and rare British Spiders. 241 



appearing as if the spider had forced its way through the 

 substance of the nest. Shortly after, the spider was observed 

 to be engaged about the mouth as though making a new top 

 to the nest ; and on the following morning the extremity of 

 the tube was again closed and presented the same appearance 

 as at first, being only smaller. There appears to be considera- 

 ble variation in the shape of the nests : the middle portion is 

 narrow and very much wrinkled and folded ; the dilatation that 

 succeeds is generally somewhat pear-shaped, with the small 

 end downwards ; the bottom of the tube is extremely fragile 

 (the most fragile part of the whole nest), being a mere web, 

 whicli sometimes fits tightly round the spider, enveloping it 

 like the covering of a ball. A very common form of nest is 

 that of a stocking with bends corresponding to the knee and 

 heel, at which last the dilatation occurs. A spider in captivity 

 took possession of an empty nest lying on the earth, and, 

 making a hole in the side of the nest next to the ground, began 

 to form a new tube connected with the old one. [In this way, 

 possibly, the branched nest mentioned above was formed.] 

 One day a spider was observed in the act of making a new 

 nest : it first spun a cylindrical web, attaching it to the stems 

 of grasses ; it then began to excavate the earth (apparently 

 with the sharp claws of its falces), turned completely round, 

 placed the earth against the sides of the web, patting it all 

 over with its feet and smoothing it with its abdomen, and then 

 repeating the operation. The nests dug out varied in their 

 total length from 5\ to 9| inches. 



The exuviae of the spiders after moulting are commonly 

 found in the nests ; and in some instances the remains of 

 beetles and other hard-shelled insects were found. 



Atypus Blachwalli. 



Atypus Blackivalli, Sim. Aim. Soc. Ent. Fr. 1873, torn. iii. p. 110, pi. 4. 

 figs. 0-9. (Exclude reference to plate, /. c, as well as synouymic re- 

 ference to A. Sulzeri, Bl.) 



M. Simon (I. c.) places .4. Sulzeri } Bl., among the synonyms 

 of a new species to which he gives the name (suggested by 

 A. Ausserer, I. c. p. 133) of A. Blackivalli. 



This synonymic determination is undoubtedly a mistake, 

 and is implied to be so by M. Simon himself in his recent 

 determination of the identity of the type(^) of A. Sulzeri, 

 Bl., with that of A. piceus, Sim. 



Among other examples of Atypus lately submitted by my- 

 self to M. Simon were two immature examples which appeared 

 to me to have had the falces crushed or shrunken in near 



