HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



61 



No Neapolitan species are mentioned by Moggridge, 

 but this one is possibly identical with the Nemesia 

 Simoni found by him at Bordeaux. It is a simple 

 silken tube without inner door or branch, and sinking 

 ten or twelve inches deep into the ground (fig. 43). 



Another species abounds in the same locality, and 

 may be the A r . suffitsa described as being found at 

 Montpellier. The tube of its nest differs from that 

 of the preceding in having an upward branch coming 

 nearly, but not quite to the surface of the earth as in 

 (fig. 47 a). 



Alluding to A T . Simoni and N. sitffusa Mr. Mog- 

 gridge says, "It may perhaps be no more than a 

 coincidence, but we can scarcely avoid commenting 

 upon the fact, that, just as the Montpellier wafer nest 



Fig. 47. — Sections of nests of Trap-door Spiders. 



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 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. 



Certainly this cannot be the case, seeing that the 

 same types of nest as occur separately at Bordeaux 

 and Montpellier, occur together at Naples, where the 

 climate if not drier, is at least warmer at Mentone. 



I found no other type of nest at Naples, therefore 



it seems strange that the same ones should occur in 

 two places so far apart, unless they be found also 

 in intermediate locaties. I observed one or two nests 

 of the wafer type in the grounds of Hadrian's Villa 

 at Tivoli, but had not time to examine them. 



The Rev. C. P. Cambridge, in his description of 

 N. meridionalis at the end of the supplement to 

 "Ants and Spiders," seems to say that this species 

 was supposed to have been found in Corsica by 

 M. Simon, but that the only thing he observed about 

 its nest was, that it was branched. It was described 

 by Professor Costa as occurring near Naples and 

 in Ischia. 



Is it not probable that it may construct the single 

 door branched wafer nest just mentioned ? 



There is of course quite a possibility that the 

 single door unbranched nest of Naples may turn out 

 to be the work of some hitherto undescribed species, 

 instead of N. Simoni, as no one appears to have 

 noticed two types of nest in this locality. I was un- 

 fortunately under the full impression, when in Italy, 

 that both these Neapolitan spiders were fully de- 

 scribed by Mr. Moggridge, but find, on referring to 

 his work, that I was mistaken, and to my great 

 regret, have none of the spiders preserved for identi- 

 fication. Any observer staying at Naples could, 

 however, easily solve these difficulties. 



The Nemesias, found along the Riviera, generally, 

 if not invariably, add a thick inner door to their 

 nests, about a third down the tube. This door differs 

 entirely in structure from the upper door, and opens 

 inwards instead of outwards, otherwise I should have 

 fancied that the nest with two doors, alluded to by 

 the Rev. J. G. Wood as in the British Museum, and 

 which as yet I have found no opportunity of seeing, 

 might have been one of those possessing an inner 

 door. 



These inner doors are always white, thick, and 

 hard, somewhat resembling hardened paper pulp in 

 texture, and becoming soft when the ground is very 

 wet. As I have already said, this door opens down- 

 wards, and is furnished with a groove on its upper 

 surface, to allow the spider to pass more readily 

 when open ; and silken drapery is attached round the 

 door, except at the hinge, in order that it should 

 close more perfectly. 



(To be continued.) 



Natural History Society in South London. 

 — I shall be obliged if any of your readers interested 

 in the above, would kindly furnish me with their 

 names and addresses as soon as possible, as I propose 

 commencing the opening session in March or April. 

 A meeting will shortly be held for the purpose of 

 appointing a chairman and other officers, full par- 

 ticulars of which I shall be happy to give on applica- 

 tion. — Stuart Taylor, 77 Cramptou Street, Walworth. 



