406 Mr. F. Enock on the 



obtain a hold, it afterwards formed a tunnel along the 

 bottom of the bank, excavating the following night. 

 When examining the aerial portion of the tubes I 

 noticed a number of small patches, which appeared 

 to be newly-mended holes or rents, exactly the same as 

 those made by the male, and repaired by the female. I 

 also noticed punctured holes, about the size of a pin ; 

 these were generally of one size in a large tube. I 

 compared these with the " gape" of a female spider, and 

 found they agreed pretty nearly. I have often put a large 

 female Atijpus in a shallow lid of a tin box, then teased 

 her, until she threw back her falces, opening them wide, 

 and literally erecting her long fangs (example), then 

 closing them instantaneously, at the same time making 

 a slight forward movement. I tried this experiment, 

 once with my finger, into which she drove her long fangs 

 with such force, followed up with a terrific clenching 

 movement, that, on withdrawing, the blood flowed freely 

 from each puncture. This experiment led me to think 

 that these long fangs were used in penetrating the aerial 

 portion, and aiding in obtaining its food, the spider 

 lying in ambush, either in or close to the aerial portion 

 of the tube. With this idea I determined to watch my 

 captives. 



On January 6th, 1879, at 10 p.m., with the aid of a 

 dark lantern, I examined three tubes, dug up and reset 

 in separate pots of sand : — 



No. 1 had constructed a beautiful aerial part, attaching 

 the end to the inside of the pot. 



No. 2. The aerial part was an inch long, lying hori- 

 zontally on the surface of the sand. 



No. B, had brought her tube just above the level of the 

 sand. 



On teasing No. 2 with a small dry twig, the spider 

 came up (at least so I imagined from a slight movement 

 noticed), and on repeating the gentle scratching the 

 tube was suddenly drawn down a quarter of an inch. 

 The spider had evidently pulled the sides in, leaving about 

 three-sixteenths of an inch space on each side. I made a 

 note, as follows : — " Does the spider pull the tube in, so 

 making a sort of pit-fall at each side, into which 

 beetles, &c., might fall, and in their endeavour to escape 

 attract the attention of the spider, which might then 

 inflate the tube, and so hold the insect?" 



