434 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 



The winter habits of the Retitelariae are various. Many of them creep 



into hollow trees, into holes and crevices of divers sorts, or spend the 

 winter under fallen leaves and in vegetable mold. Many of 



Line- them have great powers of endurance, and in the neighbor- 

 hood of houses, barns, and outhouses may be seen in the coldest 



and Other 



Tribes weather simply snugged up against a corner or angle of wall or 



woodwork, with a few straggling lines beneath them, taking the 

 cold weather without any protection or attempt to secure such. Tube- 

 weavers, with few exceptions, find their winter homes among leaves and 

 forest mold, in hollow roots, deep crannies, in rocks, underneath stones, 

 and like positions. These are also common winter resorts of Laterigrades 

 and Saltigrades, although they prefer lodgings underneath old bark. But 

 the latter always spin around themselves a tube of thick silk, which serves 

 them as a blanket. On a warm day in winter these vigorous little creat- 

 ures may sometimes be seen jumping about upon the surface of the snow, 

 having been attracted by a patch of sunlight pouring upon their winter 

 dens to try their fortunes at winter hunting. 



The Lycosids, without exception, as far as I know, spend the winter in 

 earth burrows. One example of Lycosa tigrina observed by Mrs. Treat 

 made but little change in the dome shaped covering of her burrow until 

 November, when it was cut down level with the ground, perfectly con- 

 cealed with leaves and moss, and held firmly down with strong webs. This 

 covering remained until the following April. In spring, the gardener, not 

 knowing that this spot was set apart for special study, raked away the 

 leaves and rubbish, preventing observation of the manner in which Tigrina 

 herself would have removed her winter covering; but in a few days there- 

 after she had made another cover, not like the flat winter thatch, but more 

 like a little room. 1 



There is much to learn concerning the life history of Lycosids, 

 and it may be yet found that their winter life shows a greater activity 

 and variety of habit than has generally been supposed. It is 

 ' possible that they may not remain enclosed within their bur- 

 rows during the entire winter in a state of semihibernation. Dr. Allen 

 Gentry, a careful observer, informed me that he observed this incident 

 while visiting a frozen pond in the vicinity of Philadelphia. He cut a 

 slab from the ice, about eight or ten feet from the bank, and was sur- 

 prised to see spiders running about in the water. They were passing from 

 point to point by silken lines stretched underneath the surface between 

 certain water plants. Several specimens were collected, but unfortunately 

 were not preserved. They were supposed to be Lycosids, and, from Mr. 

 Gentry's description of the eyes, his supposition is evidently correct. It 

 is a remarkable and notable fact that these creatures can thus live in full 



1 Am. Naturalist, August, 1879, page 488. 



