202 AMERICAN SPIDERS 



and lie there quietly, well hidden with soil and not easily discov- 

 ered until completely unearthed. 



Along the margins of North American streams and in sandy 

 fields live a number of pale species that may here be termed "bank 

 wolves." The best known of these is Arctosa littoralis, a whitish 

 spider one-half inch in length that is flecked with many dusky 

 markings, and often blends remarkably with the sand or gravel on 

 which it sits. It is quite at home in loose sand, and frequently digs 

 a burrow in this material, binding the grains together with silk and 

 encircling the entrance with a collar of small stones. Littoralis is 

 widely distributed from Canada to southern Mexico. Most of the 

 individuals seem not to dig any sort of burrow, and instead will be 

 found hiding under stones along lake shores and water courses. 



The largest of our wolf spiders is Lycosa carolinensis, a mouse- 

 gray spider that combines a vagrant life in the open with the more 

 prosaic one of the burrow. Females of all ages can be found wan- 

 dering about or hiding under debris, the adults often dragging 

 their huge egg sacs or carrying their numerous young. In the 

 north these inch-long creatures assume a uniform dark grayish- 

 brown, and the whole venter of the body is jet black. Examples 

 from Texas and northern Mexico are far larger in size, lighter in 

 color, and have the venter speckled or banded with black. 



The burrows of carolinensis are most commonly encountered in 

 open country on relatively dry hillsides and in prairies covered with 

 a sparse growth of low plants. The upper part of the tunnel is 

 always inclined, and the deeper part is often quite tortuous, lying 

 among roots and stones. The entrance is large and may lack any 

 external modification, though on occasion this great spider builds a 

 high turret of grasses, sticks, or stones around the hole. 



A particularly interesting variant on the turret theme is that 

 of Lycosa aspersa, the "tiger wolf." This handsome spider, dark 

 brown in color and possessing stout legs marked by many pale yel- 

 lowish stripes, lives in open woodland in our eastern states and digs 

 its tunnel straight down six or seven inches into the rich humus. 

 Around the mouth it erects a high parapet of moss and debris, and 

 over the top of this spins a canopy, leaving an opening on one side 

 only. On top of the canopy are placed bits of soil, moss, and leaves, 

 so that the whole nest is well hidden and blends with its site. In 

 many instances the canopy is more than just a rigid covering; it 

 becomes a hinged lid that may be lifted and dropped to close the 



