100 
Guide to Arachnida. 
Table-case 
No. 23. 
Specimens of this spider have been found at University College, 
London, and also at Bristol, but since tropical conditions appear 
to he essential to its existence, there is little likelihood of its 
becoming an established species in this country. Some of the 
smaller forms are remarkable for the closeness with which they 
mimic ants. The Clubionidae are cosmopolitan in distribution. 
Fam. — Lycosidae. 
On account of their predatory habits these spiders are commonly 
known as wolf-spiders. With the exception of the species belonging 
to the group Hippaseae, which spin large webs, accompanied by 
tubular retreats, similar to those of Agelena and its allies, they do 
not construct snares. The majority of the Lycosidae do not 
make a regular nest ; a number of species, however, construct 
burrows in the ground similar to those of the trap-door spiders, 
and some of them surround the aperture with a tower of twigs 
(e.g. Lycosa arenicola, a species which occurs in the United 
States, exhibited in Wall-case 7) or grass, or even close it with 
a neat trap-door. The female spider carries the cocoon about 
with her, attached to the spinning mammillae. On leaving the 
cocoon the young spiders climb on to the back of the mother, 
attaching themselves by threads, and are carried about by her in 
this fashion for several days. The spider encumbered thus by her 
living burden presents an interesting and curious spectacle. 
The name “ Tarantula ” is loosely applied to many large spiders 
of various kinds. It should really be restricted to the Italian 
species Lycosa tarmtula (and its allies), which first received the 
name from its abundance near the town of Taranto or Tarentum. 
Amongst the Italian peasantry there still prevails an ancient 
superstition that the poisonous bite of this spider gives rise to a 
sickness called Tarentism. The chief specific for the malady is 
music, which incites the victim to dance in a frenzied and violent 
manner, and to continue the exercise until the outbreak of a pro- 
fuse perspiration effects the cure by getting rid of the poison. 
Fam. — Agelenidae. 
These spiders are sedentary web-spinning forms. Their snare 
usually consists of a large horizontal sheet of web, with one or 
two tubular retreats leading from it. Perhaps the most familiar 
of them are the house-spiders ( Tegenaria ), which construct untidy 
