On the Habits of some Madeiran Spiders. 271 



Spiroplecta, 1844 {olim Heterohelix). Spiroplecta. 

 Spiropleurites, 1854. Pulmnvlina. 

 Strophoconus, 1844. BoUvina] Virgulina. 

 Synspira, 1854. Synspira (?). 

 Tetrataxis, 1854. Tetrataxis {ValvuUna). 

 Textilaria, Defr. Textilaria ; BoUvina. 

 Triloculina, i>' Orb. Miliola ? 

 Uvigerina, D^ Orb. PlanorbuUna^ 

 Vaginulina, D"^ Orb. Vaginulina. 



XL. — On the Habits of some Madeiran Spiders. 

 By Frederick Pollock, Esq. 



To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 



Gentlemen, 



In the number of your Magazine for June 1865 there 

 is an article by me on the Epeira Aurelia spider. 



I had some doubts, at the time I wrote it, upon one fact 

 therein stated ; and having had the opportunity of making 

 further observations, in the season just passed, in Madeira, I 

 iind that I was mistaken in what I originally supposed to 

 occur. 



As it is an important point in arachnology, and as it differs 

 from all jMr. Blackwall's observations, I should like to be able 

 to contradict my former statement in the same publication in 

 which it was made, and to add a few remarks on the economy 

 of two other sorts of Madeiran spiders, which, if you will allow 

 me, I will now proceed to do. 



Epeira Aurelia^ now called Nephila Aurelia. 



In the article above alluded to I said that the spider changes 

 its skin for the last time about a week after making its fifth 

 cocoon ; but from more recent observations I have come to the 

 conclusion, that there is no change of skin at all, after the 

 spider becomes adult. This reduces the number of changes 

 of integument to nine, in the female, viz. one in the cocoon 

 and eight after leaving it. The male, on the other hand, has 

 only four changes of integument after leaving the cocoon. 



Unlike most spiders of the Nephila [Epeira) kind, N. Aurelia 

 does not make for itself any chamber to retire to when wishing 

 to escape observation, but remains constantly in the centre of 

 its web, and is therefore very easily watched. I have men- 

 tioned (in the previous article on this subject) that in the 

 construction of this web there is always a space left between 

 the adhesive spiral line, which extends from the circumference 



