1899] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 25 



incorporated into its niar^iu. Two gfrass leaves were brought 

 down from a plant near by and festooned to two sides, the fin- 

 ishing!: touch Ijeinjr a dajrger- pointed bur poised on the margin. 

 By the time several nests were examined I found evidence of 

 the most whimsical tastes in the selection of material ihv nests, 

 an enumeration of which is here given : 



Green and dried grains leaves, dried tine sedges, spikes and 

 leaves of foxtail grass, tibrous roots, ragweed leaves curved by 

 drying, cenchrus or burgrass spikes and burs, wing of beetle, 

 weather beaten white paper, piece of broAvn string, twigs of va- 

 rious kinds in bits, dark bark, seeds of wee<ls, bird excrement . 

 sand made into pellets, small stones and gravel f miii soil .. 



Exploring the tubes with a straw was not without reward, 

 for I found by feeling the way down carefully, until meeting 

 resistance, the live spider when touched communicates a mo 

 tion to the straw sticking above the ground. To learn more of 

 the occupant one has but to dig a hole down at the side to 

 avoid injuring the castle, then making an undercut below ex 

 tending to the tube; follow it down to the lx>ttom where the 

 spider rests with its head pointing upwards. The Fall of the 

 year finds various sized individuals of different ages prepar 

 ing to pass the winter in burrows. Sometimes just within the 

 castle a fine screen of silk is woven across the entrance as an 

 obstruction against floods or the possible entering of hymenop- 

 terous enenues. which is agjiin torn away after all danger is 

 passed. 



The young, even down to the smallest, show a w«mderful in 

 stinct for castle building. This I saw depicted in the dainty 

 character of many of their works. Activity is expres,sed on 

 every side at this period of the year. Little yellow sand pellets 

 encircling the openings told plainly that the spider's year is 

 nearing a close. They had a forewarning of the coming win- 

 ter and sought refuge by deepening their retreats to get Siifel> 

 below the freezing line. The love of warmth was exemplified 

 even after the fii-st fall of snow, for the appearanceof the warm 

 sun's rays entic^ed tliem to come up to get a last glimpseof the 

 sun from the top of the castle. From what I gleaned, old 

 spidei-s live in their burrows for more than a season and often 

 remodel them after being injured, by storms. They hold great 

 fondness for their lunnes and trv resolutely to stick by them. 



