THE TARANTULAS 135 



American forms, with this exception: they only rarely extend their 

 nest up the side of a tree. Instead, they spin a very short aerial tube, 

 about two inches long, which rests on the ground, is suspended 

 in the grasses, or is attached to stones. The end of this tube is closed 

 and, as in our species, the spider never leaves the web. The leath- 

 ery tube, rendered less conspicuous by its covering of sand and 

 debris, would seem to afford considerable protection to the spider; 

 this seems to be borne out by the fact that the atypids are largely 

 immune to the attacks of pompilid spider wasps. Because the areial 

 purse web is completely enclosed, and continuous with its subter- 

 ranean portion, predators must cut through the web to locate the 

 spider. 



The purse- web spider remains just inside the subterranean por- 

 tion of her nest while waiting for prey, but at the slightest notice 

 of a passing insect she moves into the aerial web. Her course is 

 charted by the movement of the tube, and when the insect crawls 

 over the surface, she rushes to the proper point and strikes her long 

 fangs through the web, around or into the body of her prey. Hold- 

 ing it until completely subdued, she at the same time cuts the tube 

 and pulls it inside. A slight rent is left in the silk, which will later 

 be sewed together, and in due time covered over with sand so 

 evenly that no sign of the break is evident. A tidy housekeeper, 

 Atypus when through feeding brings the shrunken remnant of her 

 prey to the opening at the top of her web and casts it out. In the 

 same way, she voids her milky white, liquid fecal material through 

 the opening with such force that it is shot several inches away. 



In June the males become adult and leave their webs to wander 

 in search of a mate. Until the time they become fully adult they 

 live in nests that are to all appearances identical with those of the 

 females, and occasionally in season they can still be found in their 

 tubes. The mating behavior of our American species has not been 

 described, but it is probably similar to that of the better-known 

 European types. When the male finds the tube of a female, he 

 drums upon it with his palpi, and presumably is able to ascertain 

 by the reactions of the female to this drumming, whether he is go- 

 ing to be welcome. After a short period, he cuts open the tube and 

 enters, and the break is repaired by the female. Mating occurs deep 

 in the tube. It is believed that the male lives in the burrow for 

 many months before he dies. The eggs are deposited within the 

 burrow, and hatch during the summer months. The young may 

 stay with the female for long periods, but in most instances they 



