Araneides of the United States. 229 



ilies of Walckenaer, which appear to me quite artificial. 

 These spiders are the eagles and lions of the family. They 

 are found swarming on the ground, running with great agili- 

 ty, a property belonging to those spiders in which the fourth 

 pair of legs is longest. Most are usually found wandering for 

 prey, except when engaged in maternal duties ; others dwell 

 in holes several inches deep, well rounded and supplied with 

 a ring of silk and little straws, consolidated so as to prevent 

 the crumbling of the earth. I have found one of these, in 

 the winter, which was supplied with a lid, and probably they 

 all close the orifice for hibernation. The mother carries its 

 cocoon attached to the posterior part of the abdomen. Small 

 species ramble about with these ; but the larger ones watch 

 them in their habitation or under stones. The moment the 

 young ones are hatched, they climb on the abdomen of the 

 mother, and remain there for a considerable time. They 

 give a monstrous and horrible appearance to the mother, 

 which seems hairy and twice as large as usual. If the 

 parent be touched or forcibly arrested, the young Spiders in- 

 stantly disperse and disappear. The mother when deprived 

 of its cocoon seems to loose all her ferocity and activity, but 

 if it be placed near her, the moment she perceives it, these 

 powers return, and she rushes to the cocoon, which she grasps 

 with renewed vigor. She defends her progeny to the last, 

 and her feet can be torn from her one by one, before she can 

 be compelled to abandon her treasure. Thus can maternal 

 tenderness be exhibited in beings which are relentless to 

 their own species and even to the sex which gives life to its 

 progeny. It is extremely difficult to distinguish the different 

 species of Lycosa, owing to the infinite varieties in colors, 

 marking and size. Future writers will probably clear the 

 confusion which I boast not of having removed during 

 twenty years of studious attention to this subgenus. 



1. LYCOSA FATIFERA. 



Description. Bluish black ; cephalothorax deeper in 

 color at the sides ; cheliceres covered with rufous hairs and 

 with a red elevation on their external side near their base ; 

 one of the largest species. 



