92 KANSAS UNIVERSITY SCIENCE BULLETIN. 



in a closed cell in or near the web, while others lodge it in 

 sheltered places remote from the snare. 



Beyond making careful provision for the seclusion and pro- 

 tection of her eggs, the agelenid mother can do nothing for the 

 next generation, as she rarely lives to see her offspring. The 

 females of most species die in the fall or early winter. Tege- 

 naria civlis, however, is known to live four years, producing 

 many broods (Staveley). 



Type: Agelena nsevia. 



This is a very common species, which makes its sheet web, 

 with funnel retreat, in grassy fields, in brush piles, or in nooks 

 and crannies in and about buildings. The eggs are laid in 

 September and October. At this time the females collect to- 

 gether in great numbers under the bark of dead trees or fence- 

 posts, under loose rocks, and in angles of buildings and like 

 places. Here their cocoons are grouped so close together as to 

 often overlap — as many as forty or fifty sometimes being 

 found on a space as large as one's two hands. The cocoon 

 itself is a low, hemispherical patch, approximately three-fourths 

 of an inch in diameter, attached by the flat face. Sometimes, 

 also, the highest point of the convex surface is attached. It is 

 white in color, and one can readily distinguish the following 

 parts : A closely woven rug on which the eggs are placed, over 

 that a circular covering, and then two more light silken blan- 

 kets, with a layer of dirt or wood chippings between. This 

 layer of debris shows through the outer covering as grayish 

 protuberances. The dead bodies of the females are usually 

 found on or near the cocoons. The eggs are cream-colored, not 

 agglutinate, and number about 200. The young hatch in the 

 early spring, and leave the cocoon some time in April. 



Type: Coras medicinalis. 



A species very frequently met with the year round. It lives 

 in sheet webs under rocks, tangled masses of roots, overhang- 

 ing banks, and other like shelters in the woods. The cocoons 

 are spun in early summer. In all cases noted they were sus- 

 pended, or rather entangled, in the web, which was drawn up 

 at the edges and sagged somewhat in the center. This sag- 

 ging is caused by a mass of fine, dry dirt, bits of leaves and 



