BY \S\ J. RAINBOW. 359 



In autumn these spiders pair. The sexes usually inhabit the 

 same web for a considerable time, the female occupying her 

 customary position in the centre, and the male taking up quarters 

 on the upper edge of the web. Before running down to the 

 female he tries the tension of the web with his feet, after which 

 he proceeds nimbly and lightly, so as not to attract her attention 

 or disturb her in any way, climbs upon her back, and contents 

 himself for a while in moving about in a seemingly objectless 

 manner. During these proceedings she is not all resentful, but 

 apparently disdains all notice. Emboldened b}^ her apparent 

 indifference he endeavours to climb down to the underside of her 

 abdomen, whereupon she immediately shows fight. In an 

 encounter with an adversary of such prodigious proportions in 

 comparison with himself, it is obvious he would be no match; he 

 therefore scrambles oS as quickly as possible, and dropping out of 

 the web, remains suspended in the air, or resting upon an adjacent 

 leaf or branch for some time, after which he renews the attack. 

 It not infrequently happens that he has to repeat his efforts 

 several times, and from these he rarely retires scathless, often 

 losing two or three legs. Ultimately, however, he succeeds in 

 attaching himself in the requisite position, and performing the • 

 necessary act of fecundation. 



Towards the end of April or the beginning of May, the 

 cocoons are constructed. In jYephila Edwai^dsii, the ovisac is 

 about y% in. in length, oval, bright golden yellow, and surrounded 

 by an immense quantity of loose silk of a like colour. The cocoons 

 contain from 500 to 1000 eggs. After hatching the spiderlings live 

 together for two or three weeks, spin a web in common, and eat 

 one another or any small insects that may come their way. After 

 this the survivors separate, and each constructs a web on her 

 own account. 



The following is a list of the described Nephilce. of Australia 

 previous to the publication of the jjresent paper. Those species 

 marked with an asterisk have been described and figured by Koch 

 in Band I. of his admirable work, " Die Arachniden Australiens." 

 Localities outside Australia are in italics : — 



