The American Midland Naturalist 



PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY THE UNIVERSITY 

 OF NOTRE DAME, NOTRE DAME, INDIANA 



VOL. V. NOVEMBER, 1917. NO. 6. 



NOTES ON MIRANDA AURANTIA. 



BY F. WENNINGER. 



Miranda Aurantia is the large, yellow garden spider, common 

 in summer and early autumn. The specimens that furnished the 

 matter for the observations recorded in this paper were collected 

 during the summer and early autumn of 1916 and 191 7. In August 

 and September, 1916, the species was found in greatest abundance 

 along the shores of the St. Joseph River in the triangle formed bv 

 the river, St. Mary's road and the Michigan Central tracks. The 

 ground around the two lakes at Notre Dame was explored with 

 this result; the species was found quite abundant along the north 

 shore of St. Mary's Lake, there were comparatively few spiders 

 of this species along the south shore, and only an occasional speci- 

 men along vSt. Joseph's lake. An hour's collecting along the St. 

 Joseph River in August, 191 6, yielded about two hundred and 

 sixty specimens, suitable for laboratory purposes. During the 

 corresponding season of this year, 19 17, a marked decrease was 

 noticeable in the number of desirable specimens along the River, 

 though the number of spiders around the lakes near the University 

 appeared to be about normal. This year, what seems to be a new 

 and isolated colony was found on a plot of ground adjoining the 

 University athletic field, a distance of, perhaps, four hundred yards 

 from the nearest lake. Some of the largest spiders had built their 

 webs and nests here, near Agelena nevia and some species of 

 Epeiridae and Therididae. One should expect to find the species 

 distributed rather generally along the fields connecting this out- 

 post with the central colony along the lakes. But the fact did not 

 warrant this expectation. 



Miranda Aurantia has been known to science since 1833. 

 The following table, taken from Nathan Banks, 1 gives a fairly 



'Nathan Banks in U. S. Museum Bulletin, Vol. 72, p. 46. 



