58 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



Under Stones and Logs of Wood. — Bysdera cambridgii, Brassus 

 lapidicolens, Cryphceca silvicola, Ccelotes atropos, Walckenaera acuminata, 

 Trochosa terricola. In September, 1886, two specimens of Ccelotes atropos 

 were found in crevices of wooden railings accompanied by their young. 

 This spider is far from rare here. 



Running on the Ground. — Ocyale mirahilis, Pirata piraticus — near 

 water, — Trochosa picta, Tarentula miniata (Southport, Lancashire, and 

 Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, are as yet the only English localities for this 

 spider), Tarentula pulverulenta, Lycosa amentata, L. lugubris, L. proccima, 

 L. nigriceps. All the spiders enumerated under this head belong to the 

 family Lycosides. They spin no snare, and the females carry their egg-cocoons 

 about with them. A fine female specimen of Ocyale mirahilis, bearing its 

 large yellowish cocoon along with it over the grass of some dry hill-side, is a 

 sight likely to impress itself upon the memory. 



About Walls and Railings. — Amaurobius fenestralis, A.ferox, Tegen- 

 aria derhamii — ("common house spider"), Theridion varians, Steatoda 

 bipunctata, Meta segmentata, Zilla x-notata, Epeira umbratica, Trochosa 

 ruricola, Epiblemum scenicum-—(" jumping spider.") 



Searching walls with the aid of a lantern at night, as well as being a pro- 

 ductive mode of slug-collecting, discovers numerous spiders. The males of 

 Amaurobius fenestralis seem to be very fond of prowling over the surface of 

 walls after dark. Epeira umbratica is pre-eminently a nocturnal spider, and 

 lies concealed during the whole of the day, when collecting at night with a 

 lantern, however, it is often found in the centre of its toil about walls, and 

 still more frequently between the bars of wooden fences. In April last, when 

 collecting after dark on Hubbard's Hills, a good number of young specimens 

 were found in the centres of their large snares hung between rails, all within 

 a space of about ten yards; and a few days afterwards I took three adult 

 specimens which were concealed beneath the bark of the same fence within 

 about the same distance. Zilla x-notata is often very plentiful between the 

 upright bars of iron railings surrounding gardens, in whose company I have 

 found the pretty little Theridion varians. 



In Houses. — Brassas blachwallii, Amaurobius fenestralis, Tegenaria der- 

 hamii, Theridion denticulatum, Steatoda bipunctata, Zilla x-notata, and Altus 

 pubescens. 



Amaurobius fenestralis is a common house spider here, although in the 

 South of England it appears to be rarely found in buildings (see " Spiders of 

 Dorset," p. 56.) Theridion denticulatum, Steatoda bipunctata, and Zilla 

 x-notata spin their toils in the corners of neglected windows. Tegenaria der- 



