[ 99 ] 

 WATER SPIDERvS IN CAPTIVITY. 



BY REV. W. F. JOHNSON, M.A., F.ICS. 



On September 5th, 1892, a kind friend drove me down to 

 Clonmacate, on the shores of Lough Neagh. Having arrived, 

 I made for the shore of the lake, where, on a former visit, I 

 had had some success in capturing Coleoptera. I soon came 

 to a very promising looking drain covered with Pofamogctou, 

 etc. In went my water-net, and w^hen I drew it forth I gave a 

 howl of delight (there was no one near but two young lady 

 friends who were watching my operations with great interest, 

 so my antics did not matter), for here w^ere two ArgyroJicta 

 aquatica. I should, perhaps, explain that Argyronda aqiiatica 

 is an interesting and somewhat rare spider. It lives under 

 w^ater, thus differing in its habits from other spiders, and 

 usually hides itself in the recesses of deep drains, only coming 

 to the surface occasionall}^ for air, and is, consequently, not 

 easy to catch. This will explain my excitement on the pre- 

 sent occasion. Having duly exhibited them, I secured them 

 in boxes, such as one usually uses for Lepidoptera. I had 

 forgotten my spider-tubes, so I had to put up with a sub- 

 stitute. In went the net again, and out came more Argyronda, 

 and w^th every plunge of the net there w^ere more ; in fact, I 

 could have taken thirty or forty if I had so wished. Evidently 

 I had come upon a regular rendezvous, the head-quarters of 

 these spiders in that locality. I tried just skimming with the 

 net, only a couple of inches below the surface, and took the 

 spiders that w^ay as well as w^hen I plunged deep down into 

 the drain. I secured as many as I thought would suffice Mr. 

 G. H. Carpenter, and a couple for myself, and let the rest re- 

 turn to the maxillae of their family. When I got home, I duly 

 introduced those intended for Mr. Carpenter to a phial of 

 spirits, and finding that two w^hich I had put into one box had 

 travelled without quarrelling and eating each other, I placed 

 them in my aquarium, in hopes that they might condescend to 

 live a little time therein, and give me an opportunity of study- 

 ing their habits. I felt rather doubtful about this, for I had 

 tried the same experiment with one caught in the MuUinures, 

 but it had incontinently died. However, to my delight, the 



