XIV NESTS 357 
Lycosidae, but beyond a very slight lining of silk there is usually 
little spinning work about their nests. Occasionally there is a 
certain amount of superstructure in the shape of a silken funnel 
(Lycosa tigrina, M‘Cook), 
or of an agglomeration of 
twigs and pebbles, as in the 
ease of the “ Turret-spider ” 
(Lycosa arenicola, Scudder). 
A colony of our hand- 
some species, Lycosa picta, 
is an interesting sight to 
watch. Their favourite rap 
habitat is a sandy soil, Fic. eee carolinensis. 
variegated with many- 
coloured patches of moss and lichen, among which their own 
markings are calculated to render them inconspicuous. The 
- observer, by lying perfectly still, may see them silently stealing 
forth from their burrows in the bright sunshine, and hunting 
diligently in the neighbourhood, ready to dart back on the 
faintest alarm, or if the sun should be temporarily obscured by 
a passing cloud. So closely do they resemble their surround- 
ings, that it is only when in motion that they can readily be 
detected. It is very curious to see them popping out their heads 
to ascertain that the coast is clear before venturing forth, and 
the utter silence of their operations adds to the eeriness of the 
effect. The tubes of these spiders, though without a trap-door, and 
only slightly lined with silk, are Y-shaped like those of Nemesia 
congener, the main tunnel giving off a blind branch about half- 
way down. 
The nest of the Water-spider, Argyroneta aquatica, must not 
be passed over without mention. This spider, though strictly 
an air-breathing animal, spends almost the whole of its existence 
beneath the water. That it can live in such a medium is due 
to the fact that the long hairs which clothe its abdomen retain 
a bubble of air as it swims beneath the water, so that it carries 
with it its own atmosphere. The air-bubble which invests its 
body gives it a strong resemblance to a globule of quicksilver, 
and renders it a pretty object in an aquarium as it swims about 
in search of food or in prosecution of its spinning operations. 
Of these the most interesting is the building of its nest. 
