198 



SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



Lepthyphantes terricola C. L. Koch. 

 {Linyphia alacris Bl.) 



Length. Male 2.5 mm., female larger. 



Closely allied to L. tenuis. It is, however, larger, 

 and the palpi and palpal organs are more prominent. 

 The radial and cubital joints of the male palpus are 

 each furnished with a long strong bristle. A rare 

 species. 



Lepthyphantes cristatus Menge. {Linyphia 

 cristata + L. relativa [male] in "Spiders of Dor- 

 set.") 



Length. Male 2.5 mm. 



Closely allied to L. terricola C. L. Koch, but the 

 radial and cubital joints of the male palpus lack the 

 prominent bristles noted in that species. A rare 

 spider. 



Lepthyphantes obseurus Bl. 

 Length. Male 2 mm., female larger. 

 The digital joint of the male palpus has a strong 

 curved horn-like process at its base. Rare. 



Lepthyphantes whymperi F.O.P. Cb. 



Length. Male 3.5 mm. 



Abdomen black. Tibiae with two or more dorsal 

 spines and some lateral spines. Extremely rare. 



Lepthyphantes pallidus Cb. {Linyphia 

 pallida + L. relativa [female] in " Spiders of 

 Dorset.") 



Abdomen pale dull yellow, almost always devoid 

 of markings. The epigynum is very prominent. A 

 rare and obscure species. 



Lepthyphantes pinicola Sim. 



Length. Male 2 mm., female 2.5 mm. 



The palpal organs have upon their external surface 

 a long curved spine, which projects considerably 

 beyond them. The epigynum is long and sharply 

 bent near its extremity. A very rare species. 



Lepthyphantes cultus Cb. 



A rare species described in " Proc. Dorset Field 

 Club," vol. xiv. p. 152. 



Lepthyphantes flavipes Bl. 



I have never seen examples of this spider, which 

 is described in " Spiders of Great Britain and Ire- 

 land," p. 247. It appears to be identical with 

 L. henricae Kulcz. 



Lepthyphantes inconspicua Cb. 



Length. Male 1.5 mm. 



The small size of this species will distinguish it 

 from most of its allies. The distance between the 

 posterior central eyes is much greater than that 

 between |one of them and the adjacent lateral. Very 

 rare. 



Lepthyphantes erieaeus Bl. 

 Length. Male 1.7 mm. 



Closely allied to L. inconspicua, but the eyes of 

 the posterior row are practically equidistant. Rare. 



Lepthyphantes angulatus Cb. 



This spider, of which only a portion of a specimen 

 appears to exist, is described in "Spiders of Dorset," 

 P- 519- 



Lepthyphantes mengii Kulcz. 

 Described in " Proc. Dorset Field Club," vol. xvi. 

 p. in. 



Lepthyphantes tenebricola Wid. 

 Described in " Proc. Dorset Field Club," vol. xvi. 

 p. in. 



Lepthyphantes miser Cb. {Linyphia tuiba- 

 trix in " Spiders of Dorset.") 



This species and the next I include in this genus 

 provisionally, having seen neither of them. Rev. 

 O. P. -Cambridge considers them to be Lepthy- 

 phantes, but the descriptions would suggest that they 

 were more nearly allied to Po rhomma, although dis- 

 tinct from this latter genus. Mr. F. O. P. -Cam- 

 bridge, proposes for their reception a distinct genus 

 Hilhousia, which may probably stand. In both 

 species the base of the cephalo-thorax is strongly 

 excavated. In L. miser the caput of the female is 

 not raised to any extent. Extremely rare. 



Lepthyphantes desolans F.O.P. Cb. 

 Length. Female 2.5 mm. 



The caput is considerably raised and very convex. 

 A very rare species. 



( To be continued. ) 



COURTSHIP OF OH0ST-M0THS. 



By H. M'Arthur. 



"^7 EARS ago, in my early collecting days, I was 

 -*- startled by my brother's exclamation, "'A 

 ghost ! Be quiet ! ' I began to tremble, and wished 

 myself at home. He made a short run, and soon 

 had a large white moth in his net. and then ex- 

 plained to me that the reason for the male " ghost- 

 moth" (Hepialus hunudi) having its pendulum- 

 like flight was that a female of its species was in 

 the grass below, and the male in so flying would 

 induce her to emerge from her hiding, -place. 



With that belief I was content for many years, 

 until my first visit to the Shetland Islands, where, 

 for some occult reason, the ruale.-> of this species in 

 many instances mimic the markings and colour of 

 the females. I then put into practice wbat I had 

 been taught in early boyhood and hunted amongst 

 the grass for a female, over which the male was 

 supposed to have been hovering. In each instance, 

 however, I only found the empty pupa-case from 

 which the male had emerged. One evening as I 



