:254 ^'^^^ Irish Naturalist. 



ARACHNIDA. 



(Collected for the R. I.A. Flora and Fauna Committee). 

 BY GKORGE H CARPKNTBR, B.SC 



ARANEIDA. 

 The; district visited by tlie Field Club Conference was almost virgin soil 

 as regards Arachnids. Mr. T. Workman's valuable list of Irish Spiders^ 

 deals mainly with northern localities. Mr. D. W. Freeman has collected 

 industriously for several years in the Dublin district, and a large number 

 of specimens from various parts of Ireland have been kindly sent to me 

 by various correspondents, so that material is accumulating for a new 

 list which I hope to issue before long. The summer is not the time of 

 5*ear when one finds the small Theridiidce which form the bulk of our 

 spider fauna, adult; but our collecting in the Gal way district was rewarded 

 by several Lycosidit and Attidce of great interest. Of the forty-four species 

 of spiders enumerated below, eleven do not appear in Mr. Workman's 

 list. My best thanks are due to several members of the party who kindly 

 helped me in collecting spiders as well as insects. 



The most remarkable finds were Lycosa leopardiis on Lough Corrib shore, 

 Pardosa piirbeckensis (a species only described this year) at Gentian Hill, 

 Hahnia nwntana on Ben Lettery, and the four species of Ailidic which 

 conclude the list. The spiders of this family are very scarce in Ireland ; 

 I have as yet noted only seven species. The discovery of such a rare 

 species as Athis floricola was, therefore, very welcome, while the presence 

 of no less than three attids on Aranmore is a remarkable feature in the 

 fauna of that island. 



Dysdera crocota, C. Koch — Mr, R. Welch fovmd an immature male 

 Dysdera on M'Dara's Island, Roundstone, which must in all probability 

 be referred to this species. Local in the south of England, this spider 

 is generally distributed and not scarce in Ireland ; its presence in this 

 remote western isle is of some interest. 



Segestria senoculata, L. — Immature specimens observed in most 

 of the localities visited, including Aranmore. 



Drassus cupreus, Bl. — From an examination of Irish Z>mj-5z, kindly 

 made by Rev. F. O. P. Cambridge, this species appears to be far more 

 plentiful in Ireland than the nearly allied D. lapidosjts, Wick, Adult 

 females with colonies of 3-oung just hatched, were found at Ballyvaughan, 

 on Lough Corrib shore, and on Aranmore. 



ProsthesiiYia Petiverii, Scop. (Cb.)— Ballyvaughan and Aranmore. 

 The nearly allied P. Latreillci, which is not rare in the south and east of 

 Ireland, was not observed. 



P. nigrita, I'ab.— I did not find this species, but Dr. ScharfFtook it 

 on Aranmore in September, 1S91. 



lYIIcarlosoma festlvum, C. Koch — An immature male on Aran- 

 more. Not previously recorded as Irish. 



Clublona phragmltis, C. Koch— Lough Corrib shore, under stones. 



C. rcclusa, Cb. — Recess; Ballyvaughan; Lough Corrib shore in the 

 wood, female with nest beneath frond of Polypodium. This seems the 

 commonest of the Irish ClubioncP. 



DIctyna ai*uncllnacea, CI.— Immature males and females on L. 

 Corrib shore. 



■• Entomologist, vol. xiii,, 1880, p. 125. 



