118 NEW AND HARE BRITISH SPIDERS. 



NERIENE CLARA (Cambr.) 



Neriene clam Cambr., " Spiders of Dorset," p. 492. 



An adult female of this spider was found at Hyde by F. 0. P. 

 Cambridge in May, 1888. The male is not yet discovered. It 

 has only as yet been previously taken on the Cheviot Hills and 

 Orkney Islands, and I still believe it to be a good species. This is 

 therefore its first occurrence in Dorsetshire. On the inner side of 

 the falces of this spider is a series of transverse serrations, 

 correlated with a minute corneous point at the base on the inner 

 side of the humeral joints of the palpi, and conjectured to be a 

 stridulating apparatus, intended to produce call-notes, as it were, 

 between the sexes. 



NERIENE AGRESTIS (Bl.) 



Neriene agrestis Bl., Cambr., " Spid : Dors." 486. 



An unusually richly coloured and well marked adult male of this 

 spider was found at Hyde, near Bloxworth, by F. 0. P. Cambridge, 

 in the spring of 1888. I had not before met with it in Dorset- 

 shire. 



NERIENE HUTHWAITII (Cambr.) 



Neriene Huthwaitii Cambr., " Spid. Dors." 436. 

 formidalrilis Cambr., Ibid, p. 135. 



Numerous examples of both sexes of this fine species were found 

 in swamps at Hyde, and Morden Park, near Bloxworth, in June 

 and September, 1888, by myself and F. 0. P. Cambridge. Indi- 

 viduals of this species differ a good deal in size and depth of 

 colouring. It is now pretty certain that Neriene formiddbilis 

 (Cambr.) (I.e. supra) is the female of N. Hutlncaitii (Cambr.) It 

 was conjectured that it might be so, when the type of the former 

 was described many years ago, though it was then thought to be 

 distinct, as N. Huthwaitii had not then been discovered in Dorset, 

 atnd no male was found with or near N. formidabilis. In this 

 group, where the males of different species are easily distinguished 

 from each other, while the females are often exceedingly difficult to 

 distinguish, it is frequently a matter of much uncertainty to what 

 males, whose females are unknown, isolated females may belong, 



