26 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Februarj' 



going out long enough only to catcli insect food. Even this is 

 seldom, for much food is taken in at the very threshold of the 

 castle. Younger specimens re-dig outgrown burrows, enlarg- 

 ing them as occasion requires. It was interasting to observe 

 neighborly beetles and other species of spiders, not to be out- 

 done, with one accord churn up the soil by their diggings. 



Fig. 2. A castle or nest of the Castle-bulldlng Spider, natural size, from nature. 



by the author. 



When the vernal spell is changed by lowering temperature, 

 quiet creeps upon the scene. Usually the spider's tube is 

 constructed vertically in the ground unless, as is shown in the 

 reduced plate illustration, obstructions cause some deviation. 

 The four different examples here shown were opened from the 

 side, being careful to preserve their form. A silk lining is put 

 on by the spider, which is continuous with the inside of the 



