i 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 131 



Some Observations on the Hunting Spider, Lycosa vulpina. 

 By Miss Annie B. Sargent. 



(Communicated to the Naturalists' Field Club, University of Pa., Nov. 12, 1897.) 



Among the hunting spiders found in the mountains of the 

 central part of Pennsylvania, Lycosa vulpina is one of the largest. 

 It excavates burrows or trenches under rocks and stones and 

 sometimes under fallen trees. In the Spring this spider is espe- 

 cially conspicuous because of the large yellowish-white egg-ball 

 which it carries suspended from its spinnerets. 



The specimen about to be described was captured early in 

 May, bearing its egg-ball. In captivity it was provided with a 

 box resembling, as nearly as possible, the mountain home it had 

 just left. For several days the spider roamed restlessly about 

 trying to find a way of escape. If flies were put into the box 

 they were devoured, but abundance of food and apparently com- 

 fortable quarters did not suffice to make her contented. After 

 several days I was dismayed to find the spider tearing the egg- 

 ball open. The eggs were scattered, and the restless searching 

 for an opening continued. Whether the eggs were unfertilized 

 and the spider's instinct impelled her to destroy the ball, or 

 whether it was the time when she would ordinarily have freed the 

 young spiders is difficult to say. A sense of her captivity may 

 have come into play here in some degree. However, she con- 

 tinued to pry into the cracks of the lid, ever looking for a way 

 out, for ten days more, and then something far more important 

 began to occupy the spider's time. She dug a burrow right down 

 through the dry grass and earth, slanting it slightly toward the 

 sun. Whether the object was to admit the sun or not is a ques- 

 tion, for in the wild state all the burrows I have seen are entirely 

 away from access of sunlight. Another noticeable feature about 

 this burrow was that it had no protection whatever above it, al- 

 though there were plenty of large stones in the box. The box 

 was covered with glass, but it seems curious that the spider should 

 realize sufficient protection in this. 



After the burrow was finished the spider went through a most 

 interesting performance in one corner of the box. She turned 



* A brief bibliography for the Lycosidae, including some titles on habits, is given by Mr. 

 J. H. Emerton in Proceedings of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences vol. vi, 

 .p. 482. 



