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The spiders of genus Dolomedes, says the Rev. O. Pickard-Cam- 

 bridge, all seem of aquatic habits, and run on the surface or dive 

 under the water. The colour of this handsome spider is rich dark 

 brown, with a broad band of yellowish buff down each side, and a 

 double row of little white spots on the abdomen (J. G. Wood). 



These rows of white spots are very conspicuous in several species 

 of this family, and especially in spiders of the genus Firata, which 

 we next consider. Five species are recorded by the Rev. O. Pickard- 

 Cambridge as British : piscatorius, CI. ; hvgrop/u7i/s, Thor. ; piratiais, 

 CI. ; knorrii, Scop. ; and latifans, Bl. The separation of the genus 

 Pirato. from that of Lycosa, in which several authors, such as 

 Blackwall, included it, is a distinct gain in accuracy. The genus 

 Pirata (again to quote Simon) has its habits analogous to those of 

 Dolomedes. Its members are always found on the banks of ponds, 

 marshes, rivers, etc. P. knorrii is commonest in mountainous 

 countries, near rapid streams and waterfalls. 



When our Society visited Wisley on July 5th, 1902, many yellowish 

 brown spiders, mostly P. piraficus or P. hygrophilus, might be 

 observed running on the edge of the lake, the females carrying tlieir 

 little whitish cocoons attached under the abdomen by means of 

 silken threads, and differing in this respect from Pisaura and 

 Dolomedes, which carry the cocoon by means of the palpi and falces, 

 and, I may add, Pholciis phalangioides, which also holds it by the 

 falces. 



The tenacity with which the Lycosid^e will hold on to their cocoon, 

 and fight for it, is well known. A spider of the genus Lycosa {Par- 

 dosa, Sim.), Z. arnentata {saccata, Blackw.), which I brought home 

 from Wisley with her cocoon, became separated from her charge as 

 I was putting her into a glass jar. As I have already mentioned, 

 in notes made at the time, though the cocoon lay hidden for a 

 considerable time from the spider, it was carefully sought for and 

 re-attached by threads to her abdomen. Eventually, she deposited 

 it under a root of grass, and many of the young spiders emerged, 

 and lived for some time in my care. I fed them on aphides from 

 the rose-trees, a diet which I have found acceptable to most infant 

 spiders. They also sucked, with still greater relish, midges and 

 gnats ; but the skin of a house-fly proved too tough for their tender 

 falces. I give these few observations of a species allied to Pirata 

 merely as a general indication of the habits of the family. 



With reference to the semi-aquatic habits o{ Pirata, these spiders 

 run with great ease and rapidity. They do not seem able to swim. 

 I have often compelled them by touch to seek refuge under water, 

 and their action has been simply that of crawling down the nearest 

 plant. Their habits, in this respect, are more like those of the 

 Parnidfe, among Coleoptera, than of the Dytiscidas, of which we are 

 reminded by the bold, open swimming of A. aquatica. While most 

 of the life of Pirata is spent on the surface of the water, where they 

 display great swiftness and catch their prey, it would appear that their 



