168 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



published in the 'Field' newspaper of the 28lh August, they 

 were stated to " consist of a silken tube, scarcely more than 

 an inch in length, rugged on the outside in such parts as may 

 be exposed, and formed in the folds and interstices of the 

 rough bark (' Annals and Magazine,' I. c, pi. x., fig. a) ; the 

 outer side of the lid, like that of the exposed parts of the 

 tube, exactly resembling the surroundiug surface of the 

 bark." One of these tubes was "constructed in the channelled 

 groove of a piece of wood which had apparently formed part 

 of some building" (/. c, fig. b). Other nests, somewhat 

 similar to those referred to by Mr. Pickard Cambridge, were 

 exhibited by M. Lucas, at a meeting of the French Entomo- 

 logical Society (November 10th) ; the silken tubes — carefully 

 concealed by, and interwoven with, particles of bark — 

 constituting a longitudinal distension above the surface, and 

 ceding to pressure. No reference, however, has been made 

 in any of these descriptions to tubes entirely hidden within 

 the solid bark, having only the lid exposed. From the 

 occupants of these novel abodes being destitute of the spines 

 with which the anterior extremity of the falces is crested in 

 allied races, assisting them to burrow in the earth, Mr. 

 Pickard Cambridge considers that these spiders, " not being 

 furnished with the necessary implements," fix " upon a 

 position where excavation is needless." But in the other 

 instances referred to, where the tunnel is equally short, 

 scarcely penetrating beyond an inch, and not corresponding, 

 therefore, with that of any wood-boring larva of similar 

 dimensions, the fortuitous discovery of such a retreat would 

 seem open to question ; the fangs being possibly more 

 available than the spines on the falces for operating upon the 

 fibrous tissues, and an economy of labour being effected by 

 utilising any convenient receptacle, as frequently witnessed 

 among other excavators. Some doubts have been entertained 

 whether the access to these domiciles is from above or from 

 below. Mr. Pickard Cambridge now inclines to the opinion 

 that the lid is placed at the upper extremity of the tube as 

 usual, although evidence is wanting upon this point. An 

 instructive account of the habits of this and other allied 

 species, comprising also the preliminary details published in 

 the 'Field,' has been given in 'Newman's Entomologist' for 

 November last by the talented Editor of that periodical. 



