98 SPIDERS [CH. 



blade or fang. Indeed the burrowing species of the 

 Aviculariidae may be distinguished from the rest by 

 their mandibles, which are provided in front w r ith a 

 rastellum, or row of teeth for digging. A trap-door 

 spider, then, does not go to work like a rabbit, or a 

 terrier, scratching and kicking away the earth as it 

 digs ; it laboriously dislodges particles of soil with 

 its powerful mandibles, and carries away the loosened 

 fragments to deposit them at a distance. 



The trap-door spiders of the Mediterranean region 

 are nocturnal creatures, and little is known of their 

 habits. Erber relates that a species found in the 

 island of Tinos comes out at night, fixes open the 

 trap-door with a few threads, and spins a web near 

 its nest to entrap passing insects, clearing away any 

 trace of it before the dawn. In the case of some 

 Chinese and also some Australian species observers 

 allege that they frequently wander from their nests 

 in the day-time. 



A California!! species was able to leave its nest 

 when the trap-door was weighted with three ounces 

 of lead. On re-entering, it seized the edge of the 

 door with its mandibles, and, raising it slightly, 

 inserted its front legs. It then turned round and 

 slipped backwards into the tube. It always resisted 

 the forcible opening of its door to the last moment, 

 when it let go and slid into the tube "as though 

 going down a well." 



