Art. XXXI.—On the Habits of the Trap-door Spider.

By R. Gillies.

use and instruction of others. The field naturalist, on the other hand, undertakes the former, and by patient research and observation, studies the animal in its native haunts, finds out what it does, how it does it, when it does it, and why it does it; observes its habits, its food, its enemies, the localities where it is found, and its geographical distribution over the world. To the special training and intimate knowledge of science necessary for the prosecution of the work of the cabinet naturalist, I lay no claim whatever, and therefore on that side of the subject, I shall have little to say. I may mention, however, that through the kindness of Captain Hutton, specimens of these spiders have been sent to the Rev. P. Cambridge, the greatest living authority on spiders in England, and no doubt, in due time, we shall have exact descriptions of each of them, and their precise species and places in their family assigned to them. Any original remarks I may have to make to-night, refer entirely to the other side of Natural History, and I have only to express my regret, that my opportunities for observing these animals during the two years since I first discovered them, have been so few and scattered, that it is with hesitation I bring this paper before you. It has, however, been pointed out to me, that by making known what little I have observed, it may be the means of inciting others more favourably situated to take notice of, and record what they do observe of their habits and skill, and so instead of one observer working at the subject through a long course of years, we may have the recorded observations of a dozen individuals in different localities available for the study of the cabinet naturalist, in a very short space of time.

The great Order Araneœ or true spiders, have been divided into seven sub-orders; of these, the fourth, or Territelariœ, is the one with which we have now to do. The Territelariœ, are easily recognised by any one, even apart from their nests. Their falces (mandibles or fangs as they are commonly called, work vertically downwards and are parallel. In other spiders they work horizontally, and cross each other like nippers. They have also four whitish spots or blotches on the under side of the abdomen, near its junction with the sternum, which are supposed to be branchial tubes, whilst other spiders have only two. The specimens now exhibited, clearly show both these characteristics.

How first found.

It may be interesting to note how my attention was first drawn to the subject. My discovery of their existence in Otago was purely accidental. Rather more than two years ago, I was riding slowly through an English grass paddock, near Oamaru, when, on a bare patch of ground, my eye accidentally rested upon a very large spider. Attracted by its size, I kept steadily looking at it, when suddenly, as if by magic, it disappeared. I got

off my horse so as to carefully examine the ground, which was very dry and dusty. My suspicions that the spider had rolled itself up in the dust, were soon confirmed, by observing that the earth was a little raised or bulged up at one part, so I took my knife to turn it out of its dirt heap. Judge of my surprise and delight, when no sooner had I applied the point of my knife, than up sprang a beautiful trap-door, revealing a large hole going right down into the earth, lined with beautiful white silk that shone in the sun, and lining the inside of the door, forming a clever and remarkably good hinge. I had no doubt now, where the spider had gone, but having no tools I could not dig it out. I examined this strange novelty for some time, lifting up the wonderful door, and admiring the exactness with which it fitted, the perfect mobility of the hinge, the spring with which it immediately shut down on slipping from the knife, and the marvellous adaptation of the outside of the lid to the existing conditions surrounding it. It was literally peppered on the outside with loose soil, exactly the same as that around, so as to defy detection by any one unacquainted with the way of finding such nests. In fact, though I carefully marked several things near by, so as to find it again; when I returned with a spade I could not find it, and never afterwards came upon this particular nest. Since that time I have taken every opportunity of my being in the Oamaru District, to observe and record what I saw of them, and in the months of October and November of last year, being detained there through illness, I had some weeks of leisure to pursue my investigations, the results of which I now propose to place before you.

Distinctions in the Spiders themselves.

Unfortunately I am not in a position to say what is the name or names of the Territelariœ now before you, or to determine whether there is more than one species. Distinctions of species in the Araneœ are very minute, and require the skill of an expert to unravel them. Eighteen months ago, Captain Hutton kindly sent home to the Rev. P. Cambridge, a few specimens in a bottle. His reply was, that he thought there were at least two new species previously unknown to science, but his exhaustive examination of them has not yet, through want of time, been transmitted to us. In the meantime, other and better specimens have been obtained and sent home; some of them to Rev. P. Cambridge, and some with the nests they inhabit to the Paris Museum, through the kindness of Dr. Filhol, who was recently amongst us. Captain Hutton, however, permits me to say, that after a careful examination of the specimens now before you, he is inclined to believe that there is only one species, and that the slight differences observable in individuals, will only result in the separation of varieties. One specimen is marked with greyish spots different from others. It was found in

the same locality as the one I first discovered, and may have had a double branched nest, as the soil was so loose and friable, that in digging it out, it was impossible to tell through the nest getting spoiled. Another from the same locality was one of those which were sent home to Rev. P. Cambridge, and it had a side gallery and double trap-door, as shown in sketch No. 1. Plate VIII., which I will describe further on. This is the only instance of this peculiarity which has been observed, and as it was not seen by myself, but by one of my servants, I do not attach great weight to it. It may, however, account for the two different species referred to by Rev. P. Cambridge. Another specimen, and the pieces of the nest, had a peculiar greyish colour different from others. It was found in a different locality, in a very peculiar situation, the foot of the corner post of a stable, and had its trap-door depressed under the general surface of the ground as afterwards described. The cephalo-thorax in another, is peculiarly large and broad, and its nest is figured in Plate VII. It was got from a different locality, called the Bobbin Creek, and all the nests in that locality have this peculiarity—they are lined with silk about two-thirds down only, the bottom part being unlined. Specimens of part of this nest are also before you. The spider and young ones in the bottle were from a different locality, the Stable Gully, and several of the young ones had a greenish-blue spot on them, and some of them brown, before they were put into the spirits. Another from the same locality, had a slightly different nest, as seen in Plate VII., and all those from this locality had by far the most ingeniously concealed trap-doors, though the nests were smaller than those elsewhere. Another from the same locality was much darker in colour, and larger, and had a very peculiar nest, figured in Sketch No. 6, Plate VIII., and afterwards described. Another lot of about half-a-dozen, with several young ones, from the same locality, are all of smallish size. They were of a dark olive tint, and turned lighter in colour in the spirits. Some of these were actually got crawling about outside of their holes, and some were dug out. One little one of these was of such a peculiar colour, that I kept it distinct. It was mostly of a pale bluish-green or greenish-blue colour, and some parts colourless. It was quite different in colour to every other one I ever got, so I hope it may be a male, as males are very rare, and difficult to get. These are really the only differences readily noticeable in the spiders themselves, beyond differences of size. There are greater differences, however, in their nests and trap-doors, &c., which will be noticed further on, and which may help in the determination of their species.

Nests, how detected.

We come now to their nests, and I think I cannot do better than at once give the clue whereby to detect the presence of their nests. The

spider tunnels down a comparatively deep hole, through the surface soil into the clay or differently coloured subsoil beneath. This subsoil it brings up last, and generally carries to some distance from its hole (from one to eighteen inches), and forms a spoil-bank there; the excavated stuff is all cemented in a peculiar way, afterwards described, but this does not prevent the rain from gradually washing it away, more or less, thereby discolouring the surface soil, for a short distance, with the differently coloured sub-soil. For instance, if the surface loam be black, and the subsoil yellow clay, there is no difficulty whatever in detecting them, as the yellow mark remains, even after the spoil-bank has been washed away; and, as the spoil-bank is always on the lower side of the nest, all you have to do when you see such a mark, is to look from six to eighteen inches above it, according to the lay of the ground, and it will be strange indeed, if you do not detect somewhere, a little round ring on the ground, or amongst the herbage, marking the lip of the trap-door, where it fits to the beveled mouth of the nest. I do not say you will find every one this way, for some are so skilfully concealed, as to defeat every search made for them, and others (specimens of some of which are before you), were only discovered by accident, and would never, I believe, have been discovered in any other way; the above, however, gives a clue which aids immensely in the search for them.

Nests and their distinctions.

The nests are in reality, tunnels of varying size, dug into the ground, and lined more or less with silk of varying thickness and consistency, and with a lid or trap-door hinged to the mouth. Moggridge distinguishes four types of trap-door nests (see page 79), in the world at large, and names them. First, the single-door cork nest, or shortly, the cork nest; second, the single-door wafer nest; third, the double-door unbranched nest and fourth, the double-door branched nest. The distinction here drawn, between the first and second type consists in the thickness of the door; the cork nest, having a thick door beveled at the edges and fitting tight; the wafer nest, having a thin door. I am inclined to think, that so far as the Oamaru species are concerned, this distinction will not hold good, that is, on the supposition that the individuals forming a colony in any one place are likely to be of the same species, for, notwithstanding that I had this distinction always in view, I never was able to detect any such marked differences in the thickness or fitting of the lids in different localities, or in different colonies in the same locality, as to be specially noticeable. Cork nests and wafer nests were found in all localities, and, in fact, amongst the scores of nests I have examined, this distinction does not hold good. Doors of all degrees of thickness are to be found, and of all degrees of neatness

identical nests.” If I am right in this idea, of the varying type being the result of different conditions of soil, etc., it opens up a wide field for thought, for it carries with it, the ability on the part of each individual spider, not only to estimate the conditions under which it is about to pursue its work, but to adapt the mechanical contrivances it makes use of, to the varying conditions that arise, displaying an amount of artistic and engineering ability and judgment, that quite transcends all our ordinary ideas of habit and instinct—but I must not enlarge on this.

Localities where Observed.

The locality where I have observed the Territelariœ is in the Oamaru district, North Otago, about ten miles in from the coast, and the particular situations there, in which my observations have taken place, are six, known locally as follows:—The Cultivation Paddock, the Stable Gully, the Wool-shed Fence, the Bobbin Creek, the Awamoko River Terraces, and the Waiareka Valley, at Elderslie. The distances of these places from each other vary from one quarter of a mile to eight miles. In the Waiareka Valley they were observed on the flat in the bottom of the valley as well as on the sunny faces of the terraces above. This fact seemed very peculiar to me, as undoubtedly they are within the reach of ordinary floods of the Waiareka, when the river overflows its banks. At the time I observed them, the ground was very spongy and damp, and had been recently flooded, and yet the holes had no water in them. They bore evidence, however, of recent labour having been expended on them, in the fresh-excavated subsoil not far from the holes. They were very numerous, large, sinuous, and deep, and easily distinguished by the different coloured sub-soil showing on the surface. Now, the question immediately suggests itself, what became of the inmates whilst the ground was covered with still water ? Did they migrate to the terraces, not very far off, or did they remain in their holes? From what I have observed since of their habits (as afterwards described), I am inclined to think that they will rather die than desert their nests, and that, therefore, the owners of these nests remained in them under water. This necessitates that the silk lining acts as cement, and is capable of keeping out wet, and also that the lids fit so closely as to prevent water passing between the lips of the mouth. It, also, would require that the occupants should be capable of existing in their nests for a considerable time without more air than happens to be in the particular nest. As to the nests keeping out water, I confess that I cannot very well see how the spiders could exist in these earth-tunnels in our wet climate, and with the soil in many seasons saturated with rain and snow, unless it were so. It is difficult, on any other hypothesis, to account for the nests remaining free from water, and from the damage inseparable from the presence of water and hard frost. Let

any one just bore an inch augur-hole a foot into the ground, and cover it, to prevent the actual beating of the rain on the mouth, and see how long the hole will remain perfect, or free from water, even in a very ordinary season. It must be borne in mind, too, that almost always the mouth of each hole is on flat ground, even though it may be on the face of a terrace, and though I have watched narrowly to detect if there were anything in the configuration of the ground, or in the spots selected, that might act in the way of turning off surface water from the mouth of the nest, I never could detect any; on the contrary, instances were not unfrequent where the actual surroundings of the mouth of the nest made it a matter of certainty that, during heavy rain, the surface drainage would be directed towards the nest, and would lodge there. An instance of this, on a small scale, is seen in one case, where the depressed mouth of the nest was underneath the drip from the stable-roof. As to the other necessity alluded to above, that of the spider existing for some considerable time with very little air, it will be seen further on that I have repeatedly found the living spider in its nest with the trap-door sealed up and plastered over with clay on the outside, and specimens of the lids so sealed up are now before you, and with no other visible means of ingress or egress. This, I think, indicates the same thing—that the spider can exist with a very small supply of air.

Aspect of the situations where found.

With regard to the general situation of the nests. Those found in the Woolshed Fence, as represented in Sketch No. 9, Plate VIII., were always found on the southern or shady side of the sod wall. But it must be remembered that a sod wall gets heated up very much with the sun's rays, and is peculiarly dry and warm. In the sketch a nest is drawn on each side, but this is to show the two styles of mouth without drawing another fence. In all the other situations, where I have observed them, the nests are always on northern or sunny slopes of greater or less steepness, never in stony or rocky ground, and never actually in the face of a bank so as to be the cause of the trap-door shutting to by its own weight, but always each nest on a little bit of flat, or almost flat, ground. So much is this the case that, even in the sod wall (Sketch No. 9, Plate VIII.) the nest is not tunnelled in at right angles to the slope of the wall, and the trap-door does not hang at the angle of the wall, but a little platform is excavated flat, or nearly so, out of the wall, and on this flat the nest is excavated vertically at first. These may appear to you minute distinctions; but they are such as distinguish the Otago species from those found elsewhere, for Moggridge, writing of the Mediterranean species, says (page 88)—“All these Trap-door Spiders seem usually to prefer rather moist and shady places and sloping banks, or loose terrace walls,

where the interstices between the stones are filled up with earth, etc.;” and again, (page 91)—“I have very seldom seen nests on the flat ground, where the door would lie horizontally when closed; a sloping or nearly vertical bank being usually chosen, where the door will fall to by its own weight;” and Costa, in his “Fauna del Regno di Napoli,” Aracnidi, page 14 (translated by Moggridge, page 138) says they live “in shady places, and for the most part, turned to the north, or to the west, seldom to the south; hence cool and rather damp.” So that you see the habits of the Oamaru species, in regard to the situation of their nests, so far as observed, are exactly contrary to those recorded from other parts of the world.

Shape of the Nests.

The nests, though cylindrical, are often very irregular in form, as you may see by the specimens before you, and in this they evidently differ from those described and beautifully drawn by Moggridge, all of which, whatever their type, seem to be even and regular in form. The direction of the holes is always downwards, no instance of one turning up having been observed; but they are all more or less sinuous, those in the Bobbin Gully, especially, being very tortuous, and bend in all four directions, north, south, east, and west. In this there would appear to be a difference from all other recorded species, as the rule with them would appear to be that they are mostly straight, and only in the case of the double-branched nests are they “double-bent.” But the great difference between the Oamaru nests and others in general form, is in the enlargements which occur frequently in the tubes. This is a very marked feature, especially in the nests in the Bobbin, where the enlargements are often double the normal diameter of the nest. Sketch No. 3, Plate VIII., shows one in which the normal diameter of the hole is under an inch, and the enlargement is fully two inches. These enlargements are sometimes nearly up at the top of the nest, within an inch of the trap-door, as in the nest No. 2, Plate VIII., now before you, and sometimes half-way down. In only one case (figured in Sketch No. 5, Plate VIII.), was there any marked enlargement in the bottom of the hole, and this nest was the only one from that particular locality (the Stable Gully), which had any enlargement at all. The enlarged chamber is generally of an elongated form vertically, and more extended on one side than on the other; but this latter characteristic may be only apparent, as from the sinuous outline of the nests, it is not easy to tell the exact form when cutting out a vertical section of them. In Sketch No. 7, Plate VIII., is an instance of a nearly straight nest, with a chamber extended pretty equally on all sides, and with a very long and narrow tube (proportionally) descending from the enlargement.

Use of Enlargement.

For some time it was a great puzzle to me what this enlargement was for; but, accidentally one day, I had the puzzle completely solved, as will be seen from the following extract of my note-book:—“In digging one out, we cut across another large hole about two or three inches below the surface of the ground, the trap-door of which we did not detect on the surface. We had cut it across, just at the top of the wide part, and there inside, we saw suspended by silk threads to each side, in the centre of the enlargement, a beautiful, dazzling, white cocoon, with the golden-yellow eggs shining through the silk covering of the cocoon. It was fully distended, and glistening bright white and yellow in the glare of the sunlight, which shone full upon it. The spider was embracing the side of the cocoon, and there was room left for her to pass up or down the nest on either side (of the cocoon).” Part of this nest, with the cocoon in it, is now before you; though the cocoon got torn and soiled in digging the nest out and subsequently in transporting it here. I found cocoons suspended in the same way in the enlargements of many other nests, so that there is little room to doubt that the wide part is for the purpose of suspending the cocoon, and giving free access around it; and here I may remark—though it is somewhat anticipating what I have to say further on as to cocoons—that we must not jump to the conclusion that only nests with enlargements will have cocoons or young ones in them, for I found many nests with young ones which had no enlargements whatever, and some with cocoons without any decided chamber. As a rule, almost all the nests at the Bobbin had enlargements in them, whilst those in the Stable Gully had none. I may mention, also, that the nests at the Bobbin had often horizontal markings, or small ridges, running round the tubes like rings, or like the marks left by a large augur in boring through wood, and that the mouths of them all, but especially the large ones, and their trap-doors, are most decidedly oval, and are beveled off in the lips, so that the lid fits like a flap, and is often depressed in the centre.

Size of the Nests.

As to the sizes of the nests, they vary from eight inches deep to fourteen inches vertically, or fifteen inches round the bends, whilst the width of the mouth, and of the trap-door, varies from half-an-inch to an inch, at least in those I examined. There were also many narrower; but they are more difficult to detect, and to examine. Sketch No. 3, Plate IV., you will notice, is about half-an-inch at the mouth, widens out to an inch and a-half at the enlargement, then suddenly narrows in to three-eighths of an inch, and then widens to half-an-inch to the bottom of the hole. Another was fourteen inches deep, one inch wide at the mouth, widened out to about two inches,

and then narrowed to three-quarters of an inch down to the bottom. ^*

How they occur and numbers.

They occur in large numbers, scattered more or less all over the ground, but more frequently in colonies in favoured spots facing the sun. I have counted seven near each other, within a radius of two feet, and on another occasion, five within a radius of a foot, and, again, seven within a foot and a-half; and almost invariably, in digging out a nest, we cut across others which we had not detected on the surface. In any of the localities I have mentioned they are to be got literally by the hundred. They are more numerous where clay is the subsoil, or at any rate they are more easily seen there from the discoloration caused by their excavations, and very hard-baked clay does not seem to discourage them, as you will see by the nest No. 4, which was just as hard and compact when it was dug out as it is now. Loose friable soil, or even soil that has been stirred and cultivated with the plough, does not inconvenience these clever engineers; but it is almost impossible to obtain specimens of nests from such soil. Indeed, I may say, that the work of obtaining specimens of the nests is at all times one of considerable labour, patience, and often of disappointment, and occupies a great deal of time. I have tried stuffing the nests with wool, as recommended by some authorities; but found the experiment not satisfactory, as you will see by the specimen No. 28. This is, however, the only way I know of to obtain nests in loose friable soil.

Lining of the Nests.

The silk lining of the nests I always found continuous to the bottom of the holes, with the exception of those at the Bobbin, where it generally ended about two-thirds of the way down. The silken cloth was generally tougher and thicker here than elsewhere, being more like fine leather than spider's web. It was generally thickest at the mouth, and became thin as it extended down the hole, till it ended altogether before reaching the bottom. Some parts of the nests were double lined, the old part of the nest being outside and the new patch inside. This probably indicates where some weakness in the wall of the tunnel had shown itself, or where some water found access to the dwelling of this sturdy miner, and how it was shut out by a coffer-dam. In nest No. 2, the lining was very thick silk, and generally in the Stable Gully the nests are well lined and well woven, although they are generally of small size; whilst in the cultivation paddock, they are much thinner and more fragile to handle, even in the case of large specimens. This is all the more remarkable, as there the soil is loose and friable, and has been cultivated, and it is there we would naturally expect the toughest and best woven webs, to prevent the soil tumbling in,

whereas, the nests at the Bobbin, and the one at the Stable, had, by far, the toughest and best lining, though the soil is such as to remain secure and solid without any protecting web. This leads me to think that the lining of the nest serves other, and more important, purposes in the household economy of the inmate, than protection from the clay tumbling in. Probably prevention of damp, or exclusion of worms, ants, and other under-ground intruders, and the age of the nest, have all something to do with it. The lining is always more or less incorporated with the soil, so that it is difficult quite to separate them, and it is invariably neatly finished off, and fitted to the bevelled mouth (when it occurs), as seen in the specimens before you. The lining is continued up on one side forming the hinge, and widening out in a circular form into the trap-door. At the hinge, and for a short distance below it, the lining is often double, or thickened, but this is not the only, or principal cause of the spring which all the doors have, as indicated by some writers.

Hinge of the Trap-door.

That the trap-doors have always a decided spring causing them to fall quickly, and with force, into their position, and preventing them from tumbling back open, is beyond question, as any of you can test for yourselves, by lifting up any one of those now before you, with the edge of a pen-knife. But this is caused mainly, I feel sure, by the peculiar shape of the hinge, and not by its thickness. The hinge and trap-door is formed, as I have said, by the extension upwards of the silk lining of the nest, and by its being folded over at right angles to the tube. The mouth of the nest is, you will recollect, circular and the hinge is not simply a tag connecting the lining with the door, but extends along from a fourth to a sixth of the whole circumference of the mouth. It is therefore in reality an arc of a circle of from 90° to 60° in length. If the circular lining of the nest were simply folded over, as I have said, it would cause a fold or loose crease at both sides of the hinge, though it would be tight in the centre. Now this is not the case, but the hinge is equally continuous and tight at all parts, it is, in fact, woven into a bend like the heel of a stocking, and not merely folded over. The consequence is, when the trap-door, which is stiff, is lifted, the outer edges of the hinge are opened further than the centre, and are strained tight, and when the door is let go, the elasticity of the material of the hinge brings down the door with a spring. It is almost impossible to turn the trap-doors right over backwards, without injury to the hinge, or to keep them open, without tying them back to something near. I feel sure you cannot but be struck with wonder at this ingenious mechanical contrivance, so simple in construction, and yet so well adapted to the materials and circumstances of the case, and so effective for all the purposes

for which it is designed. Easily opened by the inmate for all the distance which his necessities require, and yet presenting increased resistance to every attempt to open it beyond that.

Spur or stay to the Trap-door.

There is another appendage to some of the trap-doors, which aids materially in the spring with which they shut, or at least prevents them from turning right over backwards, or remaining open. It is in reality a sort of spur or stay constructed on the outside of the lid close to the hinge, and with its thickest edge next the hinge, and it acts as a choke against the ground outside the nest when the lid is opened up. This choke is formed sometimes of soil, and sometimes of other materials. In one case, No. 11, it is evidently formed of several old trap-doors of different sizes, the upper one at the top of the choke, and goes to show that when a nest is increased in size, it is always enlarged at the mouth, on the side opposite the hinge, and that these descriptions of trap-doors are extended somewhat like the growth of a shell, always at the lips. This explains the tiled appearance of these trap-doors, which has been likened, and very correctly so, to the outside of an oyster shell. Or probably it would be more correct to say, that as the old doors had, one after the other, become useless through some accident, or through the expansion of the mouth of the tube, a new one was constructed below the previous one, and joined on to the lining of the tube always at the same spot, the hinge. This accounts also for the fact, that such trap-doors are generally depressed below the surface of the ground at the hinge.

Bevelled mouth of the Nest.

All the nests found, had the mouth of the tube more or less beveled and the lid corresponding, and there were always varying degrees of perfection in the workmanship; some doors fitted exactly to the cup-like form of the tube, over which the lining is always extended, so that the lid may fit tight down. Others not fitting so exactly, and being a mere flap, covering over the mouth of the tube. But in no case was there anything like what Moggridge describes and figures, as “cork-nests, with the thick lid going down into, and filling up the mouth, so as to require some degree of force to take the plug out.”

Distinctions in the Trap-doors.

Apart altogether from these variations, and from the oval or circular outline, there are two distinctions that may be noticed, in the form of the trap-doors. First: Those that are slightly raised above the surrounding surface, that is, in the middle of the lid, and thin off at the edges; and second: those that are flat, and exactly coincident with it, or slightly depressed. You have now before you twenty-eight specimens of trap-doors, and of these, by far the larger number belong to the latter or flat class.

This is, however, largely owing to the difficulty of transporting the raised ones, they get broken off so easily in carrying and packing them. Some also that are really flat, appear as if the whole mouth of the tube and the trap-door were raised above the ground, in consequence of the breaking away of the loose soil round about. Of the true raised trap-doors, Nos. 1, 2, 5, 30, and 22, may be taken as fair specimens. Nos. 1 and 2 have this specialty, that the trap-doors are larger than the mouth of the nest, and overlap somewhat. No. 1 especially, overlaps very considerably. The mouth of the nest is only five lines in diameter, whilst the trap-door is eight lines, and the long way of the lidis from the hinge to the front. The cause of this is, that the nest itself, goes into the ground at an acute angle, and not straight down, and consequently the section of the cylindrical tube is elongated thus where the trap-door covers it. The spider has evidently calculated upon this, and so made its trap-door elongated in order to meet the requirements of the sloped section. It is quite likely too, that these are instances where the spider intended to enlarge her nest, and like a prudent and wise builder, provide before hand against rain, and enemies getting in by the hole, whilst it was being enlarged, and so made her trap-door to extend over the area which she intended should ultimately form the mouth of her nest; but that like many other intentions with referencet o houses, it was never carried out. Either this, or it is an instance of bungling workmanship, or over calculation on the part of the architect, of the length, of a sloped section of a cylinder, and the Trap-door Spider is not the only architect or artificer that commits this sort of blunder. In any case, it is a variation from the general rule, and displays a remarkable capacity on the part of the spider, for estimation and foresight, and for adaptation to special circumstances as they arise. The second distinction, those that are flat, is more often accompanied by the beveled or cup-like form of the mouth of the tube, and the majority of clay or soil covered trap-doors are exactly coincident with the surface of the ground. Some (though only a few), are depressed, but this, I suspect, is an evidence of incomplete or bungling workmanship, and consequent weakness, more especially as in such cases, the excavated soil is always close by the mouth of the nest.

Trap-doors, what made of.

The trap-doors are made of several layers or plies of web, between which earth, grass, or other substances are woven to thicken and stiffen them.

General remarks on mode of concealment.

We come now to what is by far the most wonderful thing about these spiders, and that is the modes of concealment which they practise for the prevention of the discovery of their nests. This is accomplished in two

in the individual, but the power of adaptation to circumstances, and of selection to suit the emergencies as they arise, take the case of a nest in bare burnt ground; such ground is invariably coated with a thick covering of herbage before the fire runs over it; it may not be very rank and long, but it must be close and continuous, or the fire will not run on it. The spider, in such circumstances, must have had its trap-door planted thick with herbage also, and would know nothing of roots or pieces of stick, or bits of half-burnt grass, and yet in the altered condition of the surface, when rain and wind have done their work in removing the loose surface loam and exposing the roots and stumps of woody plants and burnt grass leaves, there you find this master conjuror alter his mode and materials of concealment to suit the altered conditions in which he finds himself placed.

Specimens of Trap-doors not the same as when obtained.

It would be too tedious, after this general discussion, to describe in detail each one of the twenty-eight trap-doors now before you, though each one has some peculiarity of detail which makes it differ from every other, and supplies it with an interest of its own. It will be better, I think, to select one or two of those differing most, and to which special interest attaches; reminding you that the shaking and jolting of a journey of 100 miles over rough New Zealand roads has not tended to improve their appearance.

Description of specially deceptive Trap-doors.

Trap-door No. 6 is an instance where brown-clayey loam is the sole covering of the lid, to correspond with the same bare soil around. The web forming the lid is thin, tough, and leathery, and of a brown colour; but it is thickened by the covering soil, cemented on the outside. It is small, but fits accurately. This trap-door is the trap-door of nest No. 4, and spider No. 2, alluded to before as found at the foot of the corner of a stable. The ground is rather sloping, but the trap-door is constructed level, and for this purpose a portion of the minature bank is excavated out, half-an-inch deep at the back part where the hinge is placed. This is a further illustration of what I have referred to in page 229, of the Oamaru species never taking advantage of a slope of a bank, or of a sod-wall, to assist the trap-door in closing to, as mentioned by Moggridge and others as characteristic of the species in other parts of the world. It is also an illustration of the case alluded to in page 229, where water must have been caught, and must have lodged round about the mouth of the nest. But yet, in this very peculiarity of formation, we have an instance of how observant these insects are of peculiarities of situation, and of their power of exact imitation of these peculiarities. This nest was situated exactly under the line of drip from the stable-roof. The roof is shingled with what are colonially known as Hobart

attaching to this one is, that it is a small nest and trap-door, and the question immediately suggests itself—how came this young spider to make such a gem? No matter how well its education had been attended to in the parent home; no matter how great its powers of observation of the conditions of things around, and how well able to reason upon them; all these qualities must in this case have been largely supplemented by the transmission of qualities enabling the cunning artificer to construct such a perfect piece of workmanship.

Habits of the Trap-door Spider—New Zealand Species.

I must now proceed to refer to the habits, etc., of these spiders, and in doing so you must remember that, though my remarks may seem tedious and uninteresting, they will embody what I have actually observed, and as in some matters these observations differ widely, and in others are quite opposed to what is recorded of species in other parts of the world, it is absolutely essential to notice them, so that by the accumulation and comparison of facts, the truth may be ultimately arrived at; and in this connection, also, let me say that my observations of their habits is by no means exhaustive. Such observations require ample opportunities, much time and careful study, before the truth is arrived at, and were it not for the reason already given, I would fain delay this part of my subject.

Live in Colonies; but not sociable.

I have said these spiders live in colonies in favoured localities; but it must not be inferred from this that they are sociable animals. On the contrary, they always lead a solitary life, one adult spider in one hole, and invariably they adhere to their own nests with a tenacity that is something surprising, and never desert them for others under any circumstances. Of this I will give some instances further on. Only in one instance have I ever found two spiders in one nest, and then there were two galleries to it; but this, also, I shall describe further on, when I come to refer to their breeding. On the contrary, I believe they are a most savage race. Repeatedly, when I had occasion to put more than one into a box or bottle together, there was invariably a fight, ending in the fluids of one or both coming out, and not long after, in the cramping up of their limbs and death. They are sometimes much fiercer and more pugnacious than at other times, but you can always, by teasing them with a straw, or otherwise, make them do battle.

How they fight.

It is very amusing to see how they show fight. They rear themselves straight up in a threatening attitude, bending the body at the joint between the abdomen, and the cephalo-thorax, with the abdomen resting flat on the ground, steadied by the hinder pair of legs, whilst the cephalo-thorax is quite erect, and all the other legs, palpi and falces all stretched out ready for

action. They paused in this attitude for a little, and then suddenly in at moment, legs and fangs strike downwards, with all the celerity and force which the weight of the cephalo-thorax can impart. In fact you would be surprised to see with what force and quickness these tiny animals can strike. On one occasion I found in the bottom of a nest, the legs and hard case of a spider, and I have very little doubt, but that he was killed and eaten. An intelligent and trustworthy servant of mine, who has largely assisted me in digging out nests, etc., informs me that on one occasion he put two Trap-door Spiders together in a tin match-box, at night, and in the morning he found that the one had eaten the other, as evidenced by the remnants of the cannibal feast, in the shape of legs and hard indigestible bits that were left as the only memorials of the corpse of the departed one. They will frequently show fight, and strike at you, when digging out their nests. There is no difficulty, however, in securing them as they never run away, and are not quick in their movements. Even when placed on a bare table, they will only run quickly for a few inches, and then stop, their style of running being jerky, and by fits and starts. The only difficulty is in digging out their nests without injury, as from their sinuous character, you never know which direction they will take. I always found it best to sound the depth of any nest, by passing a straw down, and then by observing the way I had to turn the straw in order to get it past the bends, I could estimate the general direction taken by it. I then dug a deep trench on the side from which this general direction tended, till I was sure that I was below the bottom of the nest, and then with a knife, carefully scraped away the exposed face of the sod till I came upon the nest, and in this way got a vertical section displayed without injury, and after that it was an easy matter to know where and how to dig, so as to secure the whole complete. But even then you will find it a difficult matter to preserve the sod from breaking, and at the same time secure it in a sufficiently portable form for carrying a mile or two. I generally found it best to leave the sod with the nest in it, exposed to the sun where it was dug out, till it was somewhat dried and hardened. All this takes considerable time and labour, and you will be astonished how large an excavation is necessary to get one large nest out complete.

Mainly nocturnal, but not always.

I believe with Moggridge, that these spiders are mainly nocturnal in their habits, as when I confined any of them in tin match-boxes at night, I could hear them moving about and making a sort of clicking noise, probably caused by trying to dig through the tin with their mandibles, but I never heard any noise or movement during the day time. But contrary to his experience of the Mediterranean species, I have frequently seen them

out of their holes in the day time. You will remember that my discovery of them was caused by my seeing one (a large one), on the ground as I rode slowly through a paddock. Repeatedly afterwards, while hunting for them, I saw individual spiders outside their nests, and on one occasion, a bright sunny-day about noon, I observed three different instances of this. On another occasion, my children collected about half-a-dozen in the evening, all of smallish size, and several young ones. They told me they got some of them crawling outside their holes, and some they dug out, but they could not distinguish which. They are all in bottles, Nos. 7 and 8.

Never set their doors ajar.

Several times, when examining their nests, I have detected them “peering out of their doors,” as described by Moggridge, but on no occasion have I ever seen the door “set ajar for the purpose,” or “set open in the daytime, and the tube empty,” as mentioned by Moggridge, and by M. Olivier. On every occasion where I saw the spider outside, she immediately on being disturbed, ran to her hole, quickly and cleverly lifted up her door and ran in. This is done so nimbly, that you have hardly time to see more than the spider disappearing down the hole, and the lid falling flap. They never seem to stop when they come to the hole, but glide in between the lid and the ground in a moment, down falls the door, and they are out of sight. On one occasion my wife saw a spider run into its nest, by quickly and cleverly lifting its trap-door and running in. She called to me, and while we were both watching it, the trap-door opened again slightly, and the legs of the spider became visible between the door and the ground, but evidently in consequence of seeing us, the cunning creature ran down its hole again, and the door sprang into its place, and though we watched it some time, and tried to get it to show itself, it did not again hazard the experiment. Nor have I ever observed anything approaching to what Moggridge describes, on the authority of Mr. Hansard, about a species inhabiting the island of Formosa, in the China Sea, of these spiders “staring at any one who might approach,” still less have I ever seen amongst the hundreds of nests I have observed, anything like what the same author mentions, on the authority of Lady Barker, about some black Trap-door Spiders, which are common about Paramatta, near Sydney, Australia, “that the eye of the passer-by was attracted by the open doors which fell over backwards when the spider made her exit.” In fact I think you will agree with me, that from the construction of the specimens of nests now before you, it is physically impossible for the trap-doors “to fall over backwards,” or even to remain “set open,” without something holding them. No doubt the statements quoted have been correctly observed, of the particular species in

these countries, but they do not apply to the Oamaru species, and it is somewhat interesting and useful to note such essential differences.

Spider shamming death.

Another matter in which my experience seems to differ from Moggridge's, is in the spider being generally found in the bottom of her nest shamming death. He says (page 100):—“More frequently when the spider finds that resistance is hopeless, and sees the earth crumbling in, she drops to the bottom of her nest and lies there helpless, with her legs folded against her body, like an embryonic creature; some, however, more savage than their neighbours, fly out and strike at the intruder with their fangs.” In only one case, spider No. 2, the occupant of nest No. 4, found at the stable corner, have I ever got the spider in the bottom of the hole as if dead. In all other cases, wherever the spider was got, it was lively and wide-awake, sometimes more savage than at other times; but always alert and on the defensive.

Spider found in all parts of the nest.

I agree with Costa that the spider does not remain at the bottom of her burrow, as related by Sauvage, Olivier, and Latreille; but, on the other hand, I equally disagree with him when he says that “she always stands at the door as sentinel,” and that “the light seems to offend her so much, that, if exposed to the full day, she remains so stupified as to appear dead, nor does she move even if shaken, but constantly stops still, and holds herself with her feet pressed against her body.” On the contrary, I have found the spider at the door doing sentinel in the wide part of her nest, embracing her cocoon of eggs in any one of the bends at the bottom, and quite as often in one part of the nest as in another.

Effect of light.

Nor have I ever seen her stupified by the light, or appear as dead, except in the one case I have mentioned, and unless you teased her, say with a straw, when, after striking and fighting with the source of annoyance ineffectually, she would become as if exhausted, curl in her legs “like an embryonic creature,” and not move for some time. No doubt the light must incommode her; but it is not noticeable, as I have had specimens in the glare of the sunshine scores of times, and never could detect any difference in their actions from other times under a subdued light.

Holding down Trap-door.

But to whatever extent the Oamaru species may differ from others, in these minor details of their habits, there is no doubt about their being exactly the same in regard to what is, I think, the most wonderful thing in the habits of these animals, namely, that they have such a knowledge of the effects of mechanical resistance, as to apply it in the defence of their

“hearths and homes.” I confess, when I first read of this, I thought it partook so much of the Baron Munchausen style of marvel that I did not believe it, and it was not till I had repeatedly seen it with my own eyes that my scepticism was vanquished. The trap-door is used in two ways, not only as a means of concealment to the mouth of the nest in the modes I have already fully described, but also as a means of defence against the intrusion of enemies. This is effected by the spider actually holding down the trap-door from the inside, and by its obtaining a purchase for this purpose with its body against the sides of the nest. That there may be no doubt in your minds on this point, I transcribe from my note-book what actually occurred on one of these occasions, and was noted by me on the spot:—” 26th November, 1874. Another well-made, but thin, trap-door was near at hand, and on my touching it, I saw it visibly become depressed in the centre and shut close, as graphically described by Moggridge, 'like the movement of the tightening of a limpet on a sea rock.' So I took my knife and raised the trap-door a little, when I saw the spider clinging to it, feet uppermost, and felt her holding down the door with some degree of resistance; her body being placed across the tube and filling it up, with her extremities planted against the sides of the nest. The trap-door slipped off my knife with the force, and on my raising it again more firmly, she let go her hold and ran down the hole out of sight. I raised back the lid, so as to examine the inside of it for any marks of its claws, such as described by Moggridge; but could not detect any regular markings. Whilst eyeing it, up came the spider to the mouth of the hole; but, on seeing me, she ran back, and though I waited and watched some time, she did not again come up.” I then dug out the spider, and have her now in bottle No. 9. From the looseness of the soil, it was impossible to preserve the nest; but it was nearly straight, with an enlargement immediately below the trap-door. I measured a section of it, however, and it is depicted in Sketch No. 7., Plate VIII. I also secured the trap-door, and you have it now before you, No. 26.

Holes in the Trap-door.

On examining the under side of the lid carefully with a glass at the time, I could make out two or three holes or places where the silk lining of the lid was raised and wraggled, irregularly placed towards the centre of the lid, as if they were the marks of the hooks of the spider's claws, but not very distinct, as the texture of the silk was rather coarse and open, and certainly not so regular, nor placed round the edges, as shown by Moggridge, in one of his beautiful sketches. If you examine the lid now with a glass you will see these holes even more distinct than they were when freshly made; but they are nothing like in appearance to what has been described by Moggridge and others. I have examined several other trap-doors, which

I saw held down by the spiders; but always with the same result; but I should be sorry to hazard the opinion that what has been observed by so many eminent naturalists never does occur in Otago. My opportunities of observation on this point have been too limited to generalise, for though I have seen hundreds of nests; it is only sometimes the spider can be caught in the act of holding down the trap-door. I have repeatedly tapped the lids of nests with my knife, and have observed the spider come up and hold down the lid (and I may mention here that one of the spiders first sent home to the Rev. P. Cambridge was one of these); but I have also tried this device scores of times without the inmate of the nest taking the slightest notice. Much difference of experience, and of opinion, has been recorded about these holes in the lids; but I am not in a position to decide the point. I must say, however, that the suggestion of Gosse, that they are air-holes, is untenable, so far as the Oamaru species is concerned, for, if air-holes, are required, they would be found in every lid, or at least in every tight fitting one; but this is not the case, as in the large majority of trap-doors that I have found, no markings or holes whatever are discernable, and on no occasion, even when the lid had been seen to be held down, was there anything in the least like what he describes in the following passage:—“A row of minute holes such as might be made by a very fine needle, pierced around the free edge of the lid, and a double row of similar ones just within the margin of the tube. There are about fifteen or sixteen punctures in each series, and they penetrate through the whole substance, the light being clearly seen through each hole. I do not think, as I have somewhere seen suggested, that they are intended to afford a hold for the spider's claws when she would keep her door shut against the efforts of an enemy, for what would be the use of having them in the tube close to the lid, so close that not an eighth of an inch intervenes between the surface of the lid, and that of the tube when the former is tightly closed.” I would suggest whether they may not be air-holes, for so tight is the fitting of the lid, and so compact the texture of the material, that I should suppose the material would be impermeable to air but for this contrivance. It is evident that Mr. Gosse, in this passage, refers to holes in the tube that are not observable in the Oamaru nests, and in this respect my experience coincides with that of Mr. Moggridge, as stated at page 96 of his book.

Nests, how long to construct.

On the question of how long time these spiders take to make their nests, I can throw very little light. The first nests I found nearly three years ago, were situated in the middle of a three hundred-acre paddock which had been laid down in English grass less than two years before, and had been in cultivation for several years previous. When I discovered them there

frequently immense quantities of freshly excavated soil are found accumulated near the nests, corresponding in bulk very much to the size of the hole, that the spider is able to dig out and construct a full sized nest at once, in new ground. For if the process were always gradual from day to day, the excavated soil would be, every now and again, washed away-by heavy rain, preventing any large accumulation of soil, and leaving only the stain of the different coloured earth, as is the case in general. It must be borne in mind, however, that the clay or soil in front of the holes is all in little pellets, like what passes through a worm, and often all the bits are cemented together hard, and that this cement hinders the action of the weather upon soil which otherwise would very quickly powder into fine dust. This cement is, no doubt, produced by the saliva from the mouth, and the spider in forming its hole, moulds the excavated clay into these little pellets with the viscous secretion, and then carries each little ball up to the surface, and deposits it on its dirt heap. Some faint conception of the enormous labour and activity of which this little creature is capable, can be obtained from this fact, when we consider the extreme minuteness of the pellets, as compared with the size of such a hole as No. 3, one inch in diameter at the mouth, two inches further down, and fifteen inches deep.

Renewing the Trap-doors.

So far as the trap-doors are concerned, the spider has the power of renewing them in a single night. This I have proved over and over again, by cutting out the trap-door and taking it away, and invariably there was a new one on the next morning. As samples of this, I extract the following from my note-book:—“9th November, 1874. In the afternoon I went down the Bobbin, and found the nests, the trap-doors of which I had cut out yesterday, all repaired, or in course of repair. One new door had pieces of dried grass woven across the lid and extending to the ground on each side, as if to prevent the lid tumbling in, till it was finished, which it evidently was not.” “16th November, 1874. The nest in the Stable paddock, from which I yesterday cut off the trap-door, and sod, about two inches below the surface, has to day a new trap-door woven on it.” The new door was thin, but complete in every way, with fibres and clay, and earth all woven into it. The sides of the nest have also been added to, the silk lining being extended over the adjoining ground in a cup-like form, to make the proper over-lap for the lid to fall tight down.” Again: “29th November, 1874. On going this morning to inspect the nests, the lids of which I dug out yesterday, I found they all had new doors and mouths constructed to them, quite perfect, though the earth, etc., had not the compact hard consistency noticeable in older nests. It is quite clear therefore, that the spiders can, and do, construct their trap-doors in a single night.”

Reluctance to desert their nests.

I have several times throughout this paper referred to the reluctance shown by these spiders to desert their nests. I am not aware that there is any difference of opinion amongst observers upon this point; but, at the risk of wearying you, I will relate an experiment carried out by me, which bears on the point, and at the same time illustrates some other interesting habits of spider. In the end of the month of February last, I was at Awamoko, and a servant of mine showed me a nest in clay, got in the bank opposite the stable, containing a spider with a number of young ones. He had cut out the trap-door and top of the nest before he dug out the nest. Being in hard, dry, clay, I determined to take the nest down to Dunedin with its occupants. On opening the box in Dunedin, I found the spider still lively and well, and so were the young ones.” The lid, or trap-door, however, had got broken off from the top of the nest with the severe shaking in travelling; but the lid itself was sound, and has already been described as trap-door No. 30. I kept the sod containing the nest in a shallow box, without any lid, in my vinery, so the spider and its young ones could have escaped, if they so pleased—the floor of the vinery being dry soil. During the first week after its arrival in Dunedin, I brought it out several times on to the verandah to let friends see it, and I always found the spider lively and well. A hole had been cut in the side of the sod into the nest, exposing about two inches of the tube, just above the debris of fibres, etc., always found in the bottom of their nests. You will see this hole in the sod which is now before you, No. 6, and, by putting a straw in at this hole, I could always tease the spider and her young ones to come out at either end. Finding that she did not feel inclined voluntarily to leave her nest, I determined to leave her alone undisturbed, hoping that she might weave a new trap-door to her nest, or perhaps join on the old one. So I took a piece of soft clay and moulded it to fit the hole in the side of the nest, and stuck it on, so as to close up the hole. (I have the clay here beside the nest, and you will understand better when I fit it on). I also laid the old trap-door in a convenient position for the spider to join it on, and for several days placed dead flies and moths round the mouth of the nest, and some in it, and did not disturb the nest in any way. In a few days, I noticed that no attempt had been made to make any use of the old trap-door, but that the flies put into the hole were put out, apparently untouched, and that the lining of the nest, just below where the trap-door had been cut out, was drawn in from each side, completely closing in the nest and sealing it. A few days after this the clay that I had stuck on to close up the hole in the side was either forced off, or had fallen off in drying, revealing the fact that the spider had completely woven a patch over the hole from the inside, the materials used were the fibres from

the bottom of its nest, all woven together. Hoping that some further work was going on, either in the way of making a trap-door for the old hole, or digging out a new entrance through the sod in some other place, I left it quite undisturbed for some weeks, only laying down some flies and moths occasionally, which, however, I never found touched. Nothing further, however, appeared outside, and I became pretty sure that either the spider had buried itself alive or had escaped. I had wished Captain Hutton to see it, but his absence from town prevented me doing anything further till the 8th of May, when I examined it, first of all by cutting open the nest where it had been repaired. I then found that the nest had been deepened by about an inch, or rather that the materials which had been used in mending the side of the nest had been taken out of the bottom. In the bottom I found four young ones dried and dead, and this made me sure that the old one must still be in the nest. Accordingly I passed a straw down the hole from the top, when I found that about half-way down, it was stopped by something, and after cutting away a little more of the nest I soon found the dried body of the old spider in a hollow in the nest, at a bend about half-way up. It was shrunk and shrivelled up, but quite perfect, showing that it had literally starved itself to death. I found the body of a blue-bottle fly in the nest, dried also, but with the head off it. From this and other instances—which I shall refer to presently—of nests sealed up from the inside, containing sometimes dead and sometimes living spiders, it is perfectly clear to me that the spider deliberately sealed its nest and starved itself and its young to death. It evidently could not bear to leave its home, or it would have done so easily at any time with its young. The partial marring of its handiwork seemed to have so disheartened it that it sealed itself up in its own ruined house—a broken-hearted architect and builder. The nest from the surface of the ground to the bottom is exactly eight and a quarter inches, and has several bends in it.

Sealed-up Nests.

I come now to refer to a fact, in connection with the habits of these spiders, which I may as well say at once is to me totally inexplicable. I have not seen it referred to in any way, by any of the observers who have recorded their experiences, and I should have hesitated to mention it now, were it not that so many instances of it came under my notice, as to preclude the idea altogether of accident as an explanation. I refer to the fact alluded to above, that the spider is sometimes found in her nest with her trap-door sealed-up from the inside, with no means whatever of ingress or egress, and yet with the outside of her door covered over with clay or soil, plastered over and sealed up as it were, implying the absolute necessity of

all, and the bottom of this, and all the nests examined in this locality were not lined with silk.” On the same day, later on, the following entry appears in my note-book:—“Found another nest with the lid sealed up, and on digging found the legs and hard parts of the body only, of the inmate, at the bottom. It either had died, or been killed and eaten.” No further remark is made, as I felt very puzzled about it. From that time till the 26th November, repeated instances of sealed up nests came under my notice, but no new fact, nor any further light was thrown on the subject. On that date, however, the following entry appears in my field-book:—“26th November, 1874. At Awamoko River. Nests very plentiful and all sizes. One nest with raised lid, I found embedded in clay, and on raising it, found it had been sealed down. The lid is fully more than half-an-inch thick, with a lining of silk near the top, and on the bottom, and a sort of cap of soil on the top. The thickness was mostly made up with earth woven in between the silk. I secured the lid and put it in a match box, but found, on reaching home, that it had all crumbled down, excep the silk linings.” It is now before you, No. 22. “I dug this nest out with my knife, and found it not very deep, as it came upon the rock about eight inches down. On removing the lid, I put down a straw to see how deep it was, and on withdrawing it, I felt something resisting, and on pulling it out, I brought up a beautiful white bag of eggs (Cocoon No. 2.) On digging out the nest, I got the spider at the bottom, but unfortunately it had been pierced with my knife; it was alive, but unfit for a specimen. In the bottom of the hole, was a quantity of what is apparently moss, and brown fibre, and remains of insects. I could not detect any other hole for ingress or egress; though either, it must have had some way of getting in after covering the clay up about its trap-door, or this must have been done by some other spider. Query! Do they shut themselves up to hatch their eggs, and if so, do the males close them in ? It is possible this may have had another gallery, as in digging down I came on another tube going downwards, though no hole or trap-door could be found on the surface corresponding to it. This second branch or gallery went deeper than the other, and in it I found another spider, much smaller than the other, but unfortunately not expecting it there, I had pierced it with-my knife; I regretted this, as it may have been the male. I cannot be sure that there was any connection between the two holes, as I did not-see them actually bifurcate, but I almost certain they were connected, as they were so close, and also from the direction they took, and no second hole or trap-door being discoverable above. If they were connected, and really think so, this is the first (and I may add now, the only) instance in which I have found two spiders in one hole. Couldd it have been the male and female sealed up together?

Not the result of accident.

These are all the facts I have to offer on the subject. Other sealed nests were found at other times, and some of their trap-doors are in the case before you, but nothing specially different from what is above related was observed. I put forward no explanation or theory, but no doubt I shall be told, that these are all instances of accidental covering up by other spiders, which had placed their excavated dirt heaps on the top of their neighbours' trap-doors, or that they are cases of accidently burying, by the slipping of a bank or something of that sort. I may as well say therefore at once, to prevent such surmises, that they are quite untenable, as would be evident to any one seeing the nests on the ground. Apart altogether from the care which I always took to find out if there were any nest near, from which the excavated matter could have come, there is no getting over the fact, that the trap-doors were always sealed and tied with strings on the inside, and that the spider was always, with one exception, hale and hearty inside, and that the nests had no other outlet. Also these nests were all on level ground, with no bank or place near them from which the soil covering them could have accidentally come. No; whatever is the explanation, these are inadmissible. Noting a number of sealed up nests, and watching them at every month of the year, might supply the key, as I feel strongly impressed with the idea, that it has something to do, either with their hybernating, if they do bybernate, or with their breeding. Unfortunately it is only at long intervals that I get the chance of observing them, but I would commend this matter to some of our Oamaru natualists for investigation.

Breeding-cocoons and young ones.

On this subject M. de Walckenaer, as quoted by Moggridge, says that the Trap-door Spider attains her maturity in August (corresponding to our February); leaves her mother in September (our March), and that she lives with the male before the time of laying eggs, and that M. Dorthes has many times seen, in the same nest, the male and female with about thirty young ones. From the preceding extract from my note-book, it will be seen that the only instance in which two spiders were found by me together was on the 26th November, and that there was a cocoon of eggs in the same nest, and the nest itself was sealed up. But you will remember that I described how I found out the use of the enlargement by seeing a cocoon suspended in it. This was on the 9th November. Between those two dates, I repeatedly found cocoons of eggs in the nests. Some of the nests were sealed up, and some were not, and some had enlargements, and some had not. The eggs, however, were always in cocoons of varying sizes, and always suspended about a third, or half-way down the nest. In this they

refer to is on the 28th November, when, in the evening, I cut out the very beautiful trap-door No. 1. On cutting it out with a knife, I found a smaller hole, close to the hole belonging to the trap-door, and, thinking it might be a double-nest, as I could find no lid corresponding to the small hole, I dug both carefully out. The small tube had no connection with the larger one, I am at a loss to know how ingress or egress from it is managed. At the bottom of the larger tube (the one, of which I have the door), I found the spider herself, and after, with considerable force, pulling her out of her hole with a pair of forceps, I found a lot of young ones packed close and hard on the bottom of the hole, and she had been squatted firmly over them. I secured them all, I think numbering twenty. She and her progeny are in the small-necked phial alone (labelled No. 11). Below the young ones was a mass débris of insect (beetles especially), and below that, the brown fibrous matter so often observed before. The hole had a horizontal bend at first into the bank, and then went straight down, and was not more than eight inches deep. It was the same width from top to bottom, and had no wide part for eggs or young ones. So that what I observed at the Bobbin, in this respect, does not hold good at the Stable Gully.

Débris in bottom of Nests.

You will have noticed that, several times in these notes, I have referred to my having found masses of fibrous matter, and the remains of insects, in the bottom of the nests. It is unnecessary that I should more particularly refer to this, as it bears on the question of their food, and on this subject, Moggridge—the best authority on these spiders—says (page 135):—” More observations of this kind are greatly wanted, as it is most important that we should know what are the principal sources of food upon which these spiders depend for their existence. If we could answer the questions, What do they eat? and, what do they fear? we should have advanced a long way towards solving the larger problem as to the causes which limit particular species to certain districts. For there seems every probability that other new types of nests remain to be detected in warm climates, some of which may perhaps exceed those we have been here studying in beauty of workmanship and adaptation; it is at least certain that an abundant harvest of interesting facts in the life history of Trap-door Spiders remains yet to be gathered in.” Now, curiously enough, this very question of food is one in which my experience has been quite different from that of all other observers. Moggridge, at page 135, says:—“I have but seldom detected any refuse in these nests;” and this accords with what M. Erber tells us—“In October, 1872, however, I found a black layer of débris at the bottom of five nests of Nemesia eleanora, and this was composed principally of the remains of insects, and, among others, of some rather large beetles.”

instances of this in two different places were observed by myself in which the refuse food remains of insects, and the animal matter so usually found at the bottom of the nest, were all tumbled out over the bank of clay excavation in front of the holes, and in both cases they were great heaps, and also in both cases, when I dug out the nests, the bottoms were found clean, and no refuse in them.

It is, I think, quite likely that the time of year, and the presence, or otherwise, of young ones has something to do with the deposits of refuse food inside the nests. Moggridge's observations seem to have been made in October (corresponding to our April) whereas mine, on this point, were mostly made in November. At that time of the year, in the Oamaru district, I am safe in saying that I found lots of refuse in every nest.

Food and enemies.

As to the mode of capture of their prey employed by the Trap-door Spider, I have no doubt Erber's observations, in this respect, are correct, and that a snare is constructed on the ground in front of the nest, from which the wily spider pounces out upon the unlucky insect, which gets caught in the meshes of its net. I have never actually seen this snare, but in the mornings have seen traces of it remaining, and should not have known what they were, without Erber's interesting description. I do not think that in New Zealand, on the open grass-covered terraces of the Oamaru district, the Trap-door Spider has any very extensive choice in the way of food. If it lives exclusively on animal food, and I suppose it does, the Fauna of such a district do not present very great variety, nor are they very abundant. The insect life is certainly the most abundant, or rather, I should say, almost the only wild life, but at best, it is very meagre, as compared with most other countries, or even with most other parts of New Zealand. Beetles, Moths, Dragon Flies, Grasshoppers, Spiders, Caterpillars, a few Butterflies, and a very few small Ants, comprise about the only insects noticeable to unscientific eyes, and no doubt from this very limited and simple bill of fare, our friend the Trap-door Spider makes his choice, as I have no doubt he is more than master of them all. Of the enemies which he has to fear, I know of none that could touch him, except Wekas, which are very scarce now, however, lizards, and a few small birds, such as Sand Larks. As to monkeys, squirrels, and several kinds of birds, as well as tortoises, frogs, toads, and centipedes, all which, M. de Walckenaer states, prey upon these spiders, there are absolutely none of them.

Exceptional forms, Forked Nests.

I must now briefly refer to one or two exceptional forms of nest, and, as connected with the subject of food, I will refer, first, to the nest, a section of

which is shown in Sketch No. 6, Plate VIII., and the inmate of which was Spider No. 6. This nest was found in the Stable Gully, and a small cocoon of eggs was found in it near the top. (Cocoon No. 1.) On digging it out and shaving away the side of the sod, I found running out from it near the bottom, a streak of earth, showing dark in the yellow clay. On examining it further, I found it was surface soil, and hence showed distinct and black. It was mixed with fibres of the brown animal matter already described, wings, legs, and hard cases of insects, beetles, etc. This showed me it was another branch, and so I carefully scraped the sod away, till I found this branch join the main excavation or nest. This side branch was evidently an old part of the nest which had been abandoned, and it was filled up and packed tight with surface soil (black mould), so that these spiders must have the faculty of taking soil down into their holes, as well as throwing it out. The débris of the refuse food alluded to, was also mixed with the black soil, in fact this was evidently its old midden, where all the refuse had been thrown, the whole being packed in tight, and sealed up by the usual lining of the nest, so that on looking from the main nest, I could not tell where the branch started from. There may have been a trap-door at the junction of this double branch, but I could not detect any. If there was one formerly, it had been amalgamated with the lining of the nest, the inside of which had been rounded off, smoothed and papered, just the same as others. There is no doubt in my mind, that a very long time must have been necessary for one spider to accumulate all this large mass of animal matter so tightly packed, and if the black mould were really surface soil, it almost suggests the idea, that this spider was acquainted with the antiseptic qualities of dry earth, for what else could this soil have been mixed up with the refuse for, if not to prevent the unwholesome odour from such a mass of decaying animal matter. If the object of the spider were merely to fill up the whole from any cause, it would have done so at once, and it would probably have used only clay from its main, or new, nest, but the packing being surface soil mixed with refuse animal matter, suggests the above idea, and that the spider preferred to get rid of it in this way, rather than empty it out, and thereby draw attention to its nest.

Double-branched Nest.

The other exceptional form of nest I wish to refer to, is a double-branched one, but quite distinct from the one just described, inasmuch as, the double branch proceeded upwards from the upper part of the nest, and not downwards from the lower part, as in the last. A great part of Mr. Moggridge's book is taken up with references to this description of nest, and to it I must refer you for information as to the wonderful way in which this double branch is utilised as a means of retreat from enemies, and also

as to the marvellous way in which the second trap-door is hinged at the mouth of the branch, so as to be capable of closing up either the branch or the main nest, the door having a handle or flap attached to it, for more convenient use by the spider. I confess that though I searched anxiously for such, I never found one. A servant of mine, however, on whose veracity I can depend, informed me, that in the month of April, he found such a nest in the cultivation paddock. His statement is, that when he lifted the outer door on the surface of the ground, he saw the spider holding down the trap-door with its feet. (The spider was one of those first sent to the Rev. Pickard Cambridge.) On forcing the door open, the spider retreated down its hole, and on digging down after it, it retreated up a side gallery, which had a door on its entrance. This door had a little flap attached to it. In this branch gallery were stored caterpillars and grasshoppers. The main tube was crooked, but the branch gallery was straight and sloped upwards, as shown in Sketch No. 1, Plate VIII., which is a copy of the original given to me by the man who saw it. In the particular spot where this was got, I was not able to examine many nests, and in those I did examine, the soil around was so loose and friable, that the nests got spoiled in the digging, so that though I did not get them, I think it is highly probable this type of nest may yet be found in abundance. At any rate, I am sure there is an ample field for many observers to occupy their attention upon, as I believe the type of nest, and habits of the individual will vary in different localities.

Do they emit a viscous secretion from the palpi?

As some doubt seems to exist as to the Territelarœ emitting from their palpi a viscous secretion, enabling them to traverse the perpendicular surfaces of dry, highly polished bodies, I may as well state, that my experience is the same as Moggridge's, viz.: “That when placed in a glass tumbler they all remained helpless prisoners, though struggling vigorously for their freedom.”

Comparison with Jamaica nest.

Through the kindness of Captain Hutton, I am able to exhibit to you, a Trap-door Spider's nest from Jamaica, presented to the Museum by Mr. Murison. You will see at a glance, that it is quite a different type from any of those I have described, or exhibited to you. It is really a nest, or pouch opening directly from the surface of the ground, about an inch in diameter, and about three inches deep. It has nothing at all in common with our species, except the silk-lining and the trap-door, and these are much more tough and thick in the woven material, than are any Oamaru nests. The nest too, tapers in at the bottom to a point, and is closed up, though it is now slit up, and has nothing at all like a long tunnel connected

with it, as is invariably the case here. Unfortunately the spider connected with this nest has been destroyed by insects. If the trap-door of this nest is a fair specimen of the West India type referred to by Moggridge (pages 80 and 133), as a “single-door wafer nest,” then clearly there is no difference between it and many of the trap-doors of the Oamaru nests now before you except in the strength of the material, which is no doubt due to the effects of the tropical climate. There are great differences between the nests from the two places, but none in the general type of trap-door, and this illustrates what I stated near the beginning of my paper, that the distinctions put forward by Moggridge of “single-door cork nests,” and “single-door wafer nests,” is not a good one, especially as he says that “the single-door wafer nest is only known, at present, in the West India Islands.” If this turns out to be a good distinction it will indeed be remarkable that this type should only be found at two such extreme points on the Globe, as Jamaica and New Zealand. In this nest there is nothing of the short spur-shaped enlargement referred to by Moggridge, as sometimes characterises the West India nests. I may point out too, that the Jamaica nests described by Gosse, and quoted by Moggridge, have evidently not “wafer-like doors,” merely “lying on,” rather than fitting into the aperture of the tube” for he (Gosse) says: “The mouth of the tube is commonly dilated a little, so as to form a slightly recurved brim or lip; and the lid is sometimes a little convex internally, so as to fall more accurately into the mouth and close it.”

Distribution in New Zealand.

On the question of distribution, I may state that, though I have found them only in the Oamaru district, I have been told they have been got as far south as Palmerston, in Shag Valley, and in Auckland. In the latter place I have only heard of their being found in scoria walls. My brother, Mr. Justice Gillies, after seeing these nests and spiders, when on a visit here recently, wrote me that his little boy had found a nest in the scoria walls of his garden at Mount Eden. I do not think they are obtainable round about Dunedin, as I have often looked unsuccessfully for them, and my impression is that they will not be found in any of the heavy cold clay lands south of Dunedin. In Oamaru and Shag Valley the soil is a light sandy clay, or silt, resting on a dry bottom, generally of limestone, and it is in such warm lands only, that, I suspect, this sub-tropical species of spider has survived. If this species is limited to certain districts by the supply of food, and by its enemies only, then, obviously, there can be no reason on this score why they should not be found in greater abundance almost anywhere else in Otago and New Zealand than in the Oamaru district. I rather incline to the opinion that this species will be found to be limited by