328 THE SPIDERS. 



The latter, or ramified form, is the one most frequently 

 met with at Mentone. The main cylinder runs backwards 

 into the earth, either straight or spirally, while the other, 

 or secondary cylinders, bend away upwards at a sharp angle, 

 and either, as is generally the case, end blindly, or, in rare 

 cases, open on the surface of the ground. With the latter 

 arrangement one of the two doors is generally neglected, 

 and the upper part of the cylinder is half stopped up with 

 earth, so that we are forced to conclude that, by some 

 unfortunate mischance, the older door was injured, and the 

 spider prepared a new one instead at another place. The 

 secondary cylinders generally end like blind alleys, as has 

 been said, and Moggridge found that this was always the 

 case with very young spiders. 



In these ramified nests with double doors, the upper door, 

 held by the hinge and its own weight, only lies on the mouth 

 of the nest, and does not enter the passage as in the single 

 cork nest. The lower door also hangs by a hinge from 

 the edge of the corner made by the division into two cylin- 

 ders, and can be turned either way, so as to close the 

 entrance either of the main or of the secondary cylinder. 

 It is from a line to a line and a half thick, of elliptical form, 

 ribbed above, smooth below, and with a flap at its lower 

 end. The whole is made of earth, held together by silken 

 web. When the door hangs so as to close the entrance of 

 the secondary cylinder, it suits its surroundings so well in 

 shape and appearance that it only looks like an unbroken 

 part of the wall of the main passage. 



If the upper part of such a nest be destroyed, the lower 

 door w T ill be seen to be secretly moved and the main cylinder 

 closed off, being evidently pushed by the spider itself from 

 above ; the creature can even sometimes be caught in this 

 situation, its shoulders pushing against the door. But when 

 the spider sees that resistance is useless, it will either hide 

 itself at the end of its cylinder rolled up like a ball, or rush 

 out and strike with its fangs at the disturber of its peace. 



The spider may behave somewhat differently when it has 

 to defend itself against its natural enemies, such as ichneu- 

 mon flies, sand wasps , ants, millipedes, little lizards, etc. 

 It apparently shuts the subterranean door in the main cylin- 

 der first against the assailant, and draws back into the 

 secondary cylinder when the other passage is forced, drawing 



