TRAP -DOOR SPIDERS. 207 



In October I carried this Californian spider out 

 with me to Mentone, and she lived there and appeared 

 plump and well until the end of the following month, 

 when she suddenly died, having laid one more group 

 of eggs in the interval. On examination, I found a 

 dark brown spot on one side of the abdomen, and 

 this, I think, probably indicates that her death was 

 caused by some insect of the ichneumon family, 

 which had laid its eggs within the spider's body, 

 after having stabbed it at the place indicated by the 

 discolouration. 



Not very long before this melancholy event oc- 

 curred, I had put the spider to some inconvenience 

 in order to secure her portrait from life, to effect 

 which I took her from her nest and placed her in a 

 deep china saucer. 



She exhibited the strongest dislike to exposure, 

 and sought to hide herself even under a fold of 

 blotting-paper which lay in the saucer with her. I 

 also noted that she appeared quite incapable of walk- 

 ing up the sides of the saucer, and it would therefore 

 seem that she was destitute of the viscid hairs which 

 enable some spiders to traverse glazed and polished 

 surfaces. 



Seeing this anxiety on the part of the spider for 

 concealment, it came into my mind that, perhaps, if 

 she were placed on the surface of a pot full of garden 

 mould she might excavate a tunnel in order to hide 

 herself from view. This I accordingly did in tlie 

 evenino^ of November 15, and on the followinir morn- 

 ing 1 was delighted to find that she had commenced 

 to dig and was still at work. 



In little more than an hour's time the hollow had 



Q 2 



