64 
Psyche 
[June-Sept. 
and from the thread hangs a silk-covered cord into which 
is incorporated the egg sacs. The cord is covered with 
debris consisting of fragments of bark, stems and leaves, 
as well as sand, humus, and small faeces. Occasionally the 
corpse of a victim is included in the mass. The male makes a 
cord that is an amorphous mass of debris. Its web is similar 
to that of the female, and is often located near that of the 
latter. 
The spider ordinarily takes its station at the lower end 
of the cord, and is almost completely invisible against its 
background. When disturbed it draws the loose end of the 
cord together in a U-shaped loop, but seldom abandons 
it unless the cord is removed from place. Only once was the 
spider seen under the hub of the web, probably attracted 
there by its prey. Its food evidently consists of small 
Hemiptera and Diptera. 
Seasonal records show that the females are adult from 
June to* November. The males have been found only during 
the period extending from late July to early October. Spider- 
lings seem to appear in October. 
Habitats: This spider is apparently confined to forest 
cover. Its habitats are largely limited areas within the 
vicinity of streams, both permanent and intermittent, near 
bodies of water, and in some cases in swamps that are not 
subject to high water. Its ecological situations are as fol- 
lows: Steep slopes of narrow valleys and ravines; very 
shallow ravines having a negligible slope; bluffs of large 
creeks ; generally distributed in woods having gradual or 
gentle slopes. It does not prosper in areas frequently 
burned over. It occurs in the following types of timber 
cover: Mixed mesophytic hardwoods; evergreen-deciduous 
hardwoods ; oak-hickory ; oak-pine on slopes ; gum swamps ; 
hammock woods, especially the type located on the summits 
of low bluffs above the Mobile Delta. 
Nicholasia pentagona prefers no special species of tree, 
providing adequate shelter is present. Its habitat stations 
are as follows: webs located in scars at bases of trees 
(gums, magnolias, at least nine species of oaks, tulip poplar, 
sweetgum, pines); between the roots of beech trees; in 
hollows along the sides and at the ends of all sorts of rotting 
