118 
THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S WEEKLY INTELLIGENCES. 
RAY SOCIETY’S PUBLICATIONS. 
Extracts from Mr. Blackmail's Volume on 
British Spiders. 
(Continued from p. 112.) 
t; Like animals of the class Crustacea, 
spiders possess the property of repro- 
ducing such limbs as have been detached 
or mutilated, and this curious physiolo- 
gical phenomenon is intimately connected 
with the renovation of the integument, 
for legs, palpi and spinners which have 
been amputated are observed to be re- 
stored, and afterwards to have their 
dimensions enlarged, at the period of 
moulting only. 
“Little appears to have been done for 
the purpose of determining the longevity 
of spiders with some approach to ac- 
curacy; that of many species evidently 
does not exceed the brief space of twelve 
months ; others enjoy a more prolonged 
term of existence; and the life of Tege- 
naria civilis and Segestria senoculata has 
been ascertained to extend through a 
period of four years. 
“ Under the guidance of their respec- 
tive instincts, a high degree of skill and 
industry is displayed by spiders in the 
construction^ of their retreats. Many 
species occupy holes formed by them- 
selves beneath the surface of the earth, 
some of which, of a cylindrical shape, are 
lined with a compact tissue of silk, and 
have the entrance closed by a valve, pro- 
vided with a hinge, which can be opened 
and shut at pleasure. Other species 
fabricate in the crevices of walls, the 
crannies of rocks, beneath stones, on the 
leaves of vegetables, and under the ex- 
foliating bark of trees, tubes, cells or 
domes of silk, on whose exterior surface- 
soil miuute pebbles and other lierogene- 
ous materials are frequently distributed. 
Theridion riparium fabricates a slender 
conical tube of silk, of a very slight tex- 
ture, measuring from one and a half to 
two and a half inches in length, and 
about half an inch in diameter at its 
lower extremity. It is closed above, open 
below, thickly covered externally with 
bits of indurated earth, small stones and 
withered leaves and flowers, which are 
incorporated with it, and is suspended 
perpendicularly by lines attached to its 
sides and apex, in the irregular snare 
constructed by this species. In the upper 
part of this singular domicile the female 
spins several globular cocoons of yellow- 
ish white silk, of a slight texture, whose 
mean diameter is about one-eighth of an 
inch, in each of which she deposits from 
twenty to sixty small spherical eggs, of a 
pale yellowish white colour, not aggluti- 
nated together. The young remain with 
the mother for a long period after quitting 
the cocoons, and are provided by her with 
food, which consists chiefly of ants. 
“ Various spiders run fearlessly on the 
surface of water, and some even descend 
into it spontaneously, the time during 
which they can respire, when immersed, 
depending upon the quantity of air con- 
fined by the circumambient liquid among 
the hairs with which they are clothed. 
In this manner Arggroneta aquatica is 
enabled to pursue its prey, to construct 
its dome-shaped dwelling, and to live 
habitually in that liquid. There are, 
however, a few species, of small size, 
Neriene longipalpis and Savigina fron- 
tata, for example, which, though they do 
not enter water voluntarily, can support 
life in it for many days, and that without 
the external supply of air so essential to 
the existence of Arggroneta aquatica under 
similar circumstances. It is probable 
that this property may contribute to their 
preservation through the winter, when 
