as this, in which the descending cavity -had been closed up, that the large drawing at fig. A on Plate IX. -of _Ants and Spiders_ was made, and this figure, therefore, still -remains substantially correct. - -But in the case of the other illustrations--namely, fig. B, Plate -IX., fig. A, Plate X., and figs. B and B 1, Plate XI., where nests of -young spiders, or of spiders which, though adult, have not attained -the maximum size, are represented, this descending cavity, though -overlooked by me, should have been shown, for it must certainly have -existed. - -Its presence was first observed by the Honourable L. G. Dillon, who -detected it when tracing the course of the main tube upwards from -below. I had always followed the tube from above downwards, and in -so doing must have unwittingly filled up the descending cavity (the -existence of which I was far from suspecting) with detached particles -of earth. - -I will own that, when Mr. Dillon first showed me this new feature, I -hoped that it might prove to be something accidental and exceptional; -and it was only after careful examination of a large series of nests -of all sizes, that I gradually and almost unwillingly admitted that -this descending cavity formed an important feature in the typical -structure of the nests. - -I now see, however, that the presence of this cavity adds -considerably to the interest of the structure as a whole, and places -its architect quite at the head of all the builders of trap-door -nests. This type should now be called, for the sake of distinction, -the _double-door, branched, cavity, wafer_ nest, to avoid confusion -with the _Hyères branched nest_. - -I am now about to endeavour to atone for my past oversight by giving -new illustrations (Plate XIX., figs. A and B) and descriptions of -this very remarkable nest; while I would at the same time beg the -indulgence of my readers for past and present shortcomings, reminding -them that the interest which attaches to structures of this kind is -proportioned to the complexity and subtlety of their contrivance, -and, therefore, to the difficulty we experience in properly -understanding and describing them. - -[Illustration: _Plate XIX._] - -It will be seen by a reference to Plate XIX.,[144] figs. A and A 1, -that in addition to the cylindrical branch, which mounts upwards, -there is a shorter branch which leaves the main tube on the opposite -side (on the left as seen in the Plate), and takes a downward course. -Now this descending branch, which is barely more than an inch in -length, is a cavity of variable form, being sometimes cylindrical, -and sometimes egg- or even watch-shaped,[145] but there is one -particular in which it never varies, and that is the position of its -elliptic orifice. This orifice is always situated on the opposite -side of the main tube to that on which the ascending branch leaves -this latter, so that the whole nest, when seen in section, presents -the figure of a St. Andrew's cross, only with arms of unequal length. - -[Footnote 144: A nest of a scarcely half-grown spider is here -represented in order that sufficient space might be gained to show -the lower door in its two positions. The perfect cavity is still -found in nests of much larger dimensions, and occasionally, indeed, -in nests of almost the maximum size.] - -[Footnote 145: I take the liberty of coining a word to replace -"lenticular," the form of a watch being more familiar than that of a -lens.] - -But the most remarkable point is that, when the lower door is pushed -across so as to close the main tube (as shown in fig. A, Plate XIX.), -it will invariably be found to lie in such a position that its -lower extremity exactly meets the lower lip of the orifice of the -descending cavity, when it will be seen that the semi-cylindrical -surface of the lower door then coincides with, and appears to -continue and form part of, the lower wall of the descending cavity -on the one side, and of the corresponding wall of the main tube on -the other. When the upper portion of the main tube is thus united -to the cavity the two combine to form what appears like a short, -independent unbranched nest. - -Now, if we fancy ourselves an insect entering the nest in search -either of the spider, her eggs, or young, I think it is plain that, -when the lower door is in this position (fig. A), we should probably -walk straight down to the bottom of the cavity, expecting to find our -prey there, and should then return by the way we came, impressed with -the belief that we had explored the whole nest, the secret of the -lower door remaining undiscovered. - -Whether this imaginary case may, or may not, represent what really -takes place, is of course mere conjecture; but the constant -occurrence of this beautiful adaptation of the various parts to -one another, surely points to the conclusion that this is no mere -coincidence, but rather a subtle contrivance having some very -definite use and meaning. - -We must admit, however, that it is difficult to conceive why, if this -structure is of such great utility, it should be abandoned by the -oldest and largest spiders. - -Among the possible answers to this question I think that one of -the more probable is that this arrangement may have been specially -devised for protection against some enemy which the aged spiders have -ceased to fear. - -Indeed it is not unlikely that these aged spiders may have come to a -time of life when they no longer lay eggs, and so do not need to keep -up all the defences which they employed when they had families to -protect. - -Since my attention was drawn to the existence of this cavity in the -dwellings of _N. Manderstjernæ_ I have never noted the presence of -young in those nests in which the cavity was filled up and disused; -but then I have only exact records with reference to this point in -the case of seven nests. - -In these seven nests, however, there was no free cavity, and there -were no young spiders, though it was at the season when it was common -to find young in the nests. - -The question, therefore, remains open, and further observations -on this head would be very acceptable. I detected the _débris_ of -insects, and especially the horny coats of ants, in the descending -cavity, in many nests; and in some of the oldest, where it had become -completely blocked up, these remains still indicated its former -outlines and position. - -The nests of _N. Manderstjernæ_ at Cannes correspond both in respect -of the cavity and of their other characteristics with those at -Mentone. _N. Manderstjernæ_ occurs pretty abundantly at San Remo in -the olive-grounds east of the Sanctuary, but I can say nothing as -to whether the nests there possessed the cavity or not, for, when -I was there, I was not aware of its existence. I obtained a single -example of _N. Manderstjernæ_ and its nest at Hyères, and this is the -westernmost point at which this species has as yet been detected. - -We have now passed in review all the seven known types of true -trap-door nest, and have taken note also of the lower and more -rudimentary forms of nest, such as that of _Atypus_, and the funnel -nest of _Cyrtauchenius elongatus_, neither of which is furnished with -a door. - -Among the true trap-door nests, those of the cork type stand in a -measure alone, being distinguished from all the others by their solid -surface doors, composed of many layers of silk and earth; and we do -not at present know of any intermediate forms linking the cork and -wafer types together. But among the various nests which represent the -wafer type the case is different, for here the types naturally fall -into a progressive series, such as that represented in the diagrams -(Pl. XIV., p. 193). - -If we try to picture to ourselves the stages through which the most -complicated wafer nest--namely, that of the _double-door, branched, -cavity_ type (Diagram G 1) may have passed in the course of its -development from a simpler ancestral form, we should _à priori_ -expect to find precisely such structures as the _Hyères double-door -branched_ nest (Diagram F), and the _single-door branched_ nest -(Diagram D) forming successive halting-places in the advance from the -primitive _single-door, unbranched_ nest (Diagram C). - -The _double-door unbranched_ type may in like manner find its -prototype in the same original single-door unbranched nest (C), which -we may look upon as the parent idea, from which all these structures -have been derived. - -Bearing this in mind, and remembering that kinship between living -creatures is not only revealed to us by likeness in structure and -colour, but also by similarity in habits and instincts, it becomes -of interest to trace any resemblance that may exist between these -wafer-nests and the dwellings constructed by _Lycosa narbonensis_, -a species belonging to the allied family of _Lycosidæ_, and which -closely resembles the true _tarantula_[146] of Southern Italy. - -[Footnote 146: In the United States, and indeed in the New World -generally, it seems to be the custom to call all the larger "ground -spiders," and especially the trap-door spiders, Tarantulas, but -these, in fact, form a distinct group by themselves, belonging to the -family _Lycosidæ_.] - -I first made the acquaintance of _Lycosa narbonensis_ near the -glass-works west of Cannes, where this spider may not rarely be found -living in tubular burrows in sandy clearings among the pine woods -along the shore (_Pinus pinea_, the stone pine). - -I have already (_Ants and Spiders_, p. 146), alluded to an account -given by M. Léon Dufour of his observations on the nest and habits of -the true tarantula (_Lycosa tarentula_), which he discovered in Spain. - -The nests of _L. narbonensis_ at Cannes resembled those described by -M. Dufour, but the cylindrical, subterranean burrows were apparently -shorter. It was extremely difficult to trace their course, on account -of the loose sand which poured into the tubes and choked them up, and -I only succeeded in doing so completely in one case, when I stuffed -the tube with cotton-wool before proceeding to dig. Here the open -tube, which was quite simple, and about 1 inch in diameter, descended -vertically for 3-1/4 inches, and was then suddenly bent so as to -become horizontal, terminating shortly afterwards in a triangular -chamber, the floor of which measured 2 inches across at the widest -part, and was strewed with the remains of beetles and other insects. - -The nest was lined throughout with coarse silk, which had a blackish -hue, owing to the presence of the filaments of what I believe to have -been some undeveloped fungoid growth. The mouth of the tube was open, -and frequently surmounted by a short tubular prolongation, commencing -at the surface of the ground, which formed a sort of chimney about an -inch high and from an inch to an inch and a quarter across; this was -composed of fibres of plants, pine-needles, and especially of a large -branching lichen, very common in the neighbourhood of the nests, and -all these materials were woven together and kept in place by a few -threads of silk spun here and there. - -It was not every nest that was furnished with a chimney, nor were -all the chimneys equally complete, for in some cases they consisted -merely of a small rim or one-sided lip, while in others they -resembled little birds' nests, and were sufficiently firm and compact -to permit of my carrying them away. It appeared to me that these -chimneys served as screens to prevent the loose sand from being swept -into the burrows by the winds which rage over that open seashore -plain, and that they were more or less complete in proportion as -the exposure was greater or less, and the sand looser or more bound -together. - -I captured eight of these spiders, and here, as in the trap-door -group, the female alone inhabited the nest. - -Besides this habit, they have other points in common with trap-door -spiders; such, for example, as the resemblance which exists between -this nest and that of _Theraphosa Blondii_ from Brazil (see p. 188, -above), and between the chimney of this Tarantula and the aërial -prolongation of the tube sometimes found in nests of the wafer type. - -But perhaps the most suggestive point of resemblance consists in -the habit which this Tarantula possesses of covering and closing -the aperture of the nest during the winter with a thin layer of -materials, similar to those of which the chimney is composed, -and, like them, bound together with silk. This is, in fact, an -immovable wafer-door, and precisely resembles those which I have -seen constructed by _Nemesia Manderstjernæ_, and _N. Eleanora_, when -captive and placed in an artificial hole in the earth. - -The tubes are, as has been already stated, open during the spring, -and we may suppose that the spider, on the approach of warm weather, -wakes up from her winter lethargy, and tears away this concealing -thatch. But if one of these spiders should by chance happen to free -this silk-woven thatch by cutting round some three-fourths of its -circumference, so as to leave it still attached to the rim of the -aperture of the nest by the remaining quarter, she would then have -made for herself a veritable, though rather rude trap-door of the -wafer kind. - -It is most likely, however, that the spider knows what she is about -and that a door to her dwelling would be the reverse of an advantage -to her, for she is more powerful and swifter than the generality of -European trap-door spiders, and, as she probably lives by leaping out -upon and hunting her prey, she no doubt needs to have the entrance to -her nest free of all encumbrance. - -I am indebted to the Rev. W. G. Brackenridge for evidence of the very -interesting fact that _Lycosa narbonensis_ closes her nest at Cannes -in the winter. - -I was aware that Latreille stated that the Tarantula possessed this -habit,[147] and I was anxious to know whether the species which I had -detected at Cannes, inhabiting as it did open nests in the month of -May, would also exhibit this curious custom. Being unable to visit -Cannes myself during the winter, I applied to Mr. Brackenridge, -who, on the 28th of January last (1874), secured a very perfect -specimen of the aërial portion or chimney of one of the nests having -the orifice closed in the way above described, and most kindly -transmitted it to me. - -[Footnote 147: P. A. Latreille, Mem. Soc. Hist. Nat., Paris (an. VII. -de la République), p. 124: "L'araignée _tarentule_ ferme aussi son -habitation, mais cet opercule n'est pas mobile, et n'est construit -que pour l'hiver."] - -I have, on a very few occasions, found the doors of a wafer or cork -nest spun up during the winter at Mentone, and on digging have -discovered the spider alive, though partially torpid, inside; but -this is quite an exceptional event. I should much like to know, -however, whether this becomes the rule in the case of the nests of -those trap-door spiders which inhabit climates less favoured than -that of Mentone. - -In my concluding remarks in _Ants and Spiders_ I called attention to -the importance which attaches to a knowledge of the food and manner -of feeding of any creature whose life-history we may wish to study, -and I would now once more press the subject on the attention of my -readers. For the range and distribution of a species largely depends -upon the nature of its food, and this will also be an indication -of the rivals with which it has to compete in the struggle for -existence; the times and seasons of its activity, and in many cases -even the structure and position of its dwelling-place will be -governed by this same all-important question of food-supply. - -I have now detected the remains of insects, and of ants especially, -in the nest of every species of trap-door spider which I have -examined _in situ_; very frequently, however, one may open several -nests in succession without finding any of these _débris_, and at -other times they will only be detected beneath the existing bottom of -the tube, layers of silk having been spun over successive layers of -refuse. - -The horny coats of ants form by very far the largest proportion of -these remains, and I have lately been much struck by the number of -instances in which, while digging out ants' nests at Mentone, I -have found trap-door nests (especially those of _N. Manderstjernæ_ -and _N. Moggridgii_) in their midst, the tubes often traversing the -very heart of the ants' colony and coming into close contact with -the galleries and chambers of the ants. The doors in these instances -had almost always escaped my notice, and, indeed, they so closely -resembled the surface of the ground that even when I knew, from -having accidentally cut across the tube below ground, that one of -these doors must lie near a given spot, yet I could only discover it -by following the passage from below upwards. This perfect concealment -is doubtless of essential importance to the spiders' success in life, -for, if they once alarmed the whole colony of ants and let them know -the exact whereabouts of their lurking-place, they would soon learn -to avoid it. - -But, as it is, the work of opening the door, snatching in an ant, and -closing it again, is but the affair of a second or two, and before -the companions of the victim have time to realize the nature of the -phenomenon, the gaping earth has closed again and become once more, -to all appearance, part of the solid and trustworthy ground. - -I have seen _N. Manderstjernæ_ snatch at insects in this way during -the daytime, and I well remember how I started on one occasion when, -as I was looking fixedly at a small blue gnat which I had taken for a -moth, I saw the earth suddenly open and one of these spiders partly -emerge, make a swift stroke at the insect, and withdraw again as -swiftly. - -I have found the remains of ants, of beetles of many species -and different sizes, of wood-lice (_Oniscus_), and of earwigs -(_Forficula_) in the nests of _N. Eleanora_ and _N. Manderstjernæ_, -and the wings of a large green field-bug in the nest of the former. -I have only once detected traces of food in the dwellings of -_Cteniza Moggridgii_, and these consisted of minute fragments of the -integuments of insects, none of which were certainly recognisable, -though I believe that they partly consisted of the coats of a small -species of ant. The rarity or complete absence of the wings of -insects which habitually fly rather than crawl on the ground, and -my inability to discover either snares or any evidence that these -spiders ever leave the nest, lead me to believe that they live (at -any rate from October to May) by dragging into their nests any -insects which approach within reach. - -Ants, earwigs, beetles, and wood-lice are precisely the very -creatures which would fall a prey to the spider without obliging her -to leave her nest, and it is accordingly their remains that we find. - -On one occasion, however, at Montpellier, my sister detected _N. -cæmentaria_ in the act of devouring a fair-sized caterpillar, to -obtain which there is some reason to think she must have left her -nest. We were out together on the 8th of May last (1874), hunting for -the new wafer nests of that district, under the kind guidance of M. -Lichtenstein, when my sister called our attention to a caterpillar, -the body of which partly projected from the tube of a cork nest (_N. -cæmentaria_), and prevented the lid from closing. - -On closer examination we found that the spider was in the act of -devouring the caterpillar, and had already sucked out the juices from -the anterior portion, while the middle and posterior parts of the -body still resisted, and the legs clung tenaciously to the lip of the -nest. - -M. Lichtenstein told us that this larva, which when entire must have -been rather more than an inch long, was that of the mullein moth -(_Cucullia verbasci_). - -It was not full grown, and as there were no mullein plants within -some two feet of the nest and this caterpillar will not leave the -plant on which it feeds unless compelled, it would seem as if the -spider must have gone afield in order to capture it. It is possible, -nevertheless, that the caterpillar may have fallen within reach of -the spider when blown off the mullein leaves by the wind. - -I have, unfortunately, but few details to give of the nocturnal -habits of the trap-door spiders. It would appear, however, that they -are more active by night than by day, and that it is more common -to find their doors ajar at night, with the spiders posted on the -look-out at the narrow opening. This is borne out by my observations -on captive spiders, to which I shall allude shortly. - -When at Hyères on the 11th of May, 1873, the evening being very -warm and a bright moon shining, I went at 8:30 P.M. with my father -and sister to see what the spiders would be doing on a hedge bank -where we had previously marked five cork and eight wafer nests. The -moonlight did not fall upon this spot, but I was provided with a -lantern, and by its light the nests at first appeared to be tightly -closed, but we soon perceived first one and then another with the -door slightly raised, ready to close on the smallest alarm, whether -from a footfall or from the flickering of the lamp. When the light of -the lantern was steady it did not appear to frighten the spiders in -the least, even when brought to within a few inches of the door,[148] -and this enabled me to watch them very closely. On either side of -the raised door of one of the wafer nests I could see the feet of -the spider projecting, and just at that moment I caught sight of a -beetle close at hand, feeding on the topmost spray of some small -plant below. Using every precaution, I contrived to gather the spray -without shaking off the beetle, and gradually pushed it nearer and -nearer to the nest. When it almost touched the lip of the nest the -door flew open, and the spider snatched at the beetle and dragged it -down below. - -[Footnote 148: This had been observed before both by my father and Mr. -Dillon when watching the trap-door spiders at night at Mentone.] - -For a few seconds the door remained tightly closed, and then, to our -great surprise, was suddenly opened again, and the beetle was cast -alive and unharmed out of the nest. I immediately secured the insect, -which proved to be the common _Chrysomela Banksii_.[149] - -[Footnote 149: I am indebted to Mr. F. Smith for the name.] - -I cannot doubt that this beetle was distasteful in some way to the -spider, for it was neither so large nor so powerful as many beetles -the remains of which I have found in the spiders' nests, and, -besides, it did not escape from the nest, but was distinctly rejected -by its captor. - -This shows that this spider does not know instinctively what insects -to reject and what to take. - -This little episode was scarcely ended when I espied a wood-louse -(_Oniscus_) walking down the bank, not far from another of these -wafer nests. By a little guidance I managed so to turn its course -that this unsuspicious crustacean went straight to the very point I -wished, and made as if it would walk over the spider's door; but no -sooner was it well within reach than, quick as thought, the spider -clutched it and dragged it in. No rejection followed on this capture, -and, though I could not actually witness the conclusion of this -adventure, I do not doubt that it ended in a tragedy and a supper. - -In these two cases, as in all those previously noted, the spiders did -not leave the nest nor allow the door to close behind them, but kept -it propped up on the abdomen and hindmost pair of legs. In this way -the act of seizing their prey, and that of withdrawing into the nest, -were almost simultaneous. - -In no case did we see any of these spiders out of their nests, and -their behaviour by night appeared to be the same as by day, only that -they were bolder and more on the alert. - -The spiders in the cork nests (_N. Moggridgii_) resisted our attempts -to raise their doors just as rigorously as in the daytime. - -All the spiders which I have kept in captivity have shown themselves -more active at night than during the day, and I imagine that -experience has taught them that fewer of their enemies are then -abroad, while ants, beetles, wood-lice, and other creatures upon -which they prey are quite as nocturnal as themselves. - -I brought back to England some young cork and wafer spiders from -Hyères, and one adult cork (_N. Moggridgii_). The latter was placed -in a small tin box, with moss and a little earth at the bottom, on -the evening of May the 10th, 1873, and by next morning she had made -a silk tube through the moss, carrying up earth from below for the -purpose of strengthening its walls on the outside. On the 13th of May -the tube was furnished with a perfect door. - -I hoped that this spider might lay eggs in her prison,[150] and -therefore broke up her nest from time to time after my return to -London in order to search for them. Between the 27th of May (when her -nest had been transferred into a box of earth) and the 6th of October -I destroyed her dwelling four times, and after each demolition -she furnished the cylindrical hole which I bored for her with a -lid, having thus made five doors since her capture. I got no eggs -however, though the spider appeared in perfect health. - -[Footnote 150: Strange to say, though I have opened so many nests -at different seasons of the year, and found young apparently quite -recently hatched, I have never been able to find the eggs of a -trap-door spider.] - -Neither this spider nor the true _N. cæmentaria_ of Montpellier -appears to have any idea of digging a hole when placed on soft earth -if they are adult; and the same thing is true of _N. Manderstjernæ_ -and _N. Eleanora_, but the young of all these spiders readily -excavate nests for themselves. - -I have once seen a nearly full grown, and probably adult, _Cteniza -Moggridgii_ make a perfect tube and furnish it with a moveable door -in a single night when confined under gauze on moist earth, but this -is the only instance (except that of _Cteniza Californica_, recorded -above) in which I have known an adult trap-door spider excavate or -attempt to do so. - -These _Ctenizas_ seem to be peculiarly able to adapt themselves -to circumstances, for two young ones, which I sent by post to M. -Lucas at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris in little wide-mouthed, -cylindrical, blue glass bottles, not only lined the bottles with silk -but also closed them at the mouth with a door fitting accurately -into a bevelled lip, in the manufacture of both of which fragments -of moss, the only material at their disposal, were used in place -of earth.[151] It is curious to see how quickly the young trap-door -spiders, both of the cork and wafer kinds, when taken from the -nest of the mother, will make their own perfect little dwellings -in captivity, and I have known them construct tube and door within -fifteen hours. - -[Footnote 151: M. H. Lucas, in _Bull. des Séances de la Soc. Entom. de -Fr._ No. 27 (1874), p. 101.] - -I have watched the proceedings of the young spiders, when taken from -the mother's nest, in the following species: _Nemesia Manderstjernæ_, -_N. Eleanora_, _N. congener_, and _N. Moggridgii_, the three first -constructing wafer, and the last a cork nest. All of these very young -spiders will excavate their own tubes and bring out pellets of the -earth, which closely resemble those carried out from their galleries -by the ants. - -As has been stated before, the young brood, while still in the -mother's nest, will often comprise individuals of different -sizes, and though the majority are no larger than the baby-spider -represented at Fig. B 2, Pl. IX., _Ants and Spiders_, some may -occasionally be found that are fully twice as large. - -The little nests which they make in captivity vary accordingly in -size. Thus, out of sixteen young taken from the mother's nest (_N. -Eleanora_), eleven, three days after capture, had made nests in the -earth of a flower-pot, and the wafer doors of six of these nests -measured 2 lines across, of four 2-1/2 lines, and of one 3 lines. The -first nests of another similar lot of young _Eleanora_ spiders had -wafer doors measuring respectively 2, 2-1/2, 2-1/2, 3 and 3 lines. In -another case when I captured fourteen young (the entire brood found -in the nest of the mother, _N. Manderstjernæ_), after the lapse of -five days every one of them had made a nest, but these were smaller -and more uniform, ten of the wafer doors measuring 2 lines across, -one 1-1/2, and one 2-1/2. - -These little spiders need to be kept constantly supplied with flies, -which should be killed and placed near their nests; they are often -so greedy that they will attempt to drag a house-fly entire down -their tubes for which it is much too large, when the door is pushed -open, and the fly remains sticking in the entrance to the nest with -its legs up in the air. One may even feed these spiders oneself by -approaching carefully and, without causing any vibration, pushing the -fly, placed on the end of a pencil, within reach of the spider. - -I have given my reasons before (_Ants and Spiders_, p. 127) for -believing that the trap-door spiders do not as a rule desert -their nests, but enlarge them from time to time to meet their own -requirements of growth; showing, by a comparison of the measurements -of the doors of eight nests in April with those of the same nests in -the following October, that all had increased in size. - -Subsequent observations have confirmed this; I find that the young -spiders taken from the mother's nest enlarge their nests in captivity -in a precisely similar way. - -Thus, for example, the wafer doors of three young _Eleanora_ spiders, -made within a few days after their removal from the mother's nest -on February 20th, 1873, and first measured on February 28th, had -increased between that date and Nov. 29th following from 2 to 4 -lines, 2-1/2 to 4 lines, and 2-1/2 to 6 lines respectively. - -It is unfortunate that the male and female spiders are -undistinguishable when very young, as it would be interesting to -know whether the males construct nests before they take to their -adult life, during which they roam from place to place and hide under -stones. - -In one case fourteen young spiders, forming this entire family taken -with a female _N. Manderstjernæ_, made nests; so that unless all of -these were females, we have evidence here to prove that the males do -commence life by building nests for themselves. - -I kept the male _Cteniza Moggridgii_, for ten days on damp earth in -captivity, but he made no attempt to excavate or spin, and wandered -restlessly about, scarcely touching the flies[152] with which I -supplied him. - -[Footnote 152: I habitually fed my captive spiders with common -house-flies, and it was curious to see how entirely the latter were -wanting in any instinctive fear of even the largest spiders. They -would creep between the spiders' legs, causing them to start as -if electrified, and frequently it was not until the flies, after -repeating this annoyance several times, actually walked up to and -almost touched the fangs of the spider, that they were punished for -their ignorance and presumption.] - -Seeing this I could not venture to prolong his captivity, as I feared -to risk injuring a specimen which was quite unique and which there -was little likelihood of my being able to replace. It is rather -curious that M. Simon should also have found one male, and one -only, of the closely-related _Ct. fodiens_ of Corsica, and that his -specimen should be, like mine, the only one known. - -Bearing in mind the curious problems which arise as to the affinities -of the flora and fauna of the Alpes Maritimes with that of Corsica, -the fact that the species of _Cteniza_ which is found at Mentone, -though allied to, is yet distinct from the insular species, gains a -new interest. - -We ask ourselves whether the Corsican species sprang from that of the -Alpes Maritimes, or _vice versâ_; or again, whether both diverged -in remote times from a common ancestor. Questions such as these -cannot be answered at present, but I hope the day may come when the -geographical distribution of the various existing forms of life will -be traced with sufficient accuracy to enable us to follow on the -map the lines along which affinity travels; and thus point out at -once the probable relationship between two given forms, and also the -route by which they reached their present stations. Records of local -varieties, and the careful discrimination between forms which have -small but permanent points of difference, thus acquire an importance -which they would not otherwise possess. - -The geographical distribution of trap-door spiders is of peculiar -interest on account of the sedentary habits maintained during -life by the females. Most animals are capable of travelling long -distances, or of being accidentally transported from place to place -in such a way that colonies are frequently established far away from -the parent settlement, and we are left in the dark as to whence -they came and who are their nearest relations. But, in the case of -spiders inhabiting true trap-door nests, this is not so; they begin -life immediately on leaving the parent nest by making homes for -themselves near at hand which they will not desert, and there is no -likelihood of their being accidentally carried from place to place -unless occasionally by running water. Thus it happens that whenever -we find the same trap-door spider at two distant localities, we may -feel tolerably sure that the species has travelled from one to the -other by gradual extension, and that, either now or in times past, it -occupied all the intervening country. - -For instance, we find _Nemesia Eleanora_ at Mentone, and again at -Cannes, while it has not yet been detected at Nice, Antibes, nor any -other intermediate point; but according to this hypothesis, this -species either does actually live, or has done so formerly, along -the whole intervening line. I will now enumerate the species alluded -to in the preceding pages and indicate briefly the habitats which -they are known with certainty to occupy. - -I. _Atypus piceus_, Sulzer (ex Simon). The builder of the tubular -nest the silk lining of which is figured at A in Pl. XIII. It is -stated by M. Simon[153] to be common in all the centre, east, and west -of France, but it remains doubtful whether this exact form is found -in England or not, the true characters and habits of the English -species being still uncertain. - -[Footnote 153: l.c. sup., p. 183.] - -II. _Cyrtauchenius elongatus_, Simon, constructing the funnel type of -nest. It inhabits the neighbourhood of Fez in Morocco. - -III. _Cteniza Moggridgii_, Cambridge (formerly described under the -name of _Ct. fodiens_[154]), one of the many builders of a nest of -the cork type; I have hitherto found this spider only at Mentone and -San Remo. It will probably be discovered in shady valleys in the -neighbourhood of Nice. - -[Footnote 154: _Ants and Spiders_, p. 89.] - -IV. _Ct. fodiens_, Camb. (_Ct. Sauvagii_, Rossi ex Simon): large nest -of cork type; inhabits Corsica. It has been said that the species -found near Pisa (_Ct. Sauvagii_) is the same as that which is so -common in Corsica, but it is desirable to have further confirmation -of this. - -V. _Ct. Californica_, Camb.--Large nest of cork type. Found near -Visalia, about 350 miles south of San Francisco, by Mr. G. Treadwell. - -VI. _Nemesia cæmentaria_, Latr.--Nest of cork type. Only known with -certainty to inhabit the neighbourhood of Montpellier. - -VII. _N. Moggridgii_, Camb. (formerly described under the name of _N. -cæmentaria_, Latr.[155])--Nest of cork type; is found at San Remo, -Mentone, Cannes, Hyères, and Marseilles. Its range probably extends -some distance to the eastwards, but I doubt whether it does so -towards the west, for there I think it likely that it will be found -to be replaced by the typical _cæmentaria_. - -[Footnote 155: _Ants and Spiders_, p. 92.] - -VIII. _N. Simoni_, Camb.--Nest of the single-door unbranched wafer -type, discovered at Bordeaux in May, 1874. - -IX. _N. suffusa_, Camb.--Nest of single-door branched wafer type, -discovered at Montpellier in May, 1873. - -X. _N. Eleanora_, Camb.--Nest of double-door unbranched wafer type; -is found at San Remo, Mentone, Cannes, Vaucluse near Avignon. M. -Simon says[156] he has also found it at Digne, in the Basses Alpes. - -[Footnote 156: E. Simon, _Aranéides nouveaux du Midi de l'Europe_, in -"Mém. Soc. Roy. Sc. de Liège," 2^{me}. ser. tom. v. p. 30.] - -XI. _N. congener_, Camb.--Nest of double-door branched wafer type; -discovered at Hyères in May, 1873. - -XII. _N. Manderstjernæ_, Koch, in Ausserer (formerly described under -the name of _N. meridionalis_, Costa).[157]--Nest of double-door, -branched, cavity wafer type; is found at San Remo, Bordighera, -Mentone, Nice, Cannes, and Hyères (apparently very rare at the -last-named place). - -[Footnote 157: _Ants and Spiders_, p. 101.] - -XIII. _N. meridionalis_, Costa.--Structure of nest doubtful (see -description in _Ants and Spiders_, p. 138). Found near Naples and -in Ischia. M. Simon has discovered a spider in Corsica which he -considers the same as that described by M. Costa under the name -of _meridionalis_, but it seems desirable, in order thoroughly to -establish this conclusion, that specimens of the spiders and their -nests from these distant habitats should be compared together. - -We can scarcely suppose that the real geographical distribution of -the above-named twelve species is as restricted as it would appear to -be from the above enumeration, and there is little doubt, I think, -that many more habitats will be added in time. Indeed, our knowledge -of the habits and distribution of these spiders can only as yet be -said to be in its infancy, the whole subject being, for the most -part, new and untrodden ground. - -But, it may be asked, what are the chances in the future for the -discovery of undescribed spiders and types of nests: and what reward -of this kind may the travelling naturalist expect in order to -compensate him for the time and pains which such a search demands, -and which must divert him in a great measure from making other -collections? - -The reply is not doubtful. - -Europe alone, most probably, contains many trap-door spiders the -specific characters and habits of which are at present unknown; and -as for the warmer regions of other parts of the globe, we only know -enough to lead us to surmise that still stranger and more startling -discoveries await us there. - -Dr. L. Koch's description of the very remarkable branched-wafer -nest from Australia, alluded to above (p. 217), and the fragmentary -specimens of giant cork-nests from the same country exhibited at -the British Museum, give us a hint of what the Antipodes will some -day reveal to us; while a stray allusion to a trap-door nest found -near Lake Dilolo, in Southern Africa, by Livingstone,[158] affords -an indication of their existence in another quarter of the globe. -Hitherto but little importance has been attached by naturalists to -the study of the nests of trap-door spiders, but a knowledge of their -structure is often of the greatest assistance, and will, I venture to -predict, be found to afford a clue leading to the discovery of many -new species; for it not unfrequently happens that, while two spiders -appear so much alike as to pass for representatives of the same -species, their nests are totally dissimilar and proclaim them, as in -fact they are, quite distinct from one another. For an example of -this we have only to turn to the seven species of _Nemesia_, treated -of in the foregoing pages, of which six construct dissimilar nests, -and only two, building nests of the cork type, make them alike, -though the general resemblance between the spiders themselves is -extraordinarily close. Thus far, indeed, it will be seen that no two -distinct species of European trap-door spider make wafer nests of the -same type, each kind of wafer nest having its own peculiar spider. - -[Footnote 158: "A large reddish spider (_Mygale_), named by the -natives 'sclàli,' runs about with great velocity. Its nest is most -ingeniously covered with a hinged cover or door, about the size of a -shilling, the inner face of which is of a pure white silky substance -like paper, while the outer one is coated with earth precisely like -that in which the hole is made, so that when it is closed it is -quite impossible to detect the situation of the nest. Unfortunately -the cavity for breeding is never seen except when the owner is out, -and has left the door open behind her."--_Dr. Livingstone_, _from_ -"_Popular Accounts of Travels in South Africa_," chap. xvii. p. 221.] - -This strikes me as a very curious fact, and I await with interest the -discovery of new species of wafer-building spiders in order to learn -whether this will continue to hold good or not. - -That such discoveries will be made I entertain no doubt; indeed, I -have reason to believe that, even at Mentone, where perhaps more -pairs of eyes have been at work searching for trap-door spiders than -anywhere else, new species still remain to be detected. In April, -1873, the surface door of a wafer-nest together with a very small -portion of the tube was brought to me from the summit of the Aiguille -mountain, near Mentone. I was greatly surprised to learn that a -trap-door spider could live in such a situation, for the earth on -that plateau, which has an elevation of 4032 feet above the sea, is -always frozen hard for weeks and even months together during the -winter, and snow frequently lingers there. The spider, therefore, -which endures these conditions is scarcely likely to be of the -same species as any one of those inhabiting the lower country. The -trap-door spiders of these spurs of the Maritime Alps, are probably -of distinct species from those of the plains, but they are absolutely -unknown at present. - -Then the males of several species, as, for example, those of _Nemesia -Simoni_, _N. suffusa_, _N. congener_, and _N. Moggridgii_, have yet -to be discovered; while of the habits of the males in general we know -little or nothing. - -Indeed, there is no one species with the habits of which we can -say we are thoroughly acquainted, and we must admit that up to the -present time these ingenious little architects have been at least as -successful in concealing themselves from the intrusion of naturalists -as from the attacks of their proper enemies. - -Surely these trap-door spiders, which have lain quiet in the earth -century after century, have hidden themselves long enough from our -inquisitive admiration, and the time has now come for us to seek them -out and learn their ways. - - - - -SPECIFIC DESCRIPTIONS OF TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS, - -BY - -THE REV O. PICKARD-CAMBRIDGE. - - -Genus Cteniza, Latr. - -Cteniza Moggridgii, sp. n., Plate XX., fig. A, p. 254. - -_Cteniza fodiens_ (Camb.)? ♀ in _Harvesting Ants and Trap-door -Spiders_, J. T. Moggridge, 1873, p. 89, Plate VII., excluding -synonyms there quoted. - -Adult male length 5-1/2 lines, length of cephalothorax 3 lines, -breadth 2-1/2. - -The cephalothorax is of a short, broad-oval form, its length being -only half a line greater than its breadth; it is flattened-convex -above, and depressed near the margins, the _caput_ (when looked -at in profile) scarcely rising above the level of the thorax. -At the junction of the caput and thoracic segments is a deep, -circularly-curved indentation, or fovea, the curve of which is -directed backwards; the extremities of this indentation are continued -obliquely forwards on either side, forming the normal ones which -indicate the junction of the caput and thorax. Rather more than -one-third of the distance between the above curved indentation and -the fore margin of the caput is a very perceptible and deep but -narrow, slightly curved, transverse indentation which divides the -caput into two distinct parts; the curve of this indentation is -directed forwards. The normal thoracic indentations are well marked, -but not very strong; the surface of the thorax, though shining, -appeared under a lens to be covered with fine rugulosities. Its -colour is yellow-brown; a large triangular patch on either side -of the caput being tinged with orange, and the rest suffused with -dark brown. The caput is of a dark reddish yellow-brown, showing -(in spirit of wine) two longitudinal bars, or strong lines, of a -clearer orange yellow-brown colour; its surface is glossy, though, -under a lens, the sides of the fore part are very finely striated or -rugulose. These lines begin behind the extremities of the hinder row -of eyes, and gradually converge to a point at the thoracic junction; -the ocular region and central longitudinal line of the fore-segment -of the caput have some long and very prominent black bristles. -When alive, the cephalothorax appears to have been suffused with a -purplish hue, corresponding to that of the abdomen and other parts. - -[Illustration: _Plate XX._] - -The _eyes_ form a rectangular figure, whose fore side is a little -shorter than the hinder one, and whose transverse, or longest, -diameter is as nearly as possible double the length of its shortest -one; the eyes of the central or fore-central pair are small, and -separated by a diameter's distance from each other. The hind laterals -are the smallest of the eight, and each is almost contiguous to the -hind-central nearest to it, this latter being of a sub-triangular -form, and separated from the fore-central on its side by an interval -equal to that which divides the two fore-centrals, but less than -that which separates each fore-central from the fore-lateral on its -side. Looked at as in two transverse rows of four each, those of -the foremost row are darkish coloured, while those of the hinder -row are pearly white. Omitting the eyes of the hind-central pair, -the remaining three on either side form as nearly as possible an -equilateral triangle. - -The _legs_ are long, moderately strong, their relative length being -4, 1, 2, 3. They are of a dark brown colour, generally paler on the -under sides, furnished with hairs, fine bristles, and spines; the -latter are numerous and strong beneath the metatarsi and tibiæ of -the first and second pairs; on those of the third pair they are less -strong and more uniformly disposed; on those of the fourth pair they -are fewest and least conspicuous. The genual joints of the third -pair have some strongish spines on the outer side; the right leg has -eight, the left nine. The toothing of the superior tarsal claws does -not appear to be uniform on the different legs of the same example; -on those of the fourth pair there were five teeth; on those of the -first pair eight or nine, with two others, quite rudimentary, towards -the point of the claw; and even on one of the fourth pair of legs one -of the claws had six, the other five teeth. The tarsal claws of the -second pair are toothed throughout nearly their whole length with -from eight to ten teeth; on _one_ of the third pair the teeth were -but five or six, while on the other there were on one claw but three -ordinary teeth and a much stronger one a little way off in front of -them, on the second claw only a single strong tooth about the middle, -and a smaller one close to its base. - -The _palpi_ are long and rather slender, measuring rather over -six lines in length; they are similar in colour to the legs, and -excepting a few--from twelve to fourteen--short strong spines on -the upper side of the extremity of the digital joint, furnished with -hairs only. The cubital joint is more than half the length of the -radial; this latter is equal in length to the humeral joint, and -nearly as long as the femora of the first pair of legs. The digital -joint is short, of an oblong oval form, broadest at its extremity. -The palpal organs consist of a nearly spherical corneous lobe, -prolonged at its fore extremity into a long, slender, tapering, -beak-like spine, curving upwards (_i.e._, with its point near to the -radial joint), and inwards. - -A broad, conspicuous, shining, corneous band, of a deeper red-brown -than the rest, runs round the middle (or equatorial line) of the -spherical portion of these organs, covering the greater part of their -surface. - -The _falces_ are of moderate length and strength, and of ordinary -form. They are similar in colour to the legs, and furnished in front, -chiefly on their inner edges, with hairs, and at their extremities -on the inner sides, with a few, but not very strong nor conspicuous, -short spines; their under side (along which the fang lies) is toothed -on the inner edge only; the fang is strong and curved, but presents -nothing remarkable in form, nor could I detect either denticulation -or serration. - -The _maxillæ_ are strong, straight, divergent, with a small prominent -point at the inner extremity of each; they are as strong, but not so -long, as the basal (coxal) joints of the legs of the first pair, of a -yellow-brown colour, furnished with hairs, but with no spines of any -sort or size. - -The _labium_ is similar in colour to the maxillæ, and somewhat -quadrate in shape, rounded at the apex; it is furnished with hairs -only. - -The _sternum_ is of a sub-pentagonal form, much broader behind than -in front; its colour is dull yellowish-brown, and it is furnished -with hairs, leaving two largish, bare, round, slightly impressed -patches, not far from each other, in a transverse line near the -middle. - -The _abdomen_ is short-oval in form, and very convex above; it -projects a little over the base of the cephalothorax, and its upper -side is of a purplish grey-brown hue, mottled with a pale dull -whitish-yellow, and furnished sparingly with hairs. The sides and -under side are of a uniform dull whitish-yellow. The _spinners_ (four -in number) are, as usual, of very unequal size, those of the superior -pair longish, strong, three-jointed, and up-turned, the inferior -pair short but stout, consisting of one joint only and pretty close -together. - -The _female_ (as it is conjectured to be) of this species was -described, in the work to which the present publication is -supplementary, from examples found at Mentone. There is little doubt -now but that it is not _Ct. fodiens_, Walck., but whether or not -identical with the male above described is not absolutely certain. -I think myself (with Mr. Moggridge, see p. 195) that it is so, in -spite of some differences in the relative size of the eyes, the -toothing of the under side of the falces, and the denticulation -of the tarsal claws. With regard to the eyes and falces, I am not -inclined to lay special stress upon these differences. It is found -that in other groups of spiders whose cephalothorax varies very -markedly in development in the two sexes, differences of this nature -occur. In the present genus, the male has an almost flat caput, -while the female has a strongly elevated one; and with respect to -the variation in the tarsal claws, no special weight can be attached -to it in the present instance, since these claws are not uniformly -denticulated in the different feet of the same individual. Another -difference is the absence in the male of sundry small but distinct -tooth-like spines at the apex of the labium and the inner corner of -the base of the maxillæ; the female is also wanting in regard to the -very characteristic transverse indentation which divides the caput -of the male into two parts. I can, however, trace in the female the -slightest possible corresponding depression, scarcely amounting to an -indentation, and placed rather nearer to the junctional thoracic pit. - -With regard to the differences between this species and _Ct. -Sauvagii_, Latr. (_Ct. fodiens_, Walck.), size alone would suffice to -distinguish them; two females of the latter now before me measuring -13 lines in length; while the male (_Aran. nouv. ou peu connus du -Midi de l'Europe_, par Eugène Simon, Mém., Liège, 1873) measures 8 -lines (17 mm.) and the female rather over 14 lines (30 mm.), the -fore-central eyes in the female of _Ct. Sauvagii_ appeared to be -smaller than those in _Ct. Moggridgii_ and placed rather farther -forwards, but the eyes in both are otherwise remarkably similar -both in size and position. The males, however, cannot be confounded -inasmuch as, according to M. Simon, no trace of any transverse -indentation on the caput exists in _Ct. Sauvagii_. - -The denticulation of the tarsal claws in the females of both species -is similar, but M. Simon does not mention this portion of the -structure of the male he describes of _Ct. Sauvagii_. - -The adult male of _Ct. Moggridgii_ above described, was found behind -the stones of an old wall at Mentone, but not in any kind of nest. - -Nest-making, and excavating for that purpose, is, probably, no part -of the work of the adult males in this and other allied genera, and -hence we can see a reason for differences in the development of the -caput, and the denticulation of the falces. The usual habitat of the -females and their nests is in damp and shady spots, whereas _Ct. -Sauvagii_ constructs its nests in dry exposed banks. - -_Habitat._ Mentone and San Remo. - - -Cteniza Californica, sp. n., Plate XV., fig. B, p. 198. - -Adult female; length very nearly 14 lines; length of the -cephalothorax, 5-1/2; greatest breadth of ditto, 5; breadth of fore -part of caput, 4 lines; length of caput rather over 3 lines. - -The _cephalothorax_ of this spider is rather broader in proportion to -its length than that of _Ct. Sauvagii_, Walck., Sim. = _Ct. fodiens_, -Walck. The convexity, or elevation, of the caput is also less, but -that of the thorax is greater, so that (when looked at in profile) -the profile line of the two forms a tolerably even and continuous -slope, interrupted only by the thoracic fovea; the profile, however, -of the occiput is curved. - -The thoracic fovea, or junctional indentation, is strong, deep, and -semilunar in form, the horns of the crescent pointing forwards; the -other normal indentations are well marked, but those which divide -the caput from the first thoracic segment do not unite with the -extremities of the junctional fovea, being in this respect unlike -_Ct. Moggridgii_, but more like _Ct. Sauvagii_. The _clypeus_, -although transversely impressed, yet slopes forward more gradually -than in either of those species, its breadth is about equal to that -of the ocular area, or amounts to half that of the facial space. The -colour of the cephalothorax, taken from the specimen preserved in -spirit of wine, is a deep reddish-yellow brown, gradually getting -paler towards the margins. When alive, I understand that the general -colour of the whole spider was a dark blackish chocolate brown, the -legs and cephalothorax being darker than the abdomen; there are a few -prominent bristly hairs in the medial line both before and behind the -ocular area. - -The _eyes_ form a narrow transverse oblong figure, its length being -about two and a half times its width, and its fore side is a little -the shortest; the fore-lateral eyes are large and oval, and by far -the largest of the eight; the rest do not differ much in size, though -perhaps the hind laterals, which are also oval, are a little the -largest; the longest diameter of these, however, is less than half -the longest diameter of the fore laterals. The interval between the -fore and hind laterals is small, only equal to the shortest diameter -of the hind lateral; and this interval is nearly double that which -separates each hind lateral and the hind central nearest to it. The -hind laterals and hind centrals form an almost perfectly straight -line, the former being very slightly indeed within the straight line -of the former; the intervals which separate the fore centrals from -each other, and each of them from the fore lateral on its side, are -as nearly as possible equal, though very slightly, if at all, less -than that which separates each of them from the hind central on its -side: the interval which separates the fore laterals is double the -length of the longest diameter of one of them. - -The _legs_ are short and very strong; they are like the cephalothorax -in colour, but paler underneath the femora; this joint in the third -pair is proportionally much stronger than in the other legs; all are -furnished with hairs, bristles, and spines, a group of erect bristles -among the rest occupies the fore part of the upper side of the -metatarsi of the first and second pairs; strong spines of different -lengths are thickly placed beneath and on the lower part of the sides -of the tibiæ tarsi and metatarsi of the first and second pairs. On -the tarsi and metatarsi of the third and fourth pairs similar spines -are distributed more uniformly over the whole surface of the joints, -and on the genual joint of the 3rd pair there is one short strong -spine near its extremity on the outer side, those on the tibiæ both -of the third and fourth pairs being confined to a few on the outer -side, and towards the lower side only. Each tarsus terminates with -three claws, of which the two superior ones have a single strong -tooth towards the base on the lower side. - -The _palpi_ are rather long, strong, and similar in colour to the -legs. They are furnished with hairs, bristles, and spines; of the -latter the radial and digital joints have some short and strong ones, -pretty thickly grouped along both their outer and inner sides; the -digital joint ends with a single untoothed claw. - -The _falces_ are strong and massive, more so than in _Ct. Sauvagii_, -but of normal form. They are furnished with hairs and bristles, and -with strong spines near their inner extremities on the upper side; -the fangs are strong, folded along the under side of the falces in a -furrow which is toothed along either edge. The colour of the falces -is a rich deep red-brown. - -The _maxillæ_ are strong, straight, divergent, with a prominent point -at the inner extremity, and some very short, strong, tooth-like -spines at their base; their colour is dull yellow-brown, and, with -the labium and sternum, they are thickly clothed with short strong -hairs. - -The _labium_ is dark yellow-brown, tipped slightly with black; it is -of a somewhat semilunar form, and has a few very short tooth-like -spines near its apex. - -The _sternum_ is of a rough oval form, broadest behind and shorter -and broader in proportion than that of _Ct. Sauvagii_ and _Ct. -Moggridgii_; its colour is dull yellow-brown, and it is destitute of -the two shining bare patches conspicuous in both those species. - -The _abdomen_ is large, short-oval, broadest behind and very convex -above; it is of a dull yellowish-brown colour, thickly mottled with -minute dark points seen through a lens to be little rings, from the -centre of each of which springs a bristly hair; the underside is -paler; the spinners and spiracular openings are normal. As observed -above, the colour of the abdomen was rather different in life; it -was then of a deep blackish chocolate brown, with an indistinct -longitudinal line along the middle of its fore part on the upper -side, intersected by a similar line at right angles; but these lines -soon disappeared after death; the specimen had been in spirit of wine -some months before the present description was made. - -A single example, with its tubular nest of the cork-lid type, was -received alive from California in 1873, and appears to have been -hitherto undescribed; though no larger than _Ct. Sauvagii_, it is yet -a stouter and more massive spider, and may readily be distinguished -by the large size of its fore-lateral eyes, the narrower ocular area -arising from the far greater proximity to each other of the eyes of -each lateral pair, the less convexity of the caput, and the greater -convexity of the thorax, as well as by its being altogether a darker -coloured spider, and having shorter stouter legs. - -_Habitat._ Visalia, 350 miles south of San Francisco, California. - - -Gen. Nemesia, Savigny. - -Nemesia Cæmentaria, Plate XIX., fig. B, p. 229. - -_Mygale cæmentaria_ (Latr.) _Hist. Nat. des Crust._ t. vii. p. 164. - ---♀--Walck., _Hist. Nat. des Ins. Apt._ 1, p. 235. - ----- ---- _Cuvier's Règne Animal_, ed. Paris. 20 vols. 18--? Pl I., -_A. Dugès del._ ♂ _et_ ♀. - -Adult female, length 7 to 9 lines. - -_Cephalothorax_ oval, truncated and almost equally broad at each -end; the upper surface is moderately convex, the caput elevated a -little above the rest, and equally rounded on the sides and upper -part; the profile of the whole cephalothorax forms a general sloping -slightly curved line, broken by the thoracic junctional pit or -fovea, which is narrow but strong, and gently but equally curved, the -convexity of the curve directed forwards; the thorax next to this -fovea is rather gibbous, but not over any great extent of surface; -the other normal indentations are tolerably strong; the colour of the -cephalothorax is yellow-brown, darkest on the sides of the caput, -and along the thoracic indentations, palest on the margins, forming -a pale marginal border indistinctly vandyked on the inner edge. The -surface is clothed, but not densely, with yellowish-grey adpressed -hairs; there are a few black bristles in a straight transverse -line, directed forwards from the lower margin of the clypeus; also -a few more bristles curved and of various lengths before and behind -the ocular area, their points meeting over this area, and a row of -strong, nearly erect ones in a longitudinal central line from the -ocular area to the junctional fovea; besides these are a few more, -finer and less conspicuous, along the middle both of the caput and -thorax; the colour on either side and in front of the ocular area is -orange yellow-brown, and joining with this a broad band of the same -runs backwards from the ocular area to the thoracic fovea. The band -begins as wide as this area, it then directly enlarges a little, and -thence tapers slightly and gradually to its termination, forming a -truncate wedge, with the margins rather irregular, but on the whole -a little curved. This band is not immaculate, there being two dark -yellow-brown tapering lines or bars along the greater part of its -length; these bars begin from each outer pair of eyes of the hinder -row, and tapering to a fine line, converge to the thoracic fovea, -but do not quite meet. It is important to note the exact form and -distribution of the central band and these tapering bars, as their -differences from the character of the similar part in another closely -allied species are strongly specific; the above description holds -good in above twenty examples before me. - -The _eyes_ are in two transverse lines, forming an area whose length -is rather less than 2-1/2 times its width; the foremost line is -curved, and the curve directed backwards, the hinder one is also -curved and in a similar direction, but less strongly, looking -laterally the extreme margin of the four eyes of the hinder row forms -a straight line. Considered as in pairs, those of the fore-central -pair are separated by an interval equal to that which separates -each from the fore-lateral and hind-central nearest to it; the -fore-laterals are divided by about two and a half diameters; they are -the largest of the eight, only slightly however, in some examples, -larger than the hind-laterals. Each of them is separated from the -hind-lateral on its side by not quite half the diameter of the -latter, and each hind-lateral is very nearly but not quite contiguous -to the hind-central on its side; the hind-centrals are roughly -rounded, smallest of the eight, though in some examples equal in size -to the fore-centrals, and are separated from the fore-central nearest -to it by about one diameter, which gives a clue to the absolute -distance between the eyes of the foremost pair. The four lateral eyes -are oval, the fore-centrals round; those of the foremost row are -darkish coloured, while those of the hinder row are pearly white. - -Although it is of great importance to observe as accurately as -possible the relative position and size of the eyes, yet we must be -prepared to find exceptions to the rule derived from the most exact -measurements in any individual instance. - -In the present species the above conclusions, as to position and -size, are drawn from a consideration and comparison of 20 examples, -and are, it is believed, pretty true, but yet in one example, one -of the hind central eyes was but half the size of the other, and -in another example one of the same eyes was but one-fourth of that -of the other, a mere dot in fact, and the relative size of the -respective lateral eyes of the two rows do not appear to maintain -exactly the same proportions in all individuals. The height of the -clypeus appeared to be as nearly as possible half that of the facial -space. - -The _legs_ are strong, moderately long, their relative length 4, -1, 2, 3, though in some examples those of the second and third -pairs are equal in length; in others, those of the third pair are -slightly longer than those of the second; here again, as with the -eyes, although the relative proportion of the legs of spiders is an -important specific point, and in general tolerably reliable, yet -accurate observation and measurements prove that there are small -differences in individual instances. The legs are yellow-brown -in colour, furnished with hairs, bristles, and a few spines. The -outer sides of the genual joints of the third pair are destitute of -spines; in two instances only out of 20, this joint had a single, not -very conspicuous, spine. The superior tarsal claws have 4-5 minute -pectinations underneath near their base. - -The _palpi_ are moderately long and strong, and similar in colour -and general armature to the legs; they terminate with a single, -strong, sharply curved untoothed claw. - -The _falces_ are of a deep black red-brown colour, strong and -prominent, and flat, but not cut away, on their inner sides; they are -furnished on their upper sides with black bristles and yellowish-grey -hairs, disposed in longitudinal lines; these bristles are strongest -and most numerous on the inner margin of the upper side, increasing -in strength forwards where, near the extremity, are some strong -spines. - -On the inner edge of the under side of each falx is a row of teeth, -and each fang is also denticulate or finely serrate, beneath towards -its hinder part. - -The _maxillæ_ are strong, cylindrical, and divergent; and each has a -small bluntish angular prominence at the extremity on the inner side; -their inner margin has a thick fringe of pale reddish hairs, the fore -surface being clothed (as ordinarily) with dark bristly hairs, and -there are a few black minute tooth-like spines in a line (sometimes -in a small group) near the inner corner of their base. - -The _labium_ is short, broad, its breadth nearly double its length, -and the upper corners rather rounded off; there are some strongish -bristles, mostly towards the apex, but no tooth-like spines nor -denticulations. - -The _sternum_ is oval, rather convex, broadest towards the hinder -part, which is pointed at this extremity but hollow-truncate before. - -The _abdomen_ is sparingly clothed with hairs; it is of a stoutish -regular oval form, and of a dull brownish yellow colour; its -fore extremity on the upper side is thickly blotched with deep -blackish-brown, and the whole length spanned by a series of about -five curved, or slightly angular, stoutish bars or chevrons, -formed of more or less confluent, dark, blackish-brown blotches -and markings; a more or less indistinct line of a similar nature -also divides the fore part of the upper side of the abdomen -longitudinally. There is some variety in the extent, depth, and -distinctness of these markings, but the figures given (Pl. XIX., p. -229, figs. B, B 1) show the appearance of an average example. - -It must be remembered that this description is made from examples -in spirit of wine, and that in life the markings (especially on the -cephalothorax) are often considerably obscured by the hairs on the -surface; when seen through spirit the actual tints of colour are -sometimes misrepresented, but the characteristic markings are seen -more distinctly. - -The lower part of the sides and the underside of the abdomen are of a -uniform pale dull brownish-yellow; the spinners of the superior pair -are short, strong, and 2-jointed; those of the inferior pair are very -minute, and near together at the base of, and almost between, the -others. - -Adult and immature females were found in 1873-4 abundantly at -Montpellier in France, in unbranched tubular nests closed at the -surface with a close-fitting "cork" lid. - -In _Harvesting Ants and Trap-door Spiders_, p. 92, a spider -inhabiting similar nests, and found commonly at _Cannes_ and Mentone -was described as _N. cæmentaria_, Latr. The subsequent discovery -however of a very closely allied, but certainly distinct, species -in abundance at Montpellier (the locality in which the original -_N. cæmentaria_, Latr., was found) makes it more than probable that -the _Montpellier_, and not the Mentone, species is the true _N. -cæmentaria_. Certainly as yet no other species more likely than this -to be the one described by Latreille has been found at Montpellier; -in fact, the one here described is the common one found there, and -alone answers to Latreille's character of having a nest with a lid of -the cork type. - -It has become therefore necessary now to record the Mentone species -under another name, and under that name, "_N. Moggridgii_" (p. 273) -will be noted the specific differences by which the two species may -be at once distinguished from each other. - -The male of the spider here described has not been yet found. A -description is given (p. 276) of a male spider, _Nemesia incerta_ -(no doubt closely allied), found by M. Eugène Simon at Digne; -but reasons will be given why it is not probable that this Digne -spider should be, as conjectured by M. Simon, the male of the -Montpellier species. Whether the _N. carminans_ (Latr.) is the male -of _N. cæmentaria_ (Latr.) or not, is another question, and one -surrounded with some obscurity and difficulty. Latreille described -_N. cæmentaria_ (female) from Montpellier, and _N. carminans_ (male) -from Aix in Provence; the latter being specially characterized by a -bifid point to the prolongation of the palpal bulb; L. Dufour appears -subsequently to have considered _N. carminans_, Latr. (male) to be -the male of _N. cæmentaria_, and Latreille appears to have agreed -with L. Dufour upon this, _vide_ Walck. _Ins. Apt._, i. p. 236; but -Dufour afterwards (_Ann. Gen. Sc. Phys._, tom. v. Bruxelles, 1820, -p. 103) introduced an element of confusion into the question by -describing _N. carminans_ as having the point of the palpal organs -simple, "nullement bifid," and throwing out a suggestion that it -might be the male of _N. Sauvagii_, Latr., (= _N. pionnière_ or -_fodiens_, Walck.) Latreille upon this (_Vues générales sur les -Aranéides, Acad. Roy. des Sc._, 1830, pp. 64, 65) explains Dufour's -suggestion as an inadvertence, but takes no notice of the difference -of the form of the palpal organs as described by him; at the same -time however Latreille explains why, probably, Walckenaer "still -considers (in his _Faune française_) _N. carminans_ to be a distinct -species." We may conclude from this that Latreille never altered -_his_ opinion that his own _N. cæmentaria_ and _N. carminans_ were -the two sexes of the same species; and we shall probably rightly -agree with Walckenaer that Dufour had another species before him, -which he wrongly (l.c.) described as _N. carminans_. - -Subsequently again a male and female spider, evidently of one -species, were figured by Dugès to illustrate _N. cæmentaria_ male and -female in Cuvier's _Règne Animal_--Edition in 20 vols. not numbered -and without date, published in Paris, "_accompagnée de Planches par -une réunion de disciples de Cuvier, MM. Audouin, Blanchard, Deshayes, -Aleide d'Orbigny, Doyère, Dugès, Duvernoy, Laurillard, Milne Edwards, -Roulin, et Valenciennes_." Of these figures, that of the male has the -point of the palpal organs distinctly bifid, and the nest figured is -of the cork-lid type. - -On the whole it may be concluded that the male of the true _N. -cæmentaria_, Latr., will be found to have the bifid point to the -palpal organs, but the question cannot be considered settled until -further researches at Montpellier and Aix (in Provence) shall have -furnished _males_ of the _N. cæmentaria_ now described, and _females_ -of the bifid pointed male--_N. carminans_, Latr.--for of course it -is possible that Latreille's _first_ views of the distinctness of -_cæmentaria_ and _carminans_ may be the correct ones. - -The characters of the species now described accord so well with -the figures of the female in Dugès' plate (above mentioned) that -little doubt can be entertained of _their_ identity, and if so there -would seem to be little doubt also, but that further research at -Montpellier will reveal a male similar to the male figured by Dugès. - -_Habitat._ Montpellier, France. - - -Nemesia Eleanora. - -_Syn. Nemesia Eleanora_, Cambr., male and female, in _Harvesting Ants -and Trap-door Spiders_, by J. T. Moggridge, p. 180, Pl. XII. and -woodcuts, p. 109. - -_Nemesia Alpigrada_ (Simon) male, _Aranéides nouv. ou peu connus du -Midi de l'Europe_, 2^e Mémoire. Liège, 1873, 2^e sér. t. v. p. 27 -(separate copy.). - -There is but little to add to the descriptions given (l.c. _supra_). -It must however be noted that the spines on the outer side of the -genual joints of the third pair of legs, then supposed to be a -characteristic of the present species only, are now found to exist -in several others, with some small exceptions in regard to number, -and also in respect to strict uniformity, on both legs of the same -individual. In _N. cæmentaria_ (p. 264), however, there is rarely -found even a single spine on either of these joints; and not one out -of ten examples of another species, _N. Simoni_ (p. 297), had even -one of these spines. - -Shortly after the publication of _Harvesting Ants and Trap-door -Spiders_ the male of this species was described by M. Simon (l.c.) -from two examples taken at Vaucluse near Avignon. - -_Habitats._ San Remo, Mentone, Cannes, Vaucluse near Avignon, and, -according to M. Simon, Digne, Basses Alpes. - - -Nemesia Moggridgii, sp. n., Plate XIX., fig. C, p. 229. - -_Syn. Nemesia Cæmentaria_, Cambr., in _Harvesting Ants and Trap-door -Spiders_, (by J. T. Moggridge), p. 93, Pl. VIII. - -This spider is exceedingly closely allied to the foregoing and was -thought to be the true _N. cæmentaria_, Latr., until subsequent -researches at Montpellier (the locality where Latreille's types were -found) have resulted in the belief that the Montpellier, rather -than the Mentone species, is that described by him. At present the -females only of the two species are known, and these may readily be -distinguished by the pattern on the caput. - -In the foregoing (the _Montpellier Spider_) a broad orange -yellow-brown band runs from the ocular area to the thoracic -fovea, tapering gradually to that part, where it is truncated, -forming a wedge with the point cut off. This wedge-shaped band is -charged with two longitudinal, more or less distinct, dark brown -irregularly-tapering lines, running throughout its whole length and -converging towards each other but not touching. - -In the _Mentone Spider_ there are three orange-yellow-brown -well-defined bars or longitudinal lines between the ocular area -and the thoracic fovea; the central bar tapers and reaches from -the eyes to the fovea, the lateral ones never more than two-thirds -of the distance from it to the eyes, diverging a little from the -central bar as they run forwards. These two lateral bars are not -straight, _i.e._, their margins are more or less notched or roughly -angular, forming in some examples a line of a somewhat zigzag or bent -character. It may perhaps be observed that when the two dark brown -lines which run along the broad orange-yellow-brown band on the caput -of the Montpellier spider, are well marked, this also leaves three -longitudinal yellow lines, somewhat similar to those just described -in the Mentone species, but there is this difference even then (and -it is constant throughout a long series of examples), the lateral -lines in the Montpellier spider _always run through to the eyes_, -equalling in length the central line, while in the Mentone spider the -_lateral bars never reach the eyes_, always stopping short of the -ocular area, by one-half, or nearly so, of their length. - -Another distinction which appears constant is the form of the -thoracic fovea; in the Montpellier species this forms a slight -but uniform curve; in the Mentone spider it is more sharply bent -at the apex (or centre of the curve), forming in most examples a -bluntish-angular line. - -In the eyes there appears to be but little reliable difference; if -there be any at all constant, it seems to be that in the present -(Mentone) species the fore-laterals are constantly smaller than the -hind-laterals, and sometimes smaller than the fore-centrals. A close -examination, however, of the relative size and position of the eyes -in a series of examples, lowers one's estimation of the _absolute_ -value of this character in the determination of the species of -_Nemesia_; still it is a specific character not by any means to -be overlooked, though to be used guardedly, and often with great -reservation. - -In regard to other characters and general description there seems but -little to add to the description given (l.c. _supra_), except that -the labium has no denticulations at its apex and the outer sides of -the genual joints of the third pair of legs are generally without -spines. Occasionally (in one example out of sixteen) there is a -single spine on this joint, of either the right or left leg. In this -character, however (differing from several others described below), -the Montpellier spider agrees with that from Mentone. - -In both spiders, the fangs of the falces are (in some instances at -least) denticulated. Also in regard to the relative lengths of the -legs, like those of the Montpellier spider, the second and third -pairs of the Mentone species are not constant in their relative -proportions, though the differences either way are very slight, and -there is often no difference whatever. - -The nest and habits of the two species appear to be nearly, if not -quite, similar. - -In naming the present species (at the suggestion of M. Eugène -Simon) the writer of these descriptions gladly testifies to his -appreciation of the great value attaching to Mr. Traherne Moggridge's -investigations of the habits of the closely-allied species of this -very difficult, though most interesting group of spiders. - -M. Eugène Simon (_Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr._ 1873, Bull, c.), perceiving -the difference between the present species and the one known to -himself as _N. cæmentaria_, Latr., concludes it to be identical with -_N. meridionalis_, Sim. Examples, however, of this latter, from M. -Simon's cabinet, show that they are very distinct. - -On _N. meridionalis_, Sim., see p. 289; and on _N. cæmentaria_, Sim., -p. 280, M. Simon has, I understand, subsequently admitted the error -of his conclusion, published l.c. _supra_. - -_Habitat._ San Remo, Mentone, Cannes, Hyères, and Marseilles. - - -Nemesia incerta, sp. n., Plate XIX., fig. D, p. 229. - -Adult male, length slightly above 4-1/2 lines. - -_Cephalothorax_ oval, truncate at each end; moderately convex -above, the profile line forming a pretty even, sloping, curved -line, but flattish in the middle near the thoracic fovea, which is -of a strongly curved form; the other normal indentations are not -strong, though fairly defined; the colour of the cephalothorax is -yellow-brown, palish and clothed with yellowish-grey adpressed hairs -on the margins, and inclining to orange on the caput. The clypeus -is somewhat steep, about equal to half the height of the facial -space, and the sides of the caput are dark blackish-brown, leaving -a longitudinal, central reddish orange-brown band tapering to the -thoracic fovea. - -The upper and hinder part of the thorax is strongly suffused with -brown, leaving broad but irregular pale lateral margins; there is a -group of strong bristles directed forwards from the margin of the -clypeus, and two or three more in the median line behind the ocular -area. - -The _eyes_ are on a strongish oblong dark brown transverse -tubercular eminence; the fore-laterals are rather smaller than -the hind-laterals, and the fore-centrals are larger than the -hind-centrals, the latter being much the smallest of the eight; the -interval between those of each lateral pair is about equal to, or -slightly larger than, the diameter of one of the fore-central eyes; -the intervals between the four eyes of the front row are equal, each -interval being equal to the diameter of one of the fore-centrals; -and each hind-central eye is separated from the fore-central nearest -to it by as nearly as possible a similar distance, and from the -hind-lateral on its side by a very small but distinct interval. - -The _legs_ are rather long, strong, of a brownish-yellow colour, -suffused with blackish-brown on the upper sides of the femora, and -furnished with hairs, bristles, and spines. Those of the hinder -(fourth) pair were wanting, the relative lengths of the others -being 1, 2, 3; 2 and 3 being very nearly equal. The spines are not -numerous, being disposed mostly on the tibiæ and metatarsi of the -third pair; some, however, had been evidently broken off; all the -tarsi were without spines; each tarsus ends with three claws, the -superior pair with several--6-8?--teeth on their under sides. - -The tibial joint of each of the first pair is short, no longer than -the genual joint, but it is strong and enlarged gradually beneath -to its fore extremity, where it ends in a strong, sharp-pointed, -tapering red-brown curved spine, directed downwards, forwards, and -inwards. Each tarsus of the first and second pairs is pretty thickly -fringed just below on each side along its whole length, with short -strongish hairs of an even length. - -On the outer side of the genual joint of the third pair (left leg) -are three spines in a longitudinal row; the other leg of this pair -was wanting. - -The _palpi_ are moderately long, and similar in colour and general -armature to the legs; the radial joint is strong, a little tapering -forwards, and somewhat curved underneath towards its hinder part; -its length is about double that of the digital joint, and from its -fore extremity on the upper side, three strong, somewhat sessile, -spines of equal length, and directed forwards issue, in a straight -transverse line. - -The palpal organs consist of a roundish corneous bulb drawn out into -a longish, tapering, curved, sharp-pointed spine, the point being -very fine, gradual, and directed outwards. - -The _falces_ are strong, prominent, of a deep red-brown colour, -furnished above with dull greyish-yellow hairs mixed with dark -bristles, and disposed in longitudinal stripes; and near the upper -extremity on the inner side are four strongish spines. - -The _maxillæ_ are strong, divergent, cylindrical, with a small -angular prominence at their inner extremity; they are furnished with -hairs, but no denticulations, and there is a strong fringe of reddish -hairs on their inner margins. The maxillæ are of the same colour as -the palpi. - -The _labium_ is short and broad; its breadth double its height and -its apex rounded. Its junction with the _sternum_ appeared to be -about at right angles. It is darker in colour than the maxillæ, but -with a paler apex; its surface is furnished with bristly hairs, but -there are no denticulations at its apex. _Sternum_ oval, truncate -before, pointed behind, furnished with bristly hairs, and of the same -colour as the legs. - -The _abdomen_ is of an oblong-oval form, truncate before, and -tolerably convex above; it is of a pale dull yellowish colour clothed -with yellow-grey hairs, among which are a good many prominent -dark bristly ones; the fore part of the upper side is irregularly -marked with black-brown; following this towards the hinder part, -and reaching half way or more to the spinners, is an indistinct -longitudinal central line of the same colour, throwing off numerous -short lateral lines at right angles; towards either side of the -hinder two-thirds of the abdomen are several oblique black-brown -lines extending more or less over the sides; one, about the middle, -extends farther over the sides than the rest, and almost unites with -a curved deep black-brown transverse line crossing the under side of -the abdomen a little way in front of the spinners. - -The under side of the abdomen is similar in colour to the upper -side, and, besides the transverse dark line above mentioned, there -is another touching the anterior margins of the posterior spiracular -plates; the superior pair of spinners are short and strong; the -inferior pair small, and in the ordinary position, but apparently not -(proportionally) so small as in the females of some other species. - -A single adult male was received for examination from M. Eugène -Simon, by whom it was found at Digne (Basses Alpes, France). M. Simon -conjectures that it may be the male of _Nemesia Moggridgii_ (p. 273), -but some slight differences in the size and positions of the eyes, -and in the pattern on the cephalothorax, and on the under, as well -as the upper, side of the abdomen, lead me to believe that it is of -a different, and hitherto undescribed species, though probably very -closely allied to some others, especially to _Nemesia Manderstjernæ_ -(_N. meridionalis_, Cambr., described, p. 283); in the present -species however the hind-lateral eyes are much larger in proportion -than in _N. Manderstjernæ_. - -_Habitat._ Digne, Basses Alpes, France. - - -Nemesia dubia, sp. n., Plate XIX., fig. E, p. 229. - -Syn. _Nemesia cæmentaria_, Simon, _Aranéides nouv. ou peu connus du -Midi de l'Europe_, Mém. Liège, 1873 (separate copy), p. 24. - -Adult male, length 5-1/2 lines to 6 lines. - -M. Eugène Simon (l.c.) describes, as _N. cæmentaria_, Latr., both -sexes of a spider found by himself in the Pyrenees and Spanish -mountain regions. - -Languedoc and Provence are also given as localities, but it is not -clear that he has himself found it in these latter parts, certainly -not the male. - -Two examples of this sex, found in the Pyrenees, and received from M. -Simon, are now before me; these correspond, so far, very exactly to -the description he gives (l.c.); the female I have not seen. - -If the position assumed (p. 271) on Latreille's own authority, that -the true male of _N. cæmentaria_, Latr., (_N. carminans_, Latr.), has -a bifid point to the prolongation of the palpal bulb, it is clear -that the present species is distinct from that of Latreille. - -M. Simon describes this palpal bulb as having its extreme point -"simple et plus effilée" (_i.e._ more slender than in the preceding -species he has described _N. meridionalis_). That the examples now -before me, agreeing exactly with this description, are not the males -of the species above described by myself as _N. cæmentaria_, Latr., -from numerous females found at Montpellier, appears to me clear, -not only because I assume that of the true _N. cæmentaria_, Latr., -males will be found to have the point of the palpal bulb bifid, but -because the position of the eyes is markedly different in M. Simon's -Pyrenean males and the Montpellier females. In the latter the eyes -of the front row are separated from each other by equal intervals, -in the former the interval between those of the central pair is -very perceptibly greater than that between each and the lateral of -the same row nearest to it. The interval also between each of the -fore-central eyes and the hind-central on its side is proportionally -much less. - -It appears therefore necessary to characterize _N. cæmentaria_ (Sim. -l.c.) by some other name, for if eventually it should be found that -Latreille has erred in _N. carminans_ (with the _bifid point_ to the -palpal bulb) being the male of his _N. cæmentaria_, and that the -Montpellier species has a male with a _simple point_ to this part, -even then the present spider cannot retain its name (_cæmentaria_), -being distinct from the females found at Montpellier. - -It is possible, of course, that the present species may hereafter -be found, perhaps abundantly, at Montpellier; in that case it -will have to be decided which of the two is most likely to be the -species described by Latreille. In that eventuality it seems to me -that the spider, above described from Montpellier, would be more -probably Latreille's species, for one of its specific characters is -a tolerably distinct and bold series of, not more than, five dark -angular bars along the middle of the upper side of the abdomen, -agreeing exactly with Dugès' figures in the _Règne Animal_ of Cuvier, -quoted above (p. 271); while in M. Simon's Pyrenean spider, the -abdominal pattern of the female described by him, does not agree -with this: "il est orné d'une fine ligne noire longitudinale, un peu -ondulée, présentant de nombreuses ramifications, s'étendant sur les -parties latérales" (l.c. p. 26). The males before me accord with -this description, though (as M. Simon also remarks) the "série de -fins accents bruns transverses" is "peu visibles et souvent effacés" -(l.c., p. 25); in one example this pattern is fairly distinct, in the -other it is scarcely recognisable. - -The present is a larger spider than _N. incerta_ (the male found by -M. Simon at Digne); it is also less distinctly marked both on the -cephalothorax and abdomen. The position of the eyes is different, -and so also is the palpal bulb; in that species the spine describes -a simple curve with a strong outward direction; in the present it -is slightly but perceptibly _sinuous_, and its general direction is -_parallel to the radial joint of the palpus_; the spines also at the -upper fore extremity of the radial joint are 5-6 in number instead of -three. The outer side of the genual joint of each of the legs of the -third pair has three spines; that on the left side, however, of one -example, has four. The palpal bulb also appears to be proportionally -smaller than that of _N. dubia_, or of _N. Manderstjernæ_, Auss. (_N. -meridionalis_, Cambr.) - -Another difference may here be noted between the present species and -the Montpellier _cæmentaria_. M. Simon (_in lit._) separates his _N. -cæmentaria_ from all others by the length of the patella and tibia -(genual and tibial joints) of the fourth pair of legs, exceeding in -length that of the cephalothorax and falces. - -This character has not been found to exist in several females of the -Montpellier species, minutely measured by Mr. Moggridge; in them the -length of the cephalothorax and falces were found to exceed that of -the genual and tibial joints of the fourth pair of legs, by from -1-1/2 to 2 mm. - -In regard to the relative length of the legs of the present species -this was 4, 1, 2, 3 in the one example examined, and 4, 1, 2-3 in the -other, both being males. - -It is a matter of regret that nothing, as yet, has been accurately -observed in regard to the particular type or form of the nest of _N. -dubia_. - -_Habitat._ Pyrenees and Spanish mountain regions. - - -Nemesia Manderstjernæ, Plate XX., fig. B, C, p. 254. - -Syn. _Nemesia Manderstjernæ_, Auss. ♂, _Beitr. zur Kenntn. der -Arachn. Fam. der Territelariæ_, p. 54. - -_Nemesia meridionalis_, Cambr. (female), _Harvesting Ants and -Trap-door Spiders_, by J. T. Moggridge, p. 101. Plates IX. X. XI. - -Adult male, length 6-1/4 to 7-1/2 lines. - -Since the publication of the description of _N. meridionalis_, -Cambr. (♀ l.c. _supra_), I have had an opportunity of examining an -adult example of each sex of a _Nemesia_, described about the same -time by M. Eugène Simon as _N. meridionalis_, Costa, in _Aranéides -nouv. ou peu connus du Midi de l'Europe_, p. 21 (separate copy). -The species described by M. Simon was found by himself abundantly -in Corsica. He also gives Italy and Provence as localities, but the -former of these two is, I conclude, given as being _Costa's_ locality -for the spider described by this latter author in _Fauna d. Regn. -Napl. Arachn._, p. 14; the other locality (Provence) would seem to -have been doubtfully given. On careful examination of the Corsican -examples (male and female), and on comparing them with the male and -female of _N. meridionalis_, Cambr., as well as the description and -figure given by Costa, I feel no doubt but that M. Simon is right in -according to the Corsican species M. Costa's name--_meridionalis_. It -agrees, I think, decidedly better, on the whole, with Costa's figure -and description than the species to which (l.c.) I had allotted the -specific name _meridionalis_ conferred by that author. Nor had I any -hesitation in accepting the determination made by M. Simon, in _Bull. -Ent. Soc. Fr._, 1873, sér. v. tom. 3, c.; that my _N. meridionalis_ -♀ is the female of _N. Manderstjernæ_, Auss., the more especially -as since the publication of my description I have received from the -same locality (Mentone) not only the male of the spider described by -myself (l.c.), but also the type of M. Ausserer's description of _N. -Manderstjernæ_ (found at Nice), and believe these to be identical in -species. There is, indeed, a difference in the, apparent, relative -positions and colour of the eyes of the two spiders, but no more than -may be well accounted for by the condition of M. Ausserer's type -(most kindly lent to me for examination by its owner, Dr. Ludwig -Koch); this example is much shrunken, having the appearance of having -been allowed to get dry and then to have been again immersed in -spirit. This would (I have frequently found it so in other spiders) -cause even the hard integument of the cephalothorax to contract, -and so cause the eyes to shrink up together into a closer group, as -well as to sink down into the cuticle, making some of them appear -smaller than they really are. Alternate drying and wetting again in -spirit would also account for the yellowish brown colour of the eyes, -whereas in the male of the Mentone spider the eyes of the hinder -row are pearly grey, and of the front row dark grey. Beyond these -differences I can find no distinction between them. - -The male of the present species is very nearly allied to both _N. -incerta_ (p. 276) from the Pyrenees, and _N. dubia_ (p. 280) from -Digne, of both of which, as remarked (l.c.), the male sex alone -is known to me; it is, however, larger than either, more richly -coloured, and more distinctly marked. In all three species the -elongated portion of the palpal bulb has a simple point, but in -the present spider it is not drawn out so finely and gradually: -some portion of its extremity being, though very fine yet really, -cylindrical, and not tapering off into a hair-like termination; the -general direction of the palpal bulb is parallel with the radial -joint, but the point which is equally curved is directed outwards -and a little downwards; the radial joint has four spines at the -fore extremity on the upper side (in one of the examples there were -however seven on the radial joint of the right palpus), and the -genual joint of each leg of the third pair, in both examples from -Mentone as well as in M. Ausserer's example from Nice, has three -spines on its outer side. This character was not remarked upon in -the description of _N. meridionalis_ ♀ (Cambr. l.c.). It is not -invariable in a long series of female examples; occasionally one -is found with four spines on one of these genual joints, in others -there is occasionally but one spine and sometimes (but rarely) -none; perhaps in this case broken off? I am inclined to attach -some importance as a specific character to the number, presence, -or absence of these spines on the outer side of the genual joint -of the third pair of legs; not that it is an invariable character, -few, if any, specific characters are absolute and invariable, nor -that it is of more importance than the armature of other portions -of the different legs, but as being more easily observed and less -liable to injury than the larger and more numerous spines on other -parts. Equally useful in specific determination are the spines at the -fore-extremity on the upper side of the radial joint of the palpus. -This, however, applies only to the male, whereas the character -derived from the spines on the genual joints of the third pair of -legs applies to both sexes. - -Another character by which the present species (♀) may be -distinguished from _N. dubia_ (_N. cæmentaria_, Sim.) is that the -former is rather narrower at the fore-extremity of the caput, which -is also less elevated, being almost equally level with the thorax. - -The description of the female given (l.c. _supra_) needs but little -addition. It may be noticed, however, that the central longitudinal -tapering orange band on the caput is faintly continued to the extreme -hinder margin of the thorax, and the thoracic fovea is rather sharply -curved. The intervals between the eyes is the same as in those of _N. -Moggridgii_, though their absolute size in some examples appeared to -be smaller. In both sexes there are several small, black, tooth-like, -tubercular spines on the inner side of the base of each maxilla, but -none at the apex of the labium. - -The colour of the _cephalothorax_ in the male is bright-reddish -orange-yellow; a large portion of the sides of the caput, and the -ocular area also, is black-brown; the middle of the thorax is -distinctly marked with black-brown lines radiating to the thoracic -fovea. - -Other, less deep, brown markings are mixed with these radiating -lines; there are a few prominent bristles in front of the ocular -area, a single longitudinal line of erect bristles along the middle -of the orange band from the eyes to the thoracic fovea, and the whole -cephalothorax is more or less clothed with greyish-yellow adpressed -hairs. - -The _falces_ are of a deep blackish red-brown colour, longitudinally -striped with yellow-greyish hairs mixed with dark bristles; and there -are some strong spines at the fore extremity on the inner side. - -The _abdomen_ is oval, tolerably convex above, of a dull, pale, -straw colour, suffused with brown at its fore extremity, whence an -indistinct central longitudinal band tapers to a point rather more -than half way to the spinners; on either side of this band are some -oblique, lateral, brown lines, which become broken chevrons, between -the termination of the central band and the spinners. The sides are -obscurely and irregularly marked with brown, and the under side is -of a uniform dull straw-yellow; the abdomen is clothed thickly with -mixed yellow-grey and dark hairs; the upper side is furnished also -with strong, nearly erect bristly black ones. - -Each _tarsus_ terminates with three claws; those of the superior pair -are pectinated beneath, but the number of teeth appears to vary in -the different legs, from six to eight. The tibial joint of the first -pair is of the same character as that in the males of other species: -it has a strong black curved spine directed inwards from the fore -extremity of the under side, and a short bluntish-conical, but very -distinct prominence at the same extremity on the inner side, not far -from the base of the curved spine, Plate XX., fig. B 4 and C; the -colour of the legs is yellow, tinged with orange, the upper sides of -the femora being nearly black; the palpi are similar in colour, the -upper side of the humeral joints being suffused with a blackish hue. - -The relative length of the legs is not constant; in one example it -was 4, 3, 1, 2, in the other 4, 1, 2, 3, 2 and 3 being very nearly -equal. Similar variations are also found in the legs of the female. - -In regard to the nest of this species, researches made subsequently -to the publication of _Harvesting Ants and Trap-door Spiders_ -have proved it to be of rather a different form from that there -represented; thus in the main tube, just before the inner door is -reached, there is a descending branch running off from the main -tube at the same angle as the ascending branch, but in an opposite -direction; in the older and larger nests the descending branch -becomes choked with débris; it is more distinct in the nests of the -younger spiders, and is always more or less distinctly traceable. - -_N.B._--In the above details there have been only one or two special -distinctions observed between the two male examples examined. It -should however be noted that in one (the one captured behind a stone -wall) the ocular area was slightly narrower in proportion to its -length, and the interval between the eyes of each lateral pair rather -less. - -_Habitat._ San Remo, Bordighera, Mentone, Cannes, and Hyères. - - -Nemesia Meridionalis, Plate XVII., fig. B, p. 215. - -Syn. _Nemesia meridionalis_, Costa, _Fauna d. Regn. Napl. Arachn._, -p. 14, Pl. I., figs. 2, 3. - ----- ---- Simon, _Aranéides nouv. ou peu connus du Midi de l' -Europe_, Mém. Liège, 1873 (separate copy), p. 21. - -Adult male, length 6-3/4 lines (14 mm.), female adult, length 10-1/2 -lines (22 mm.). - -The examination of an adult example of each sex of this spider -received from M. Simon, by whom they were found in Corsica, leads -me to conclude that we have here the true _N. meridionalis_, Costa, -as certainly at least as it is possible at present to identify the -species by the insufficient description and figures given by this -author. - -The _eyes_ appear to be less closely massed together than in _N. -Manderstjernæ_, but in other respects no particularly tangible -difference is to be noted; the interval however between the eyes of -each lateral pair is perhaps rather greater. Between the male and the -female of the present species there is a decided difference in the -relative position of the eyes. In the female the fore-centrals are -nearer together than each is to the fore-lateral on its side, while -in the male, the fore-centrals are wider apart than each is from its -fore-lateral. I have also noted a similar difference in regard to _N. -Manderstjernæ_. The fore-centrals are also smaller in the female than -in the male. - -The two species, although bearing such great general similarity to -each other, may be at once distinguished by several very tangible -differences. First in regard to the _male_. The _cephalothorax_ of -_N. meridionalis_ has the whole caput of an almost uniform dark brown -colour, two slender yellow lines beginning, one a little way behind -each lateral pair of eyes, and converging rather quickly towards each -other, run on nearly parallel, but in close proximity together to -the thoracic fovea. The centre of the thorax is also dark brown, the -brown portion formed by radiating confluent patches, rather than by -distinct lines as in _Manderstjernæ_. The curve of the thoracic fovea -is sharp, in fact more in the form of a straight line with the ends -bent down. - -The _cephalothorax_ is of nearly one uniform level and convexity -above; the caput being a little more rounded than the thorax; the -eye eminence seemed to be rather higher than in _N. Manderstjernæ_, -and the _clypeus_, which is steepish, is impressed in the middle and -exceeds in height half that of the facial space; on the lower margin -of the _clypeus_ is a transverse row of several strong prominent -bristles. There were no bristles behind the eyes, and no appearance -of any having been broken off there (the female, however, has a -single longitudinal row on the caput). The lateral and hinder margins -of the cephalothorax, however, are, in the male (but not in the -female) clothed with black bristles and bristly hairs. - -The _palpi_ are longer than in _Manderstjernæ_. The radial joints -have, at the upper fore extremity of each, five spines, _three_ in -front in a transverse line, and _two_ immediately behind them. The -palpal bulb is more globular, and the spiny production, which is not -very long, springs from it more suddenly, and is _strongly sinuous_, -its sharp tapering point directed outwards. The strong sinuosity of -this part distinguishes it at once both from _N. Manderstjernæ_ and -all other known European males with a simple point to the palpal -organs. - -The _legs_ are longish and strong; their relative length 4-1, 3, 2 -(male); 4-1, 2, 3 (female); they are furnished with hairs, bristles, -and spines. These do not appear to call for special notice, except -that each genual joint of those of the third pair has two spines on -its outer side in both sexes. - -The superior tarsal claws are denticulated, but the denticulations -differ in number and strength, not only in the two sexes and in the -different legs, but in some instances in the two superior claws of -the same leg. The denticulations seemed to be more numerous in the -female than in the male. - -The _abdomen_ is elongate oval, and of a straw yellow colour. In -the _male_ the fore part of the upper side is irregularly black -brown, followed by an irregular somewhat broken longitudinal central -bar, and some broken oblique lines and portions of chevrons. In -the _female_ the fore part is less densely blackish, the central -longitudinal line is obscure, but the oblique lateral lines are more -distinct and less broken, but none are quite united so as to form -chevrons, though the two or three nearest to the spinners almost do -so. - -The upper side is furnished with numerous strong nearly erect black -bristles. - -The _labium_ has a row, of bristles only, at its apex. - -The markings of the cephalothorax in the female are very nearly like -those of that sex in _N. Manderstjernæ_; the tapering orange yellow -band, however, behind the eyes appears to be rather bolder, as in -that species this band also is faintly traceable quite to the hinder -thoracic margin. The inner corner of the base of the maxillæ, in both -sexes, has several minute tooth-like black spines. - -The form of the cephalothorax in the female differs from that of -the male; in the latter sex (male) it is narrower before and rather -rounded behind; in the former sex (female) it is broadest before and -more distinctly hollow-truncate behind; the caput is also rounder and -more elevated. In the female the tarsi and metatarsi of the two first -pairs of legs have close set brush-like hairs beneath; these are -wanting in the two hinder pairs, and also almost entirely wanting on -the two first pairs in the male. - -Various other characters, both peculiar and differential, are noted -in regard to this species by M. Simon (l.c.). It is to be regretted -that this painstaking observer did not note more exactly the form and -type of its nest; from his description of it, however, it appears to -be branched, but whether the door is of the wafer or cork type, or -whether it has an inner door or not, is not mentioned. - -_Habitat._ Corsica. - - -Nemesia Congener, sp. n., Plate XVIII., fig. A, p. 225. - -Adult female, length 9 lines (19 mm.). - -In general appearance, colours, and markings this spider bears -great resemblance to _N. cæmentaria_. The eyes, however, appeared -to be smaller, and the hind-centrals also smaller in proportion to -the rest. The pale margins of the cephalothorax are in the present -species generally confined to some rather indistinct pale patches. - -The central orange band from the eyes to the thoracic fovea is, -especially in immature examples, often only a simple tapering line; -in others it is larger, and often composed of three converging narrow -orange bands, which form, in some examples, a broad central tapering -band, marked with two longitudinal dark lines. The thoracic fovea is -curved, but not sharply. - -The _abdomen_ is broadish oval, of a dull clay colour, marked with -dark brown lines, and markings on the sides and upper side. In -some examples these form a longitudinal central series of curved -or slightly angular lines; in others but little trace of regular -chevrons can be seen. - -In the present spider there is also a longitudinal pale yellowish -patch on the inner upper margin of the falces near their base; they -are furnished with hairs in longitudinal bands, and spines, like -others of the genus. - -The _legs_ are moderately long, strong, and furnished with hairs and -bristles, and, sparingly, with spines. The genual joints of the third -pair have some spines on the outer side, varying from one to three in -different examples. The tarsi and metatarsi of the first and second -pairs, as well as the radial and digital joints of the palpi, have -strong lateral brush-like fringes of close-set sooty black hairs. The -superior pair of tarsal claws are denticulated, but not uniformly -either in strength, number, or position. - -No doubt this will prove a very troublesome spider to distinguish -with certainty from _N. cæmentaria_, but the almost constant presence -of a spine or spines on the outer face of the genual joint of the -third pair of legs seems to be a good distinguishing character; in -no one example out of nine carefully examined could I detect their -absence altogether, while a single spine even on _N. cæmentaria_ is -rare. - -In the present species five examples had three spines on each of -these joints; two had two spines on each; one had a single spine on -each; another had one on one side, two on the other. - -The nest, however, is very characteristic and peculiar. It is of the -wafer-lid type, and so cannot, from even the outside, be mistaken -for that of _N. cæmentaria_, which is of the cork-lid type; it is, -moreover, branched below, while that of _N. cæmentaria_ is a single -unbranched tube. It has also an inside door, or valve, of very -remarkable construction, having two perfect cork-like faces, securely -shutting off either the branch, or the main tube just above the -branch, at pleasure. By this latter character it is distinguished -also from the tube of _N. Manderstjernæ_, as well as by the absence -of a second short branch or cavity, lately discovered in the nest -of this last spider. Examples of this spider were found, not -unfrequently, but invariably in such nests as that above described, -at Hyères. - -The female sex only has yet been met with. - -_Habitat._ Hyères. - - -Nemesia Suffusa, sp. n., Plate XVII., fig. A, p. 215. - -Immature female, length 7-1/2 lines (15-1/2 mm.). - -Although no example was quite adult, this species may readily be -distinguished from all others yet known to me, by its more elongated -form, particularly the cylindrico-ovate form of the abdomen. - -The _cephalothorax_ is oval, broadest towards its posterior -extremity, where it is rounded, the fore-margin being truncated; the -caput is well rounded and convex, and the thorax perhaps more so -than in other species, so that when looked at in profile there is a -considerable dip or hollow at the thoracic fovea; this fovea forms a -slight curve. Except that the lateral margins are rather broadly pale -towards the hinder part (though the pale portion is ill-defined), -the whole of the cephalothorax is of a uniform dull yellowish-brown -colour; the extreme lateral margin is marked by a black line, and -in one or two examples there was an indistinct yellowish central -longitudinal line from the eyes to the thoracic junction, having a -single row of prominent bristles upon it. The whole surface of the -cephalothorax is fairly clothed with dusky yellowish-grey adpressed -hairs: the ordinary grooves and indentations are well marked. - -The _eyes_ are on the usual eye eminence, which is perhaps rather -more elevated than ordinary, and its summit black; their position -is ordinary. It may, however, be noticed that the fore-centrals are -placed more forward than in most of the other known species; the -fore-centrals are about _equally_ separated from each other, and -from the fore-laterals nearest to each respectively; they are also -separated from the hind-central nearest to each, by an interval -not differing much from that between each other; the hind-centrals -are distinctly oval, or rather somewhat semilunar in form, smallest -of the eight (except in one example, when they were almost, if not -quite, as large as the fore-centrals), and at their hindermost point -very near, but not quite contiguous, to the hind-laterals. The eyes -of each lateral pair (of which the hinder is very nearly equal in -size to the fore one), are very near, but not quite contiguous, to -each other; the interval between them is narrower than that between -the corresponding eyes in almost any other yet described species. - -The _legs_ are neither long nor very strong; their relative length is -4, 1, 2, 3, though between 2 and 3 there is in different examples the -same variation observed in other species; sometimes they are equal, -and sometimes one, and then the other, very slightly the longest: -their colour is pale yellowish, and they are furnished with hairs, -bristles, and spines, but the latter are not numerous, and appeared -to be both longer and slenderer than usual; the genual joints of the -third pair have spines, from one to three on the outer side, for the -most part, three; the superior tarsal claws are pectinated (but not -uniformly on all the legs) beneath their hinder portion. - -The _falces_ are strong, and similar in colour to the cephalothorax, -but they do not appear to call for any special remark. - -The _maxillæ_ have a few minute tuberculiform black teeth at their -base on the inner side, and, with the _labium_ (which has no hairs at -its apex) and _sternum_, are similar in colour to the legs. - -The _abdomen_ is of an elongated, or cylindrico-ovate form, of a -dull drab-yellowish colour, with a central, longitudinal, irregular, -rather chocolate-brown bar on its upper side, and 6 to 7 well-defined -lateral oblique slightly curved lines of the same colour and touching -the central line; between these lines are some other irregular, but -similarly coloured, markings. - -The sides are almost immaculate, and the underside quite so; the -spinners are ordinary. - -About 10 examples (all immature) were found at Montpellier in -branched tubes closed at the entrance with a wafer-lid. The branch -arises some way below the entrance and runs up to the surface at an -acute angle with the main tube; there is no lower door, and thus this -tube forms the type of a new form of nest, being branched, with a -wafer-lid, but without a lower door. - -This species cannot be confused with _N. cæmentaria_, which is found -abundantly in the same locality; both the general form, colours, -markings, and nest readily distinguish it from that species. - -_Habitat._ Montpellier. - - -Nemesia Simoni, sp. n., Plate XVI., fig. A, p. 211. - -Adult female, length rather more than 9-1/4 lines (20 mm.). - -This spider is of a proportionally broader and stouter form than -others of the genus _Nemesia_, and the cephalothorax (which is -entirely glabrous and destitute of adpressed hairs) has the caput -more rounded and elevated than in any other species of _Nemesia_ -known to me, approaching _Cteniza_ in these respects. - -The _cephalothorax_ is oval, truncate, and about equally broad at -each end; the ordinary grooves and indentations are strong; besides -the groove which indicates its union with the thorax, the caput has -an indented or pinched-in appearance towards its hinder part on each -side. Except that this was present in all the examples examined (ten) -it might have been taken to be accidental. - -The colour of the cephalothorax is dark brown tinged with yellow, -darkest on the sides of the caput, which is divided longitudinally -by a narrow, dull, orange-yellow line, and lightest on the margins -towards the hinder part; the thoracic fovea is curved, but more -deeply indented and the indentation is wider at each end than in -other species, the ends being a little turned back: there is a single -longitudinal row of long erect bristles along the central line of the -caput, and a few more on the lower margin of the clypeus. - -The _eyes_ form a narrower oblong area than usual, owing chiefly -to their small size and to those of each lateral pair being almost -contiguous to each other, separated only by an interval equal to that -which divides each hind-lateral from the hind-central nearest to it. -The hind-centrals are smallest of the eight, and vary in form, being -round, semilunar, or roughly wedge-shaped, differing at times in the -same example. The eye eminence is less elevated than in most species, -and this brings the fore-centrals nearer to the straight line of the -fore-laterals; these last are the largest of the eight. The height of -the clypeus exceeds half that of the facial space. - -The _legs_ are short and strong; their relative length 4, 1, 3, 2, -or 4, 1, 2, 3, or 4, 1, 2-3; they are of a brownish yellow colour, -deeper on their fore-sides, furnished with hairs, bristles, and -spines, the latter not very numerous nor unusually strong; there -are no spines on the outer sides of the genual joints of the third -pair; the tarsal claws are longish and strong. Those of the superior -pair have but one, two, or three pectinations on their underside; on -some of the legs I could not detect any. There seemed to be no more -uniformity in the tarsal-claw pectinations in this species than in -others. The tarsal and metatarsal joints of the legs of the first -pair have a fringe of close-set short blackish hairs on either side, -as also have the digital joints of the palpi, these being similar to -the legs in colour and armature; the humeral joints are very deep but -narrow, being apparently bent and hollowed on their inner sides to -allow of meeting well over the falces. - -The terminal palpal claw has two teeth towards its base on the -underside. I could not ascertain satisfactorily whether this is -or not a uniform character in all examples; in one example these -denticulations were very plain, but they seemed to be wanting in -others. - -The _falces_ are very strong and massive, round in their profile, -and very roundly prominent near their base on the upper side. They -are of a rich deep black-brown colour, glossy, and furnished along -their inner margins with black bristles and hairs, and with strong -spines at their extremity on the upper side. The fang is strong, and -the outer margin of the groove in which it lies when at rest has some -strong teeth. - -The _maxillæ_ are strong, of normal form, but very convex on their -outer surface. - -The small tuberculous teeth noticed at the base on the inner side of -the maxillæ of all the other species I have examined, were visible -(though with difficulty) in this species also. - -The _labium_ is broader than it is high, convex on its face, and -rounded at the apex; it is (as also are the _maxillæ_ and _sternum_) -of the same colour as the legs, and clothed with numerous strong -bristly hairs. - -The _abdomen_ is short-oval, and strongly convex above; it is of a -dull clay-coloured brown tinged with chocolate, and along the centre -of its upper side is a series of six strong angular bars or chevrons -of a dark chocolate-brown colour, and pretty distinctly defined, -though, when examined closely, broken in parts. - -The intervening spaces between the angular bars and the sides have a -few irregular markings of a similar colour; and they are connected -by a longitudinal central line of the same hue running through their -apices. - -The abdomen is very sparingly clothed with hairs and fine bristles; -the superior pair of spinners are strong; those of the inferior pair -very small and short. - -Examples of this fine and very distinct spider were found at Bordeaux -in simple unbranched tubes, covered with a wafer-lid, running down -very deep into the earth, in some cases as much as fifteen inches -into an exceedingly hard soil, making it a work of great labour and -care to get them out without injury. - -This species can scarcely be confused with any other yet known; its -short robust form, short legs, more elevated caput, general dark -colour, distinct angular bars on the abdomen, and almost contiguous -lateral eyes, as well as the form of the nest, will readily -distinguish it. - -It is with great pleasure that I connect with this spider the name of -my most kind friend and brother arachnologist, Monsieur Eugène Simon, -to whom I am so greatly indebted for much information and numerous -examples of rare spiders. - -I must not conclude these descriptions without expressing my sense of -obligation to Mr. Moggridge for so kindly allowing me to add them to -the far more popular, and more interesting, portion of this volume, -in which the _habits_ of these spiders are recorded. - -Descriptions of _colour_, _form_, and _structure_ are but dry -details, though very necessary for the determination of species; and -in the present case it is very important as well as interesting to be -able to conclude with some certainty that differences of type in the -tubular nests of the spiders Mr. Moggridge has observed so closely -and accurately, are joined to well-marked specific differences -obtained from those other characters above mentioned, and which it -has been my endeavour to detail as fully and faithfully as possible. - - - - -INDEX TO SUPPLEMENT. - - -PART I.--HARVESTING ANTS. - - Alyssocarpus, seeds of, collected by ants, 175 - - Amphisbæna, found in nests of Lauba ants, 177 - - _André_ (M. Ernest), on number of species of ants found in Europe, - 160 (note) - - _Arabia_, custom in, relative to ants, 176 - - Atta, species of, found in Europe, 160 (note); - _barbara_, 158; - found in Palestine, 165; - _megacephala_, 160; - _structor_, 158; - experiment with, 172; - found harvesting at Cadenabbia, 159 - - - _Cadenabbia_, harvesting ants at, 159 - - Camponotus _sylvatica_, 178 - - Cicendela, capturing ants, 164 - - Coluocera _attæ_, found in ants' nests, 177 - - _Cricket_ (Gryllus _myrmecophilus_), found in ants' nests, 178 - - - _England_, do ants harvest in, 159 (note) - - - _Formic acid_, experiments with, 173 - - Formica _erratica_, 164; - _nigra_, collecting violet seeds, 159 (note) - - - Gryllus _myrmecophilus_, found in ants' nests, 178 - - - _Hindoos_, custom of scattering rice for ants, 176 - - - _India_, observations in, 175 - - _Insects_ found in ants' nests, 177 - - - _Jews_, laws treating of rights over ants' stores, 165 - - - _King_ (Dr.), observations in India, 175 - - - _Lizards_ capturing ants, 162 - - - _Misna_, allusion to harvesting ants in, 165 - - _Montpellier_, harvesting ants at, 160 - - - _Nests_, quantity of seeds contained in, 170 - - - _Palestine_, harvesting ants in, 165 - - Pheidole _megacephala_, 160 - - Pterocles _exustus_, feeding on seeds collected by ants, 175 - - - _Robin_ eating ants, 163 (note) - - - _Seed-stores_ of ants, Jewish laws about, 165 - - _Seeds_, intervention of ants necessary to prevent germination of, 172; - non-germination of in granaries, 171 - - - _Wakefield_ (Mr.), on ants collecting violet seeds, 159 (note) - - -PART II.--TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. - - _Ants_ form a large part of food of trap-door spiders, 237 - - Atypus _bleodonticus_ (Sim.), 183 (note); - _piceus_ (Sulzer), nests of, 182-3, 248; - species of in England, 181, 185 - - _Australia_, nest of wafer type from, 217 - - - _Bates_ (Mr. H. W.), on the nest of _Theraphosa Blondii_, 188 - - _Beetle_ (Chrysomela _Banksii_) rejected by trap-door spider, 241 - - _Blackwall_ (Mr. J.), on the poison of spiders, 201 - - _Bordeaux_, new type of nest at, 211 - - _Brown_ (Mr. Joshua), discovery of _Atypus_ in England, 185 - - - _California_, trap-door spider from, 198-9; - habits of in captivity, 203, &c.; - indifference to sounds, 206 - - _Captive spiders_, habits of, 203, 218, 242-6 - - _Caterpillar_ (larva of Cucullia _verbasci_), eaten by trap-door - spider, 239 - - _Cell and tube_ made by _N. Eleanora_, 218; - hygrometricity of, 220 - - _Chrysomela Banksii_, distasteful to trap-door spider, 241 - - _Cork nest_, 193; - structure of door of, 193 - - Cteniza _californica_ (Camb.), 198, 202, 248; - description of, 260; - eggs laid by, 203; - habits of in captivity, 203, &c.; - indifference to sounds, 206; - mode of excavating, 208; - _fodiens_ (Walck.), 195, 248, 259; - _ionica_, 210; - _Moggridgii_ (Camb.), 196; - description of, 254; - habits of in captivity, 243, 246 - - Cucullia _verbasci_, larva of, eaten by trap-door spider, 239 - - Cyrtauchenius _elongatus_ (Sim.), nest of, 189, 248 - - - _Diagrams_ representing different types of nest, 193 - - - _Earwig_ (_Forficula_) eaten by trap-door spiders, 238 - - _Eggs of_ Cteniza _californica_, 203 - - _Enemies of spiders_, 200, 205 - - _Enlargement of nests_, 245 - - _Excavation_ of trap-door nests, 208, 243-4 - - - _Food of trap-door spiders_, 237-9, 241; - mode of procuring, 238 - - _Funnel type_ of nest, constructed by _Cyrtauchenius elongatus_, 189 - - - _Geographical distribution_, 247-9, 250 - - - _Hyères_ double-door, branched wafer type, 223 - - - Idioctis _helva_ (L. Koch), nest of, 217 - - - _Koch_ (Dr. L.), on nest of _Idioctis helva_ from Australia, 217 - - - _Lanzwert_ (Dr.), on trap-door spiders in California, 199 - - _Latreille_ (P. A.), on the nest of Lycosa _tarentula_, 236 - - Lycosa _tarentula_, nests of at Cannes, 233; - nests closed in the winter, 235 - - - _Montpellier_, Nemesia _cæmentaria_ at, 196, 198; - _N. suffusa_ at, 215 - - - Nemesia _cæmentaria_ (Latr.), 195-6, 249; - description of, 264; - _congener_ (Camb.), 224, 249; - description of, 292; - _dubia_ (Camb.), description of, 280; - _Eleanora_ (Camb.), 218, 249, 272; - _incerta_ (Camb.), description of, 276; - _Manderstjernæ_ (Auss.), 226, 249; - description of, 283; - _meridionalis_ (Costa), 227, 250; - description of, 289; - _Moggridgii_ (Camb.), 197-8, 249; - description of, 273; - _Simoni_ (Camb.), 211, 249; - description of, 297; - _suffusa_ (Camb.), 215, 249; - description of, 295 - - _Nests enlarged_, not deserted, 245 - - _Nocturnal habits_ of trap-door spiders, 240 - - - _Oniscus_ (wood-louse) eaten by trap-door spider, 241 - - - _Poison_ of spiders, 200-1 - - - _Simon_ (M. E.), on _Atypus piceus_ (Sulzer), 182; - on Cyrtauchenius _elongatus_ (Sim.), 189 - - - _Tarantula_, 233, 235 - - _Theraphosa Blondii_, nest of, 188 - - - _Wafer nests_ of single-door unbranched type, 193 (note), 211; - of single-door branched type, 193, 214; - of double-door unbranched type, 193, 218; - of Hyères double-door branched type, 193, 223; - of double-door branched cavity type, 193, 228 - - _Wood-louse_ (Oniscus) eaten by trap-door spider, 241 - - _Worms_ the food of _Atypus_, 182, 186 - - -THE END. - - -LIST OF WORKS - -PUBLISHED BY - -L. REEVE & CO., - -5, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, W.C. - -=NEW SERIES OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR BEGINNERS.= - - -∵ A good introductory series of books on Natural History for the -use of students and amateurs is still a _desideratum_. 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