390 PECKHAM. [Vol. I. 



laboriosa Hentz, Thericlion blanclum Hentz, Thcridion unknown, 

 Drapetisca socialis Menge, Linyphia communis Hentz, Linyphia 

 mandibulata Emerton, Astia vittata Hentz, Philaeus militaris 

 Hentz, Hasarius hoyi Peckham, Phidippus rufus Hentz, Phi- 

 lodromus duttoni Hentz, Xysticus gulosus Keyserling, Thom- 

 isus piger IJentz, Misumena unknown, Herpyllus ecclesiasticus 

 Hentz, Micromata carolinensis Hentz, Agelena naevia Bosc. 



HEARING. 



Our first experiments in this direction consisted in shouting, 

 clapping our hands, and whistHng close to spiders which were 

 at rest in their webs. They gave no sign of hearing anything. 

 We felt, however, that this was not enough to warrant us in 

 concluding that they were deaf, since there is nothing in the 

 habits of these spiders that would lead them to make any active 

 response to loud noises, even supposing they did hear them. 

 A. vittata, when standing on a finger, jumped to one side when 

 ^^ bang" was shouted in a loud voice, with the head turned 

 away ; and when we whistled, it stood on the tip of its abdomen 

 with its head held high. With this exception we failed to dis- 

 cover, by these means, anything about the hearing of spiders. 



Fortunately a better method was suggested to us by the 

 experiment of Mr. C. V. Boys with a tuning-fork on the garden- 

 spider.-^ 



We began a new series of experiments by sounding three 

 tuning-forks near a large female of E. strix as she stood in the 

 centre of her web. Two of the forks, A and C, were small, 

 while B was large. The spider did not notice the two small 

 forks, but when the large one was sounded she raised her first 

 legs almost vertically, holding them as though ready to ward 

 off an attack, and looking much like a boxer in an attitude of 

 defence. The B fork was again sounded, and again the legs 

 were raised. As a control experiment tl>e fork, when not in 

 vibration, was brought into the same relation to the spider. 

 No notice was taken of it. The fork was again sounded, and 

 held behind and above her cephalothorax. She extended her 

 legs as before. The experiment was repeated with the fork 

 still. She paid no attention to it. The fork was sounded and 



» Nature, XXIII., pp. 149-150. 



