242 Transactions.— Zoology. 
terest attaching to this one is, that it is a small nest and trap-door, and the 
question immediately suggests itseli—how came this young spider to make 
such a gem ? No matter how well its education had been attended to in 
the parent home; no matter how great its powers of observation of the 
conditions of things around, and how well able to reason upon them; all 
these qualities must in this case have been largely supplemented by the ~ 
transmission of qualities enabling the cunning artificer to construct such a 
perfect piece of workmanship. 
_ Habits of the Trap-door Spider—New Zealand Species. 
I must now proceed to refer to the habits, etc., of these spiders, and in 
doing so you must remember that, though my remarks may seem tedious 
and uninteresting, they will embody what I have actually observed, and as 
in some matters these observations differ widely, and in others are quite 
opposed to what is recorded of species in other parts of the world, it is abso- 
lutely essential to notice them, so that by the accumulation and comparison 
of facts, the truth may be ultimately arrived at; and in this connection, 
also, let me say that my observations of their habits is by no means ex- 
haustive. Such observations require ample opportunities, much time and 
careful study, before the truth is arrived at, and were it not for the reason 
already given, I would fain delay this part of my subject. 
Live in Colonies ; but not sociable. 
I have said these spiders live in colonies in favoured localities ; but it 
must not be inferred from this that they are sociable animals. On the con- 
trary, they always lead a solitary life, one adult spider in one hole, and in- 
variably they adhere to their own nests with a tenacity that is something sur- 
prising, and never desert them for others under any circumstances. Of 
this I will give some instances further on. Only inone instance have I ever 
found two spiders in one nest, and then there were two galleries to it; but 
this, also, I shall describe further on, when I come to refer to their breeding. 
On the contrary, I believe they are a most savage race. Repeatedly, when 
I had occasion to put more than one into a box or bottle together, there was 
invariably a fight, ending in the fluids of one or both coming out, and not 
long after, in the cramping up of their limbs and death. They are some- 
times much fiercer and more pugnacious than at other times, but you can 
always, by teasing them with a straw, or otherwise, make them do battle. 
How they fight. 
It is very amusing to see how they show fight. They rear themselves 
straight up in a threatening attitude, bending the body at the joint between 
the abdomen, and the cephalo-thorax, with the abdomen resting flat on the 
ground, steadied by the hinder pair of legs, whilst the cephalo-thorax is quite 
erect, and all the other legs, palpi and falces all stretched out ready for 
cf 
