120 PSYCHE [December 



The cocoons made by the larvae fed on P. virginimia were more tan colored 

 than those of the larvae fed on P. scrotina, which were very dark brown, almost 

 blackish. 



SPIDER CALLS. 



BY WM. T. DAVIS, NEW BRIGHTON, STATEN ISLAND, N. Y. 



In the August Psyche, Mr. Fred. H. Lahee gives an account of the drumming 

 habits of Lycosa kochii. On Staten Island I have on several occasions heard the 

 purring spiders, once as early as March 24th. On a warm day in April, 1887, I 

 made this note ; " A number of spiders were running about and when they came 

 to a dead leaf in the proper position, they struck their palpi rapidly against it, pro- 

 ducing quite a noise thereby. I could not see that they attracted one another 

 though I suspect they were all males that produced the noise, in which case they 

 would naturally keep at a distance." 



In his chapter on "Notes by the way" in Pepacton, Mr. Burroughs writes: — 

 "I have discovered, also, that we have a musical spider. One sunny April day, 

 while seated on the borders of the woods, my attention was attracted by a soft 

 uncertain purring sound that proceeded from the dry leaves at my feet. On inves- 

 tigating the matter, I found that it was made by a busy little spider. Several of 

 them were travelling about over the leaves as if in quest of some lost cue or secret. 

 Every moment or two they would pause, and by some invisible means make the low 

 purring sound referred to." 



These additional references do not add anything new to Mr. Lahee's observa- 

 tions, but have been submitted at the suggestion of Mr. Emerton, who has kindly 

 identified one of the drumming spiders from this island as a male Lycosa kochii. 



