life-history of Aiypus piccns. 407 



I afterwards teased No. 3 (with the short tube). The 

 fangs were immediately thrust through, bent_ over, 

 followed by a sudden pull, — ^just the movement given to 

 my finger ; then were quickly drawn in again. I longed 

 for a fly, to see if I could tempt the spider to give me 

 proof of the method of feeding ; and, as fortune would 

 have it, I found a Trijpcta in one of my breeding-boxes. 

 Holding it by the wings with my pliers, I let it just 

 scratch the end of the tube of No. 3, when almost 

 immediately it was pierced through by the cruel fangs 

 of the spider within. Wishing to see if it was held, I 

 gave the fly a gentle pull, and so did the spider ; and I 

 saw the fly pulled right through the roof or side of the 

 aerial portion of the tube down to the lower regions. I 

 left them at 11.15 p.m., and the next morning the rent 

 was neatly repaired. 



April 25th, 1879, I tried teasing No. 1, and the 

 instant I touched the tube the end of the twig was 

 seized, and so suddenly that I drew it back as quickly, 

 and with it the huge female Atypiis, which had driven 

 its fangs into the twig. I managed to get it down its 

 tube again, and an hour after the rent was mended. I 

 broke it open again, hoping to catch her mending, but 

 she was not near. I found the rent again repaired in less 

 than an hour. 



From the above experiments, I felt tolerably certain 

 as to how the food is obtained by these spiders. From 

 some cause or other my captives did not do at all well, 

 though I tried all sorts of places to make them comfort- 

 able, and for the next two years I did not make much 

 progress. 



On removing to Woking in June, 1882, I commenced 

 working the country lanes and commons, expecting to 

 find Aiypus, and on April 12th, 1883, I discovered a very 

 large colony on the banks at each side of a road, from 

 which I removed a number of tubes to my garden-bank, 

 where they soon settled down, making the aerial part 

 about 1|- to 2 inches long. 



On July 16th, 1883, I held a large blow-fly by its 

 wings, letting it crawl up the bank until it walked upon 

 one of the tubes. The spider evidently came up a short 

 distance, and went back. I then took a firmer hold of 

 the fly, and rubbed its head against the tube. I soon saw 

 signs of something coming up. I continued the rubbing. 



