208 
Psyche 
[June 
parently, in contrast to web-dwellers, which are likely to detect 
a prey while still handling a previous one (Eberhard, 1967) and 
which spend prolonged periods at fixed sites (in their webs), the 
retention of prey at a site for future use after additional captures 
is of little value to a wandering spider. 
Summary 
When housed in terraria, Lycosa punctulata and L. rabida 
spend significantly more time on artificial foliage than do Schizo- 
cosa crassipes and S. saltatrix. Such data provide laboratory 
support for the idea that a preference for structural features within 
the habitat plays a role in the micro-habitat distribution of wan- 
dering spiders. Our lycosid species prefer upper rather than lower 
surfaces as rest sites, and we suggest that upper surfaces are co- 
incidentally more suitable for prey capture. On broad, steep sur- 
faces our species most often adopt a vertical orientation, facing 
directly up or down. On artificial foliage, vertical orientation 
likewise predominates, with a significant preference here for a 
face-down position, i.e., the position also typical of web-weaving 
spiders. We suggest mechanisms, one of which may underlie this 
orientation preference. Coincidentally, prey detection by wander- 
ing spiders that are at rest in the herbaceous stratum may be 
facilitated by a vertical orientation. Our observations on post- 
immobilization prey-wrapping indicate that wrapping not only 
enables wandering spiders to retain prey while feeding at an ele- 
vated site, but also insures the recovery of immobilized prey when 
the spider momentarily flees and then returns to the feeding site. 
Literature Cited 
Cherrett, J. M. 
1964. The distribution of spiders on the Moor House National Nature Reserve, 
Westmorland. J. Anim. Ecol. 33: 27-48. 
Cragg, J. B. 
1961. Some aspects of the ecology of moorland animals. J. Anim. Ecol. 30: 
205-234. 
Duffey, E. 
1962. A population study of spiders in limestone grassland. The field-layer 
fauna. Oikos 13 : 15-34. 
1966. Spider ecology and habitat structure. (Arach., Araneae). Senck. biol. 
47 : 45-49. 
