December 1, 1897.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



301 



spider evidently appreciated a taste of my blood, for it held 

 on most tenaciously, endeavouring to cut through my skin 

 and make its teeth meet. This I allowed it to do, when it 

 seemed soothed, and I left off teasing it. During this 

 practical exhibition I had come to the conclusion that 

 the purpose of these immensely developed fangs was to 

 drive them through the silken tube. With this idea I 

 took my seat opposite to a large tuba in the home colony. 

 After waiting and watching several days, I was rewarded 

 by seeing the fang suddenly darted through the ai'rial 

 portion and as quickly withdrawn, and again repeated. 

 Searching over the part v/ith my magnifier, I at last dis- 

 covered a minute beetle on its back, just at the ground 

 line, where it was quietly endeavouring to right its 

 position by kicking out its tiny legs — occasionally touching 

 the spider's tube — quite suffieient to disturb its nest by 

 setting the delicate threads in motion. I immcdiati Iv 



Fig. 7. — Lai-i^c and siiiiiU Sj>innori1s of tin 

 Trap door Spider. 



British' 



caught a large blowfly (Fig. K), and, holding it by its 

 wings, I allowed it to kick at the tube. Before this had 

 been repeated the huge fangs were darted through with 

 unerring aim, right into the head of the blowfly (Fig. 9), 

 their motion reversed, and clenched tight with a cruel 

 crunch. A few moments' pause and then the spider com- 

 menced to pull backwards (Fig. 10), until it made a large 

 rent in the tube, through which the blowfly was dragged 

 down to the lower regions of the tube (Fig. 11). Before 

 I had noted down my observations, I noticed the _ torn 

 edges m the nest were being moved from the inside — 

 quietly drawn together ; then I could just detect the large 

 spinnerets " taking hold " of the edges and darning up the 

 rent I A few turns up and down, then all was quiet, and 

 scarcely anything to tell of the tragedy just enacted. The 

 following day I found that this spider had sanded over the 

 rent, and completely obliterated all signs of damage. 

 Having some thirty nests in my home colony, I com- 



menced experiments in the food supply confirming the 

 first. I also tried the effect of presenting a large humble 

 bee tiiil first ! The spider seized this, but was wonder- 

 fully careful in so manipulating it that, without seeing the 

 bee (the aerial 

 part being quite 

 opaque), she man- 

 aged to turn if. 

 completely round 

 until she had firm 

 hold of the head ; 

 then she promptly 

 pulled the humblo 

 bee through and 

 down. One very 

 warm day I caught 

 a blowfly, which I 

 held to the tube. 

 The occupant came 

 up, drove its fangs 

 through, sampled 

 the fly, acd then 

 commenced to pull 

 through — when I 

 immediately ran up 

 the garden, caught 

 another fly, and 

 ran back before 

 the spider had 

 reascendedto 



mend the hole. On seeing the second fly she positively 

 ttirted with surprise, no doubt astonished at the impudence 

 of the thing ; however, she seized and dragged it. through 

 at one movement. I left for the top again, and was back 

 again with a third fly. Again the spider came up to mend 

 the rent, but finding another fly so upset her intentions 

 that she appeared to lose her temper, and seized the fly 

 p.lroost passionately. Away I ran to obtiin another, and 



Fig. 8. 



-Blowfly on the Milken Tube of tlie 

 British Trap-door Spider. 



FlO. 9. — Blowfly seized by the Spider. 



SO on until the spider had taken no less than nine blow- 

 flies !— which now were getting scarce, and on reaching the 

 nest with the tenth fly I found the aperture closed. I 

 tapped it with the head of the blowfly, when the spider 

 rushed up and struck her fangs through nn inch helun; the 

 fly, holding the tube in a close grasp, as much as to say : 



