nn the life-h'nitory of Aiypns piceus. 23 



of an inch in diameter, the forsaken mothers still in 

 good health, and with wonderful apjietites for blow- flies 

 whenever held against the tubes. One of the ancient 

 spinster females, which I placed in a bell-glass April 

 8th, 1885, actually pushed out a cast-skin, apparently 

 quite a recent one. 



June 1st, 1890. One mother of 1887 had made a 

 beautiful new aerial portion to her tube, and took a 

 blow-fly for lunch. On the 9th all were exposed to very 

 heavy rain, which flattened their tubes down. Next day 

 each one had added a brand new top part, some of their 

 brood doing the same, fully confirming my previous 

 observation, that rain induces the spiders to strengthen 

 and lengthen their tubes. 



One of these females had carried her tube against and 

 up the side of the bell-glass, and this one I kept covered 

 and darkened, so that I could occasionally watch her 

 movements ; and I frequently noticed that, when a blow- 

 fly was held outside her tube, she approached in the 

 most stealthy and cat-like manner, seeming to glide 

 rather than walk along ; but, if disturbed, she pressed 

 her legs against her sides, and literally shot back and 

 down the tube with lightning-like rapidit}- ; this spider, 

 on being exposed to the rain and light the next day, had 

 so thickened the silken lining of the tube against the 

 glass as to completely shut out further observations. 



August 25th. Heavy rain again battered and flattened 

 down all the tubes, which remained in this condition 

 until the middle of September, when several commenced 

 to deepen and throw out the sand, afterwards improving 

 the aerial portions, no doubt in anticipation of the 

 male's visit; but whether those females, which had 

 already had one family, could produce another, is one of 

 the facts I am anxious to settle. Some of these females 

 had carried the aerial portions of their tubes to a length 

 of 4 in. up the sides of the pots, but these were far sur- 

 passed by some found at Hampstead on September 7th, 

 1891, measuring respectively 4, 5, and 6, and one no 

 less than 7^^ in. above ground, carried up the almost 

 perpendicular sand-bank, and quite resembling Dr. 

 McCook's tree purse- web spider, Ati/piis niyer. 



On July ()th, 1891, I paid a visit to Portland Island, 

 where the liev. O. Picard Cambridge had found Atjipua 

 hhirJnraUii, or what was considered to be the ]Sritish 



