Narbonne Lycosa: Climbing-Instinct 



their legs, fumble in space as though for yet 

 higher stalks. It behoves us to begin again 

 and under better conditions. 



Although the Narbonne Lycosa, with her 

 temporary yearning for the heights, is more 

 interesting than other Spiders, by reason of 

 the fact that her usual habitat is under- 

 ground, she is not so striking at swarming- 

 time, because the youngsters, instead of all mi- 

 grating at once, leave the mother at different 

 periods and in small batches. The sight will 

 be a finer one with the common Garden or 

 Cross Spider, the Diadem Epeira (Epeira 

 diadema, Lin.), decorated with three white 

 crosses on her back. 



She lays her eggs in November and dies 

 with the first cold snap. She is denied the Ly- 

 cosa's longevity. She leaves the natal wallet 

 early one spring, and never sees the following 

 spring. This wallet, which contains the eggs, 

 has none of the ingenious structure which we 

 admired in the Banded and in the Silky 

 Epeira. No longer do we see a graceful bal- 

 loon-shape, nor yet a paraboloid with a starry 

 base; no longer a tough, waterproof satin 

 stuff; no longer a swan's-down resembling a 

 fleecy russet cloud; no longer an inner keg in 



i77 



