24 JOURNAL OF THE 



the claws of her anterior pair of legs. By partially lifting 

 the door I was enabled to see the hold upon the door, and 

 when I pushed the spider out of the tube, as before stated, I 

 found her feet entangled in the bag of silk. The manner in 

 which this spider holds down the nest is precisely the same 

 as that described by P^merton' in the case of Cteniza Calif or- 

 nica, except that he states the " 3rd and 4th pairs of legs are 

 pressed out against the walls of the tube." 



The nest of this spider belongs to the simple, unbranched 

 type with shallow cork door. The door belonging to the 

 nest in which the spider was caught (Plate XXIV. Fig. i,) 

 measures 3 to 4™-™- in thickness ; the edge is beveled and 

 fits neatly in the mouth of the tube. The door measures 

 2^m.m. across near the hinge ; the tube 6o"^*""- in length. The 

 walls are badly collapsed and the lower edge ragged and 

 open. It will be remembered that the spider was found in 

 the earth below the tube when the nest was taken up in No- 

 vember. The first nest which the spider made under my 

 observation was open at the bottom, and when I attempted 

 to take her out, finding she could not hold down the door 

 she attempted to bury herself in the soil at the bottom of 

 the tube. The question naturally arises, Is this not left open 

 as a last means of escape from enemies ? I am inclined to 

 think it is, in some cases at least with this species, as this is 

 the only resort for safety after the door is open. Further 

 observation is needed on this point. The trap-door of this 

 nest is so hung that it tends to close itself. In Fig. 2, Plate 

 XXIV. at (I are patches of silk that are drawn on the stretch 

 when the door is open. When all resistance is removed these 

 tend to close the door. 



The subject of the food of trap-door spiders is an interest- 

 ing one, and much is yet to be learned of their habits in this 

 respect. While I had the spider out of her tube I offered 

 her several house flies, holding them by one wing, with the 

 forceps, near her head. The struggles of the fly attracted 

 her attention. With a quick sweep of the palpi and anterior 

 pair of legs she would clutch the fly and place it between 

 her powerful mandibles, crushing it immediately. She held 

 some of these about one minute, but I very much doubt her 

 having derived any nourishment from them. One of the 

 smaller species of the flies belonging to the genus Tabanus 

 was offered her. It seemed only to frighten her as she could 



'Structure and Habits of Spiders, p. 45. 



