186 SUPPLEMENT TO 



collapsed state witli the spider at the bottom. In 

 one case, on opening the box in which the nest was 

 placed, he perceived a movement throughout the tube, 

 as if it were being inflated; this however soon sub- 

 sided, but the following morning he was surprised to 

 see that the whole tube was inflated, especially at the 

 end which had lain exposed on the bank. He failed 

 to find any aperture by which the spider could enter 

 or leave her nest, and his captives, though passing 

 backwards and forwards in their tubes, never came 

 out at either end. He never saw flies or any fragments 

 of insects in the nests ; but, on drawing out one of 

 the tubes, he observed a worm at the lower end, par- 

 tially within it, partially outside, and he perceived 

 that the spider had evidently been eating a consi- 

 derable portion of its anterior extremity. 



It will readily be seen that there are some discre- 

 pancies between the diff*erent accounts which have 

 been given of the nests of Aiypus found in England 

 and France,* and I think it quite probable that some 

 at least of the nests described may really difi'er, and 

 be the work of distinct species belonging to this 

 genus. Mr. Brown describes his nests as having by 

 far the greater part of their length under ground, 

 while in those observed by M. Simon, as shown in 

 my figure, Plate XIII. fig. A, the exposed portion of 

 the tube equalled or exceeded the subterranean. 



An imperfect specimen at tlie British Museum, 

 from some English station (exact habitat not given), 

 appears to have the proportions described by Mr. 

 Brown ; the length of the aerial portion of the tube 



A subject already alluded to in Anls and Sjjidtrs, at p. 78. 



