6o6 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 



danger. On no occasion did she come right out of her tube to 

 collect earth. 



I kept the nest vnider observation for a month in the expec- 

 tation of seeing the bevelled portion added to the thin disc of 

 the lid, but nothing was done. Concluding that the spider was 

 dead, I broke open the nest, and found her carefully looking 

 after a deposit of eggs enclosed in a snow-white sac, which was 

 attached to the sides of the tube by a few strands of web. 

 Evidently she was too much occupied with maternal cares to tind 

 time to complete the lid. 



Males. — Two adult males were found in February, 1914. 

 They were much lighter in colour than the females, and were 

 living in nests of exactly the same type as those occupied by the 

 females. The lining of the tubes, however, was of nmch whiter 

 web. 



Of nine others found in b\i)ruary, March, and April, 1916, 

 only one was in a nest with a properly constructed lid. All the 

 others had lids fastened down securely, and these seemed to be 

 very roughly finished oil. 



Occitrrciice of Xcsts. — Nests are often found in small 

 colonies, but isolated ones are not uncommon. 



Besia Minor Hciciil { PI. 28 G, H and L). 

 (Rec. Albany Miis. 2. 469.) 



Locality. — This species is never found here except under the 

 shelter of projecting rocks and banks, usually in soft, crumbly 

 ground, which renders it almost impossible to dig out the nests 

 in a complete condition. Occasionally they are found in clay, 

 and even in moss. 



Nest and Lids. — From a structural point of view the nest 

 of this spider is the most interesting we have in this district. 

 Unlike all the others, each nest has two lids, and is exceedingly 

 short, being seldom more than an inch and a half from lid to 

 lid. The lids are opposite and at the same level. The chamber 

 between them is much wider than the entrances, and has a 

 sloping bottom. In several cases nests have been found with a 

 vertical tube leading down from the bottom of the chamber. 

 This is exceptional. One of these measured 3 inches from the 

 roof of the chamber to the bottom of the tube, while the distance 

 from door to door was 1% inches. The doors across the hinge 

 measured half an inch, and the average width of the vertical 

 tube was three-eighths inch. There was a slight widening of the 

 tube near the bottom, probably for convenience in turning. The 

 lids, unlike those of any other trap-door spider here, are con- 

 structed in halves, as shown in the plate. Owing to this 

 peculiarity the lids remain open when pushed outwards, and can 

 be closed very tightly when pulled inwards. 



The lids vary considerably in width ( from three-eighths to 

 five-eighths inch) across the hinge even in the case of fully 



