iS4 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



tically alike, generally dropping almost perpendicularly into the earth 

 for about six to nine inches, with the opening a little larger than the 

 rest of the cylinder; but the doors are different. Stasimopus has a 

 thick cork-like door, with bevelled edge, which fits into the hole, being 

 a little larger at the top than at the bottom. The thickness of the 

 door of Gorgyrella varies; sometimes it is cork-like (though not so 

 thick as the thickest Stasimopus lids), and, at other times, thin and 

 not so firm and solid, in which case its bevelled edge is not so pro- 

 nounced, and it more overlaps the edge of the hole. The lids of both 

 are always on bare ground, covered with earth, and just flush with the 

 surrounding surface. But there is one essential, and, as far as my 

 experience goes, constant variation in the lids; that of Stasimopus is 

 round, with a slighter hinge, which does not apparently break into 

 the outline of the circle, while that of Gorgyrella is an incomplete 

 circle, more or less D-shaped, with a broad, strong hinge. In the 

 case of both, the silk that forms the hinge is so arranged as to act 

 as an elastic spring which closes the door automatically. (The nest 

 of Gorgyrella was unknown until I found it here, but I have sent 

 some good specimens as well as many other nests to the museum, 

 where they may be compared with those of Stasimopus ; the spider 

 itself is unrepresented or at any rate unrecorded in any European 

 museums.) 



It is only the females and young that build these nests; the adult 

 males of the whole family are supposed to live under stones. Both 

 sexes are nocturnal in their habits. The females are common but 

 difficult to find; the males, however, are extremely rare; the male of 

 Gorgyrella has never yet been found. I found one male Stasimopus, 

 which was the second specimen in the South African Museum collec- 

 tion, only one other specimen that in the British Museum having 

 been recorded previously. He is hardly recognizable as being what 

 he is, for he is small (about half an inch long), black, with greatly 

 elongated palps. He cuts a very diminutive figure beside his huge and 

 powerful consort. 



Among my Gorgyrella finds recently have been two with cocoons 

 and one with young. It would seem that, when the eggs are laid and 

 until the young are strong, the female shuts herself up in the hole; 

 for in all three cases I found the lid closed down securely. The hole 

 containing the mother and young was actually so fastened down that 

 I had to tear it open all round the edge. I am not sure that the 

 other two were also stitched down, but the ground had caked round 

 the edges, effectually fastening them down. 



These nests are difficult to discover, indeed almost impossible, 

 except after rain, when, if you know where to look and what to look 

 for, you may find a good many; for the holes being hollow, the lids 



