104 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 



Perhaps in no case is the concealment more complete 

 than when dead leaves are employed to cover the door. 

 In some cases a single withered olive leaf only is spun 

 in and suffices to cover the trap ; in others, several are 

 woven together with bits of wood and roots, as in the 

 accompanying woodcut, which represents different 

 views of the upper door of the nest which is drawn 

 in Plate X. p. 100. 



In this nest another interesting feature presents 

 itself, for here the tube projects a short way beyond 

 the surface of the ground and is hardened and coated 



with earth and fine gravel in such a way that it 

 requires no other support. This is not commonly the 

 case, and may perhaps be the result of a contrivance 

 to meet the necessities of a nest which has had the 

 surface earth washed away from it. But I have fre- 

 quently observed nests in which the upper part of the 

 tube is carried up for two or three inches through 



