102 



THE yOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



and this very important item must be sub- 

 stantiated by its production too ; I strongly 

 object to read it through Mr. Gregson's 

 spectacles. 



As to the measurement of the Liverpool 

 specimens of Autnmnaria, Mr. G. is fully 

 aware that they are from Foreign eggs, con- 

 sequently Foreign insects. My remarks as 

 to size refer to British, vide Mr. Bond's and 

 Mr. Samuel Steven's cabinets. I do not 

 believe there is a British specimen over two 

 inches in expanse, not as Mr. G. puts it 

 "starved specimens," but caught insects! 

 Mr. G. will hardly doubt Mr. Bond's or 

 Mr. J. Steven's being carefully formed 

 British collections. — W. H. Tugwell, 

 Greenwich. 



SPIDERS. 



Having briefly noticed lice, mites, and 

 other portions of the insect world, let us 

 now turn our attention to another section, 

 not generally taken an interest in by the 

 Entomologist, we mean the spiders. Though 

 technically they are not insects, yet they 

 may be taken under the same catagory. 

 The same means avail for capture in a great 

 measure, and spiders may be sought in 

 woods and other places where insects 

 generally abound. There are a great many 

 different species of spiders in Britain, some 

 very beautiful like Eperia diademata and 

 E. scalaris, which are sometimes met with 

 of large size; others are very minute, 

 scarcely as large as a pin's head, yet both 

 large and small are interesting to [the true 

 lover of nature. Some, as every one must 

 know, spin silken webs of beautiful geometric 

 shapes, while others throw them into a 

 more irregular mass. Some, like the com- 

 mon Zebra spider, do not spin webs for the 

 capture of their prey, but devise various 

 tricks, or capture it by mere chase, hence 

 these are called " hunting spiders." 



One of the most curious of the British 

 species is the Diving water-spider, which 



may sometimes be found in stagnant ditches. 

 It forms a dome of silk under the water, 

 and then carries down into it globule after 

 globule of air until it is filled. It this it 

 passes most of its time, but it is also capable 

 of living upon dry land. 



But the most interesting of all the spiders 

 are the trap-door spiders, though none of 

 these are found in Britain. In Southern 

 Europe they are common, but very difficult 

 to find. The spider makes various shaped 

 tunnels in the earth, according to the 

 species, and upon the entrance fits a kind of 

 trap door, which fits so accurately, and is 

 so very similar to the surrouning objects, 

 that it is next to impossible to detect its 

 whereabouts when the door is closed. 

 Should the door be attempted to be opened 

 when the spider is within, it will cling to it 

 and resist its opening with all its force. 



Another class of spiders, found chiefly in 

 tropical America, are the gigantic Mygalida. 

 These are so large that they have been 

 known to attack and devour small birds. 

 Their body is covered with hair, presenting 

 a very shaggy appearance. One species 

 (Mygale avicularia) sometimes comes to this 

 country in logwood. One species of this 

 group is native of this country, but it is only ; 

 small, as all our representatives of exotic 

 forms are. Its name is Atypus sulzeri. It 

 has been found in the neighbourhood of 

 London, but is by no means common. It 

 excavates a subterranean gallery, the en- 

 trance of which is protected by a silken tube. 



Very few people have studied spiders in 

 this country, but one gentleman, the Rev. 

 O. P. Cambridge, has made them his special 

 study, yet the work of one isolated individ- 

 ual must of necessity be limited. If some 

 of our young entomologists would devote \)^ 

 their attention to this class there is no doubt 

 that many new species might be added to 

 the British list, and, perhaps, habits brought 

 to light which at present are totally unknown. 

 It is a matter of regret that there is no cheap 



