537 



1914 in Tiirgai. Hatcliing took place during the second half of June, 

 the whole cycle of development occupying about 43 days. The males 

 usually acquired wings before the females. The swarms of the first 

 stages move very slowly and in no definite direction, while those of 

 the older stages move with an increased speed (the larvae of the 

 fourth and fifth stages covered from 250 to 350 feet per day) and mostly 

 from north to south. The direction is, however, frequently affected 

 by wind, sun, hills, roads, etc. After acquiring wings it was difficulb 

 to discover the actual direction of the movement of the swarm. Pairing 

 began 10 to 14 days after wings appeared. The egg-clusters were 

 mostly found on the southern slopes of hills with a clayey or stony 

 soil. The locusts feed on various steppe plants, mostly Artemisia sp., 

 and attack cultivated plants only in the absence of other food or 

 when meeting them on their way. In 1914, the injury was mostly to 

 summer wheat, but oats, barley, fodder grass, potatoes and bachza 

 plants also suffered. Other species of locusts found in the province 

 of Turgai in 1914 included Locusta {Pachytylus) migratoria, L., Oedaleua 

 mgrofasciatus, De Geer, Dociostaurus {Stauronotus) brevicoUis, Eversm., 

 Arcyptera {Stethophyma) flavicosta, L., Stenobofhrus sp.,' Oedipoda 

 coerulescens, L., Celes variabilis, Pall., Podisma pedestris, L., Bryodema 

 tuhercidatum, F., Tmethis muricata, Pall., and Pyrgodera armata, F. W. 

 By the end of September mosfc of the locusts had perished, 

 L. migratoria being the only species which somewhat outlived 

 C. italicus. About 12 per cent, were infested with larvae of Sarcophaga 

 lineata. Fall., and other species. The egg-clusters are also destroyed 

 by the larvae of Epicauta erythrocepJiala, Pall., and Mylabris quatuor- 

 punctata, L.,the adults being also frequently infested with Trombidiuni 

 sp. Birds play a still greater part in destroying them, especially 

 Pastor roseus, rooks, sparrows, etc. Remains of locusts were als» 

 found in the holes of the spiders Trochosa singoriensis and nests of 

 Lathrodectus tredecimguttatus. 



MoRiTZ (L.). HtCKOnbKO CJIOBTj KapaKypT"b Lathrodectus tredecim- 

 guttatus, Rossi. [A few words on Lathrodectus tredecimguttatus^ 

 Rossi.]— «J1k) Omen b npMpOflbl.» [Friend of Nature], Petrograd^ 

 no. 12, December 1914, pp. 365-372, 2 figs. [Received 21st August 

 1915.] 



Lathrodectus tredecimguttatus, Rossi, popularly known in Russia as 

 ■' caracurt," which means " black spider," is the most poisonous 

 spider found in Russia, where it occurs all over the south from 

 Bessarabia to the government of Orenburg, including the Crimea, as 

 well as in the Caucasus, in the provinces of Ural and Turgai, and 

 in Turkestan. It appears to prey to a large extent on locusts. The 

 young spiders emerge from their cocoons in the first half of May and 

 before concluding their development, during which they moult several 

 times, they lead a nomadic life. When sexually mature, about one 

 and a half months after hatching, the females build nests. Other 

 spiders, Saliphuga sp. and Lycosa sp., as well as Pompilidae, prey 

 upon them, and some Hymenoptera are parasitic in their eggs. The 

 author found in their nests remains of Zabrus sp., the Tenebrionid, 

 Blaps mortisaga and CaUiptamus (CaJoptenus) italicus, Oedaleus 

 nigrofasciatus, Dociostaurus (Stauronotus) brevicoUis, Celes variabilis^ 



