140 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [Jan., 



characteristic of the Lycosidce) : the spider spins "a single sheet, within 

 which the eggs are deposited, which is subsequently pulled over the 

 egg mass, and pinched by the jaws into a globular covering, the selvage 

 of which is united with sufficient firmness to adhere until the spiders are 

 ready to leave the cocoon." As a matter of fact, such a type is not 

 known among spiders. McCook had based it upon an imperfect 

 observation of his own (in 1884); Menge had described the process 

 in Lycosa correctly as long ago as 1843, and Henking, Wagner and I 

 corroborate Menge, that the cocoon is made in the Lycosidce of two 

 separate portions, a base and a cover. No matter what the final 

 shape of the cocoon may be, nor how the mother places or carries her 

 cocoon, it is always made of two separate portions. These may each 

 be a disk (Lycosidw, Drassidce, Thomisidce, Dictynidce, Agalenidce) , or 

 the base may be a spherical ball of silk (some Theridiidce). The mode 

 of oviposition also appears to be uniform in araneids ; the eggs are 

 discharged upon the base of the cocoon included in a large drop of 

 fluid of very viscid consistency; this drop serves to retain the ova in 

 a compact mass, and to protect them from the air before the cover of 

 the cocoon is made. This drop of fluid is of such bulk that only a 

 small portion, if any, of it can consist of semen, and it is probably a 

 secretion of glands connected with the female generative apparatus. 

 Bertkau was unable to find spermatozoa within this fluid. 



The act of oviposition does not weaken the spider, and in some 

 species one individual produces a number of cocoons in succession. 

 Females have l^een known to live for several years. 



Care of the Cocoons and Young. — The Lycosidce, as is well known, 

 carry the cocoon attached to the spinnerets, and carry the young 

 upon their bodies for some time after hatching; but the mother does 

 not feed the young, as Kirby supposed. The Lycosid genera Dolo- 

 medes and Ocyale, however, carry their cocoons in a different manner 

 and build a nest for the young. I have seen also that the mother 

 bites open the cocoon to allow the escape of the young. Many of the 

 Thomisidce also guard their cocoon, embracing it for long periods at 

 a time, as has been observed in Thomisus, Olios and Xysticus. Some 

 Theridiids also guard their cocoons and carry them about; there is a 

 very remarkable case of maternal solicitude described by Kathariner 

 for Stegodyphus lineatus; and Seidel states that all the Theridiids which 

 carry their cocoons about bite them open to allow the escape of the 

 young. The Attid Salticus has also been described as a cocoon- 

 guarder. One Drassid I have found to hold her cocoon and carry it 

 about. Pholcus is also a well-known example, holding her cocoon in 



