i()2o Johnson. — Hal id us nibicundiis and Lycosa picta. 89 



HALICTUS RUBICUNDUS AND LYCOSA PICTA. 



BY REV. W. F. JOHNSON, M.A., F.E.S., M.K.I. A. 



The observations recorded below were made at Portnoo, 

 which is situated on the southern side of Gweebarra Bay 

 and some nine miles from Glenties in county Donegal. 

 There are very extensive sandhills running up to the mouth 

 of the Gweebarra river and these were the scene of the 

 happenings herein related. 



June 26th was a fine day with bright sunshine, the wind 

 N.W., but not high. I went on the sandhills in the fore- 

 noon and made my way to a particular hill at which I had 

 noticed bees busy a couple of days before. Plere I found 

 Halictus ruhicundus Christ, Oxybelus imiglumis L. and 

 Crabro palmipes L., all busy in the bright simshine. While 

 I was watching them I noticed a spider which proved to 

 be Lycosa picta Hahn., ensconsing itself in a shallow burrow 

 which had a sort of hood over it. This was higher up 

 than where Halictus, etc., were working, and from my sub- 

 sequent observations seems hkely to have been the spider's 

 own work. After watching it for a little, I looked back at 

 the Halicti and my attention was taken by one which was 

 flying to and fro in front of a burrow in an agitated manner. 

 I thought I saw a movement as if there was something 

 in the burrow, and looking closer to my surprise I saw 

 that a spider was sitting at the mouth of the burrow with 

 its front legs just outside. The bee now alighted on the 

 sand, and approaching the burrow cautiously seemed to 

 nip the spider's leg with her mandibles. The spider moved 

 forward and the bee at once flew off, but only to return 

 to the attack again and again, until at last the spider 

 evacuated the burrow and went further down the bank. 

 The bee immediately took possession of the burrow and 

 disappeared from view. Next I noticed a spider, this time 

 with an egg bag, struggling up a very steep part of the 

 bank of sand above which the bees were busy. After 

 several failures and pauses the spider surmounted the 

 difficulty and presently came to a burrow, but the entrance 

 was too small to admit the egg bag, so she set to work 

 to enlarge the entrance. While she was thus employed 



