Harvesting ants and trap-door spiders. Notes and observations on their habits and dwellings

(Ir-^

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

Eoyal 8vo. In 4 parts, each, with 25 Coloured Plates, 15s., or complete
in one vol. 63».

CONTEIBUTIONS TO THE FLOEA OF MENTOKE,

WINTER FLORA OF THE RIVIERA,

Including the Coast from Marseilles to Genoa.

BY

J. TEAHEENE MOGGEIDGE, F.L.S.

L. REEVE & CO., 5, HENRIETTA STREET, CO VENT GARDEN.

HARVESTING ANTS

AND

TKAP-DOOE SPIDERS.

HARVESTING ANTS

AND

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

NOTES AND OBSBEVATIONS ON THEIE

paMts rab gfatllxtrgs*

J. TRAHERNE MOGGRIDGE, F.L.S,

LONDON :
L. REEVE & CO., 5, HENRIETTA STREET, CO VENT GARDEN.

1873.

LONDON :

SAVILI., EDWARDS AND CO., PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET,

COVENT GARDEN.

CONTENTS.

PART 1.

PAGE

HARVESTING ANTS 1

PART 11.
TEAP-DOOR SPIDERS 71

EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

PART I.— HARYESTING ANTS.

Plate I., p. 21, fig. A. — View of the entrance to a nest of Atta barbara,
showing part of a train of ants bearing seeds, the conical mound of
refuse thrown out, and some seedlings, which have sprung up from
seeds accidentally dropped by the ants ; B, one of the larger workers of
this species, of the natural size, andB 1, its abdomen and pedicle, with
two nodes, magnified ; C*, one of the smaller workers, of the natural
size ; C, a male, of the natural size ; D, a female, of the natural size ;
D 1, wing of the same, magnified; I) 2, mouth organs of the same,
magnified, with the mandibles removed, the two outer pieces being the
maxilhie and their palpi, and the lozenge- shaped piece the labium, from
the upper part of which the labial palpi spring, while behind the labium
is the true tongue ; D 3, one of the mandibles, magnified ; E, a larva,
of the natural size, and E 1, the same, magnified.

Plate II., p. 22, fig. A. — A trowel containing earth, in which a granary
full of seeds is lying almost undisturbed, of the natural size ; B, the
crater-like entrances found at the mouths of the nests of Atta str actor,
reduced to one-half the natural size.

Plate III., p. 23. — The floors of three granaries of Atta barbara, surrounded
by the much coarser gravelly earth, of the natural size.

Plate IV., p. 31. — A mass of earth pierced by roots, in which the ants
{Atta barbara) have made their gi-anaries and galleries. The galleries
were full of seeds when first laid open. Of the natural size.

Plate V., p. 33, fig. A. — Galleries and terminal cells of a nest of Atta
barbara, excavated in the living sandstone rock, drawn in situ, of the
natural size ; B, part of a cylindrical gallery from another rock-nest,
and B 1, the same gallery seen in front, of the natural size.

Plate VI., p. 35, fig. A. — A sprouting hempseed, part of the radicle of
which has been gnawed by the ants, of the natural size ; A 1, the same,
magnified, rad. radicle ; A 2, an entire sjjrouting seed of the same,
magnified ; B, a sprouting pea, part of the radicle of which has been
gnawed off; B 1, the same, magnified; B 2, the same stripped of its

EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

coat, and showing the two seed leaves; C, a sprouting "canary-seed"
(the grain of Phalaris canarioisis) , part of the fibril of which has been
gnawed off; CI, the same, magnified, rad. the radicle which remains
tmdeveloped, and /6. the fibril or first rootlet; C 2, an unmutilated
sprouting " canary seed ;" D, a mass of earth taken out of the heart of
a nest of Atta barbara, in which a spherical cell, made of hardened
earth, was buried. It contained grass seeds, among which 1 found ants
at work, and seeds of the same grass still in their husks lay in the gallery
leading up to the entrance of this cell ; D 1, the same, further freed
from the earth, and having part of one side removed, so as to show the
interior and the small lower opening leading out from the bottom of
the cell.

PART II.— TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

Plate VII., p. 88, fig. A. — The nest of Cteniza fodiens, the lower part of
which is seen in section lying in the earth, the door is artificially repre-
sented as partly open; A 1, surface of the door viewed from above;
A 2, the spider ; A 3, the spider deprived of its legs, from a specimen
preserved in spirits [figs. A, A 1, A 2, and A 3, are of the natural size] ;
A 4, the spider viewed sideways, with the legs removed ; A 5, the eyes,
viewed from above and in front ; A 6, the cephalothorax and falces ;
A 7, the left hand falx, viewed from the inner side ; A 8, the fang of
the same ; A 1), the tarsal joint of the foremost right leg ; A 10, one of
the two larger and the smallest claw of the same [figs. A 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, and 10, all magnified]. Fig. B, the door of a nest of the same kind,
concealed by lichens, below which, on the left hand, the doors of two
miuute nests of Nemesia meridionalis are seen ; B 1, the same, with the
doors open ; C, the door and mouth of tube of a nest similar to that at
A ; C 1, the upper surface of this door, which is slightly convex.

Plate VIII., p. 94, fig. A. — The nest of Nemesia ccvmentaria ; A 1, the
door of the same, partially open; A 2, the spider; A 3, the same
deprived of its legs, from a specimen preserved in spirits [figs. A, A 1,
2, and 3, of the natural size]; figs. A 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 as in Plate
VII., and magnified ; B, a moss-covered lump of earth, in which the door
of a nest of the same type as that at A lies concealed ; B 1, the same,
with the door open ; C, the door and mouth of another similar nest,
showing the claw marks on its imder surface ; D, the closed door of a
third nest of the same kind ; D 1, the same, opened.

Plate IX., p. 98, fig. A. — Thenestof Nemesia meridional is; A 1, the open sur-
face-door and mouth of the tube of the same ; A 2, the inner and upper
surface of the lower door ; A 3, the spider ; A 4, the same deprived of
its legs, from a specimen preserved in spirits [figs. A, A 1, 2, 3, and 4
are of the natural size] ; A 5, the spider viewed sideways, with the legs

EXPLANA TION OF PL A TES. xi

removed ; A 6, the eyes, viewed from above and in front ; A 7, the
ce])halothorax and falces; A 8, the left hand falx viewed from the
inner side; A 9, the fang of the same; A 10, the tarsal joint of the
foremost right leg; All, one of the two larger and the smallest claw of
the same [figs. A 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, magnified] ; B, a mass of
earth containing the minute nest of a young spider (A'', mcridionalis) ;
B I, the lower door of this nest; B 2, the spider [figs. B, B 1, and 2,
of the natural size].

Plate X., p. 100, fig. A. — Part of a nest of N. mcridionalis ; B, the new and
larger upper door of a nest of this spider, with the former and smaller
upper door partially united to it ; C, another example of enlargement in
the upper door of the same spider, showing traces of two previous doors
DOW incorporated. [All the figures are of the natural size.]

Plate XI,, p. 105, fig. A. — The upper part of a nest of N. meridionalis con-
cealed in a plant of Ceterach fern ; A 1 and A 2, a minute cork-door,
closed and open, which I saw constructed by a very young spider [either
Cteniza fodiens, or, more probably, Nemesia ccementaria] at the mouth of a
hole in the mass of earth containing the nest of N. meridionalis figured at
A. This hole may be seen on the right of the fern. B, the door of a
small nest of N. meridionalis, as seen from above, in its natural position
in a steeply sloping bank ; B I, part of the same nest placed in an upright
position, and showing the surface door open and the lower door closing
the branch j B 2, the same with the lower door pushed across so as to
close the main tube ; B 3, 4, and 5, different views of this second door.
[All the figures in this plate are of the natural size. ]

Plate XII., p. 106, fig. A, — The nest of N. Eleanora with the surface
door artificially represented as being open ; A 1, the outer side of the
surface door of the same nest into which mosses of two kinds are woven ;
A 2, the second door of the same nest ; A 3, the spider ; A 4, the same
deprived of its legs, from a specimen preserved in spirits [figs. A, A 1,
2, 3, and 4 are of the natural size] ; fig. A 5, the spider viewed sideways,
with the legs removed ; A 6, the eyes viewed from above and in front ;
A 7> the cephalothorax and falces ; A 8, the left-hand falx viewed from
the inner side ; A 9, the fang of the same ; A 10, the tarsal joint of the
foremost right leg ; A 1 1 , one of the two larger and tlie smallest claw
of the same [figs. A 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, magnified]; fig. B and
B 1 , the upper part of the tube and door of a nest of N. Eleanora
which partially projected beyond the surface of the earth and was clothed
with living moss. [Figs. B and B 1 are of the natural size.]

PART I.

HARVESTING ANTS.

PART I.

HARVESTING ANTS.

It was in May, 1869, that Mr. Bentbam in his
presidential address to the Linnean Society called
attention to the want of reliable information as to
the existence of such subterranean accumulations of
seeds as are popularly supposed to account for the
sudden appearance on railway cuttings, gravel from
deep pits, and the like, of crops of weeds hitherto
unknown in a district.

He suggested that it might repay the trouble if
some accurate observers were to take this in hand,
and investigate the matter both by examining samples
of undisturbed soil taken from various depths,^ — when,
if any seeds of moderate size were present and un-
decomposed, it would be tolerably easy to distinguish
them, — and also by ascertaining what means of
transport exist by which seeds may be scattered
over exposed surfaces, and thus explain the difficulty
without having recourse to liypothetical supplies of
sound though long-buried seeds.*

* M. Kerner of Innspruck has lately adduced some facts bearing on the
question of the transport of seeds by the wind, having examined the collec-
tions of animal and vegetable substances found on the icy surfaces of glaciers
and the plants growing on moraines. Judging from the facts thus obtained,
he attributes but a small influence to this agency, as the specimens dis-

B 2

4 HARVESTING ANTS,

As I listened, the question occurred to me whether
the ants, which I had observed carrying seeds to their
nests at Mentone, might not be unconscious agents
on a small scale, both in the distribution and the
subterranean storing of seeds. When at a later
time I made this suggestion to some of our leading
naturalists, I learned with considerable surprise that
the unanimous opinion of our highest modern autho-
rities on the subject is opposed to the belief that
European ants ever do systematically collect and
make provision of seeds, and that the instances of
such occurrences in tropical climates remain as isolated
thouq-h undoubted facts which it is difficult to ex-
plain.

I was not then aware that towards the middle of
last century the ancient belief, dating from the time
of Solomon, that ants habitually show forethought
and husbandry in the collection of supplies of seeds
and grain had begun to be called in question, and
that our most able observers, such as Huber, Gould,
Kirby and Spence, and at the present day Mr.
Frederick Smith, had by close scrutiny of the habits
of these creatures proved that, wherever personal
investigation had enabled them to put the matter
to proof, no trace of harvesting was found.*

covered belonged to the fauna and flora of the immediate vicinity, and not
one of these specimens must needs have come from a distance. See alistvact
of his pajjer in Gardener's Chronicle, Feb. 3, 1872, p. 143, and in 'Nature' for
June 27, 1872, p. 164.

* I have myself on many occasions thrown seeds in the track of the com-
mon English ants, and my experience was, up to the past summer (1872),
similar to that of the above-named naturalists, but I have lately, by the
merest chance, become acquainted with a curious exception to this rule. It
happened as follows. I was gathering some fresh capsules of the common
sweet violet in a garden at Richmond, near London, and in pouring the seeds

HARVESTING ANTS. 5

However, just as the ancient writers, judging from
their own experience and from the reports of others,
had erred in attributing to ants in general the habit
of seed-storing possessed by certain species commonly
found in the south, so have modern naturalists fallen
into the mistake of denying it to any of the European
species.

The older authors who lived in Greece and Italy,
and the mediseval authors who drew their information
in great measure from the former, being familiar
with the fact that some ants habitually collect large
supplies of seed, went so far as to assert, or to imply,
that all European ants do so; the authors of the
present day, on the other hand, generalizing too
freely from their experience of ants found near their
northern homes, maintained and maintain the very

reverse.

So long as Europe was taught natural history by
southern writers the belief prevailed ; but no sooner

out of my hand into the paper hag made to receive them, a few were spiUed
on the ground. In a short time afterwards I was greatly surprised to see
some of these spilled seeds in motion, being carried by the common black
ant (Formica nig>a) into its nest. On seeing this I hastened to get some
more fresh violet seeds, and also a quantity of seeds taken from ant 3
granaries at Mentone, and scattered these where the other seeds had lam.
After watching for half an hour a few of the violet seeds were carried in, but
not one of the granary seeds was removed, though these were examined
with some curiosity. I repeated this experiment twice afterwards on a dis-
tinct colony of ants of the same kind and obtained exactly the same result.
I opened the nest of the former colony on the day after they had carried in
the seeds, but failed to find these or any stores of other seeds.

I am incUued to think that the ants took these seeds believing them to be
larvffi of other ants which they might eat ; for fresh seeds of violet are not
very unlike the larva of certain ants, as, for example, those of Aita barbara,
ficrured at Plate I., Fig. E.. p. 21, the semi-transparent membranous appendage
partly concealing the seed and giving it a fleshy appearance.

I think this the more likely because on two occasions the seeds which had
been carried into the nest were subsequently thrown out by the ants, which
had I believe discovered their mistake.

6 HARVESTING ANTS.

did the tide begin to turn, and the current of infor-
mation to flow from north to south, than the story
became discredited.

It is interesting now to recal a few of the allusions
to the harvesting ants made by ancient authors, some
of which contain tolerably accurate accounts of what
was to them a familiar sight or a universally accepted
fact.

The passages in Proverbs* are the following : " Go
to the ant, thou sluggard : consider her ways and be
wise ; which, having no guide, overseer, or ruler, pro-
videth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her
food in the harvest." " The ants are a people not
strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer."
Hesiodf speaks of the time

" When the provident one (the ant) harvests the grain."
OTi r' icfjOif awpov df^arai.

Horace I also alludes to the foresight of the ant, who is
*' haudignara ac non incauta futuri." Virgil § compares
the Trojans hastening their departure to harvesting
ants, and the passage has been thus rendered by
Dryden : —

' ' The beach is covered o'er
With Trojan bands, that blacken all the shore :
On every side are seen, descending down.
Thick swarms of soldiers, loaden from the town,
Thus, in battalia, march embodied auts,
Fearful of winter, and of future wants,

* vi. 6-8 and xxx. 25.
+ Works and Days, 776. X Satires I. i. 33.

§ ^neid, Bk. iv. I. 402.
" Ac velut ingentem formicae farris acervum

Quum populant, hiemis memores, tectoque reponunt :
It nigrum campis agmen, pra?damque j^er herbas
Convectant calle angusto ; pars grandia trudunt
Obnixffi frumenta humeris ; pars agmina cogunt,
Castigantque moras ; opere omnis semita fervet."

HARVESTING ANTS. ?

T' invade the corn, and to their cells convey
The plundered forage of their yellow prey.
The sable troops, along the narrow tracks,
Scarce bear the weighty burden on their backs ;
Some set their shoulders to the ponderous grain ;
Some guard the spoil ; some la?h the lagging train ;
AU ply their several tasks, and equal toil sustain."

Indeed, it would seem that among the people in-
habiting the shores of the Mediterranean it was
almost as common to say " as provident as an ant
as it is with us to say " as busy as a bee." Plautus*
introduces a slave who, when attempting to account
for the rapid disappearance of a sum of money of
which he had charge, says,

" Confit cito
Quam si tu objicias formicis papaverem."

" It vanished in a twinkling,
Just like poppy seed thrown to the ants. ' '

Any one who has seen the eagerness with which
certain southern ants seize upon seeds thrown in their
path will appreciate the correctness of this simile.

Claudius Ji^lianus, who lived in the time of Hadrian,
gives a detailed account of the habits which he attri-
butes to ants,t from which the following is a transla-
tion : " In summer time, after harvest, while the ears
are being threshed the ants pry about in troops around
the threshing floors, leaving their homes, and going
singly, in pairs, or sometimes three together. They
then select grains of wheat or barley, and go straight
home by the way they came. Some go to collect,
others to carry away the burden, and they avoid the
way for one another with great politeness and consi-
deration, especially the unburdened for the weight

* Trinummus, Act ii. sc. 4, 1. 7.
f ,^ian, De Natura Animalium, ii. 25.

8 HARVESTING ANTS.

carriers. Now these excellent creatures, when they
have returned home, and stored their granaries with
wheat and barley, bore through each grain of seed in
the middle ; that which falls off in the process becomes
a meal for the ants, and the remainder is unfertile.
This these worthy housekeepers do, lest when the
rains come the seeds should sprout, as they would
do if left entire, and thus the ants should come to
want. So we see that the ants have good share in
the gifts of nature, in this respect as well as others."
Further on* he gives a very interesting account of
their mode of collecting and preparing the grain,
many details of which I can myself substantiate from
personal observation, though I have never seen ants
actually at work upon the ears of corn. "But when
the ants start a foraging, they follow the biggest, who
take the lead as generals. And when they come to
the crops, the younger ones stand under the stalk,
but the leaders ascending gnaw through the culms,
as they are called [ovpayovq, " the stalk ends on which
the ears grow " (Lid. and Scott, Gr. Lex.), probably
meaning that they detach the separate spikelets of
which the ears are composed], of the ears [Kapiri/nwv],
which they throw to the people below. These busy
themselves with cutting away the chaff and peeling
off the envelopes which contain and cover the grain.
So the ants, though they need no threshing time, nor
men to winnow for them, nor an artificial draught of
wind to separate corn and chaff, yet have the food of
men who both plough and sow for it." ^Elian appears
also to have heard reports of the habits of ants in

• Lilian, De Nat. Anim., lib. vi. chap, xliii.

HAR VESTING ANTS. 9

tropical countries, for he says,* " Certainly the Indian
ant is also a wise creature They leave one open-
ing at the top (of the nest), by which they have their
exits and entrances, when they come bearing the seeds
which they collect." I have never myself found seeds
bored through the centre in the way recorded above,
but it is possible that different species of ants may
treat the seeds in other ways than those observed by
me ; or, on the other hand, ^lian may have mistaken
the gnawing off the radicle of the seed, a process which
I shall describe from personal observation below, and
imagined that the seed itself was pierced. ^

Aldrovandus, writing in the sixteenth century,
speaksf of the ants as storing seed and of their gnaw-
ing, " illud principium sen acumen grani, e quo germen
emitti a tritico solet" — that is to say, the radicle. But it
is not clear whether Aldrovandus treats of what he has
himself seen or refers to the account given by a cer-
tain Bishop, Simon Mariolus, who, he says " in his
most pleasant and learned work, introduces a philo-
sopher as taking his walks abroad and examining an
ant's nest with its seed store," &c.

The lively fable of the ant and the grasshopper, as
related by La Fontaine, has done much towards fami-
liarizing and keeping alive in the minds of many of
us the idea that ants habitually provide stores against
the winter ; but we must not infer from this narration
that the witty French author had ever cared to exa-
mine for himself whether the fable, which he borrowed
from ^sop, had its foundation in fact or not. The

* Id. lib. xvi. 15.
I Aldrovandus, De Insectis, lib. v. (de Forinicis).

10 HARVESTING ANTS.

following translation from, the Greek original* bears in
a much higher degree the impress of personal and accu-
rate observation.

Mvpfx-))K^Q KOI Tfrri^ : The Ants and the Grasshopper.
Once in winter time the ants were sunning their seed-
store which had been soaked by the rains. A grass-
hopper saw them at this, and being famished and
ready to perish, he ran up and begged for a bit. To
the ant's question, "What were you doing in summer,
idling, that you have to beg now ? " he answered, " I
lived for pleasure then, piping and pleasing travellers."
" 0, ho ! " said they, with a grin, " dance in winter,
if you pipe in summer. Store seed for the future when
you can, and never mind playing and pleasing tra-
vellers."! It would be easy to multiply instances
in which the older authors allude to this habit, but
enough have been given to afford a sample of what
may easily be found repeated elsewhere, and I will
now quote a few instances which illustrate the more
modern belief, utterly opposed to that so long main-
tained by the ancients.

Messrs. Kirby and Spencej discuss the matter in
the following terms : — "When we find the writers of
all nations and ages unite in affirming that, having
deprived it of the power of vegetating, ants store up
grain in their nests, we feel disposed to give larger
credit to their assertions. Writers in general have taken
. . . (this). . . for granted. But when observers of nature
began to examine the manners and economj'" of these

* For this translation and all the foregoing extracts from ancient and
mediaeval authors T have to thank my brother, M. W. Moggridge.
f ^-Esopicae Fabulae (Tauchuitz edition), p. 92.
X Entomology, ed. 7 (I85G), p. 313.

HARVESTING ANTS. 11

creatures more narrowly, it was found, at least with
respect to the European species of ants, that no such
hoards of grain were made by them ; and, in fact, that
they had no magazines in their nests in which provi-
sions of any kinds were stored up."

They then proceed to explain how easily the white
pupa^, which the ants carry about in their jaws, may
have been mistaken for grains of wheat, and to inform
us that the accurate observations of Mr. Gould, pub-
lished in 1747, were among the first which led to the
correction of this error. " However," they continue,
" it may be otherwise with exotic ants, for although
during the cold of our winters they are generally
torpid and need scarcely any food, yet in warmer
regions, during the rainy seasons, when they are pro-
bably confined to their nests, a store of provisions may
be necessary for them."

The author of the article on ants in Smith's Dic-
tionary of the Bible says, in reference to the assertion
that ants store seed, that " observation of the habits
of ants does not confirm this belief."

Latreille* denies it in the following emphatic terms :
*'!N'attribuons pas a la fourmi une prevoyance inutile:
engourdie pendant I'hiver, pourquoi formeroit elle des
greniers pour cette saison ?"

Huber again throws the weight of his great autho-
rity into the scale against the ants, when he says,t " I
am naturally led to speak in this place of the manner
in which ants subsist in the winter, since we have
relinquished the opinion that they amass wheat and
other grain, and that they gnaw the corn to prevent

* Hist. Nat. des Fourmis, 1802.
+ Huber, on Ants, translated by J. E. Johnson, 1S20.

12 HARVESTING ANTS.

it from germinating." He then goes on to show how
the ants are frequently torpid during the winter, and
that when it happens that a few warmer days wake
them up to life, they can always find a few a23hides
also on the alert ; for, strange to say, the same degree
of warmth which rouses the ants calls forth the aphides
also. It would appear that ants in the northern parts
of Europe feed on the honey-dew of aphides, and on
animal matter when they can get it ; and up to the
present time the belief prevails among our modern
naturalists that they are limited to the same diet in
all parts of Europe.

It is now well known, however, that exceptions
must probably be made in tropical countries, for the
observations of Lieut. -Col. Sykes* and Dr. Jerdonf
have shown that many ants in India collect
grain in large quantities, robbing the crops and
i:)lants cultivated in gardens, and even stealing seeds
put away in drawers, the inference being that they
employ them for food. The same observers have re-
corded how the ants may be seen after wet weather
bringing out the grain to dry in the sun.

Dr. Lincecum has also given a very interesting
account J of the habits of the " agricultural ant" in-
habiting Texas, Mp-mica {Jlfa)barbata, which not only
stores the grain of a particular rice-like grass, but is said

* Lieut.-Col. Sykes, Description of New Indian Ants, in Trans. Ent. Soc.
Lond., i. 103 (1836), where a single species of ant, which he names Atta
providens, is described, and its habit of harvesting recorded.

f Dr. Jerdon, Madras Journal Lit. and Sc. (1851), where three species
are stated to harvest seeds on a large scale — namely, CEcodoma (or Atta)
providens, CEcodoma diffusa, and Atta rufa, all of which belong to the same
section of ants as our Meutouese harvesters, Atta barbara, Atta structor, and
J-'/ieidole (or Atta) ineyaccphala. These very interesting observations of Dr.
Jerdon's, as well as tliose of Lieut. -Col. Sykes, will be found in Appendix B.

t Published in the Journal of the Liunean Society of London, vol. vi. p. 29.
1861.

HARVESTISG ANTS. 13

to maintain a clean crop of tins plant around its nest,
suffering no weed to appear among it, and harvesting
the crop in its proper season.

The Sauba ant {(Ecodoma cephalotcs) has been seen
by Mr. Bates plundering baskets containing mandioca
meal (an impure form of tapioca) in Brazil, and this in
so wholesale a manner as shortlj^ to threaten the loss
of the entire supply ; and Dr. Delacoux records *
the presence in New Granada of a monstrous ant, called
by the natives Arieros, a word which, I am informed,
is of Arabic extraction, and means the carrier, which
emptied an entire sack of maize belonging to him in
a single night.

It seems strange that while travellers have reported
the seed-storing habits of ants in far distant countries,
our naturalists at home should have not only remained
unaware of its existence inEurope, but even strenuously
denied it. It is certain, however, that naturalists and
others in southern Europe are more or less aware of the
fact, but I have been unaljle to learn that any accurate
account of the habits of harvesting ants has hitherto
been published, or that any one has taken pains to
discover what becomes of the seed so laboriously
obtained.

It is true that in the Enciclopedia PopoIare\ extracts
are given from the remarks made by M. Genej on
the subject, in which he assumes that the fact that
ants collect and carry to their nest large supplies of
grain and seed is well known, but states that he is at

* Notice sur les Mceurs et les Habitudes de quelques Especes de Formi-
ciens des Climats Cliauds. Eev. Zool., Mai, 1848, p. 1849.

+ Article Formica, vol. v. p. 143-4. (Turin, 1845).

% Memorie per servire alia Storia Naturale di alcuni imenotteri, iniLlislied
at Modena, in 1842.

14 HARVESTING ANTS.

SL loss to conceive how tliej employ tliem, unless it
may be that they use them as materials for the con-
struction of their galleries, for they cannot eat such
hard substances, all their food being either liquid or
of the nature of juices, " gli alimenti sono sempre
materie liquide o materie sugose. Quanto ai corpi duri
e secchi che le formiche raccolgono, io non so altrimenti
riguardarli che come materiali di costruzione." It will
be understood, I think, from what Las gone before, that
thus far nothing has really been ascertained as to the
exact state of the case ; for though the Italian author
just quoted was aware that certain ants in the Medi-
terranean region do store seed, his knowledge went no
further. Nor am I aware that any French author has
published an account of this habit and its object ; and
in a recent abundantly illustrated volume founded on
a work by M. Emile Blanchard,I find, on the contrary,
the following very emphatic denial of its existence : —
" The curious idea which appears to have commenced
in very remote times, and to have been carried down
by tradition, and which was assisted by the results of
careless observations, concerning the habits of the
ants in collecting and storing up provisions, as it were
under the influence of a wise foresight, is evidently
incorrect."* There was, therefore, clearly an opening
here for close observation, and this I determined to do
my best to supply.

When I set out again from England in October,
1871, on my way to Mentone, I had obtained an idea
of some of the leading points which needed to be

* The Transformations of Insects : an adaptation for English readers of M.
Emile Blan chard's Metamorphoses, Mcjeurs, et Instincts des InsecteS; p. 196.
London. 1871.

HARVESTING ANTS. 15

cleared up, and I was greatly encouraged in my
attempt by the interest exj^ressed in the subject by
several of our leading naturalists, among whom I
may especially mention Mr. Frederick Smith.*

Plainly the first thing to do was to determine
whether the seeds which I had watched the ants
carry to their nests were separately stored in sub-
terranean granaries, as they would be if the ant really
provides for the future ; or whether they were merely
strewed here and there, or used as building materials.

Next I must, if possible, obtain conclusive evidence
as to the use to which the ants put the seeds thus
collected ; whether they eat them or turn them to
some other account. Again I must observe whether
the seed-collecting ants also search for aphides, and
what other kinds of food they obtain. Then another
very interesting question remained — namely, whether
all southern ants uniformly collect seed, and to the
same extent, or whether the habit is peculiar to
certain species.

These, and many other subjects of inquiry con-
nected with them, readily suggested themselves to
my mind, and it will now be my endeavour to show
how far I have been able to throw light upon
them.

The habits recorded in the following pages refer
exclusively, unless special notice is given to the
contrary, to Atta barbara, the black ant represented
on Plate I. We have, as far as I am aware, only
four bona fide harvesting ants on the Biviera — namely,
Atta barbara under two forms, the one wholly black

* I am very greatly indebted to Mr. Smith for much kind assistance, and
especially for having named the specimens which I collected.

16 HARVESTING ANTS.

the other red-lieaded ; Jlfa strucfor, a creature very
similar to harhara, but of a claret-brown colour ; and
a minute yellow ant, the large workers of which have
gigantic heads, named Pheidole (or Atta) megacepliala.

My renewed observations at Mentone were carried
on from October, 1871, to May, 1S72, and I was
able during that interval to become a frequent
visitor to a warm and sheltered valley, which lay but
a few minutes' walk from the house in which 1 lived,
and in which thirty nests of the most active of the
seed-storing ants were to be found.

Full therefore of my intention to resolve this
difficulty if possible, I set out on October 29, 1871,
immediately after my return to Mentone, to revisit
this valley, where, in the previous May, I had seen
the ants busily engaged in cutting, carrying, and
sorting their harvest. '

The spot in question was a rough slope of soft
sandstone rock, with accumulations of sandy soil in
the hollows, covered with a sparse and scrubby
vegetation, composed of Cistiis {C. sahifolms), pot-
herb thyme, black lavender {Lavandula stadias),
spiny broom {Cahjcofome spinosa), overshadowed here
and there by a few scattered stone and maritime
pines, and intermixed with coarse grasses and some
smaller plants.

Cultivated lemon terraces lay on the edge of the
wild ground lower down in the valle}^, and at this
season, as also in the late spring, these terraces were
overgrown with a rank crop of weeds, most of which
were in seed.

I had scarcely set foot on the garrigue, as this kind
of wild ground is called, to distinguish it from

HARVESTING ANTS. 17

meadows or terraced land, before I was met by a long
train of ants, forming two continuous lines, hurrying
in opposite directions, the one with their mouths full,
the others with their mouths empty.

It was easy enough to find the nest to which these
ants belonged, for it was only necessary to follow
the line of ants burdened with seeds, grain, or entire
capsules, which had their heads turned homewards,
and there, sure enough, at about ten yards distance,
and partly shaded by some small Cistus bushes,
lay the nest, to and from the entrances of which
the incessant stream of incomers and outgoers kept
flowing.

The proceedings of the ants were the same as those
previously observed in the late spring (April and
May), the workers usually seeking their harvest at
some distance from the nest, and going in search of
it as far as the cultivated ground, where the crops of
weeds were more abundant and more varied.

In a few cases, however, where the terraces were too
far distant, they contented themselves with plundering
the grasses, pea-flowers, honeywort, and the other
denizens of the garrigue. In one case I was able to
follow the thread-like column of workers from the
nest to the weedy terrace where the plants grew from
which they were gathering the seeds, and found that
the nearly continuous double line measured twenty-
four yards. Even this gives but an inadequate idea
of the number of ants actively employed in the
service of this colony, for hundreds of them were
dispersed among the weeds on the terrace, and many
were also employed in sorting the materials and in
attending to the internal economy of tlie nest. Still

18 HARVESTING ANTS.

this affords some evidence of the systematic and
extensive scale on which foraging is carried on by
this ant, and of the high importance which these
creatures attach to their provision of grain.

It is not a httle surprising to see that the ants
bring in not only seeds of large size and fallen grain,
but also green capsules, the torn stalks of which
show that they have been freshly gathered from the
plant. The manner in which they accomplish this
feat is as follows. An ant ascends the stem of a
fruiting plant, of Shepherd's-purse {CapseJIa Bursa
pasforis) let us say, and selects a well-filled but green
pod about midway up the stem, those below being ready
to shed their seeds at a touch. Then, seizing it in
its jaws, and fixing its hind legs firmly as a pivot,
it contrives to turn round and round, and so strain
the fibres of the fruit-stalk that at length they snap.
It then descends the stem, patiently backing and
turning upwards again as often as the clumsy and
disproportionate burden becomes wedged between the
thickly set stalks, and joins the line of its companions
on their way to the nest. In this manner capsules of
chickweed {Alsine media) and entire calyces, contain-
ing the nutlets of Calaminth, are gathered ; two ants
also sometimes combine their efforts, when one stations
itself near the base of the peduncle and gnaws it at the
point of greatest tension, while the other hauls upon
and twists it. I have never seen a capsule severed from
its stalk by cutting alone, and the mandibles of this ant
are perhaps incompetent to perforin such a task. I
have occasionally seen ants engaged in cutting the
capsules of certain plants droj3 them and allow their
companions below to carry them away; and this corre-

BAR VESTING A NTS. 1 9

sponcis with tlie curious account given by iElian* of the
manner in which the spikelets of corn are severed and
thrown down " to the people below," rJ ^hfXM rJ KaT(o.

If the incoming and weight -carrying column of
ants be closely examined it will be found that though
the great majority of workers are bringing seeds in
some form to the nest, a few are burdened with other
and more miscellaneous materials.

Occasionally one or two may be detected carrying
a dead insect, or crushed land-shell, the corolla of a
flower, a fragment of stick, or leaf, but I have never
seen aphides brought in to the nest or visited by this
ant or by Atta structor.

It sometimes happens that an ant has manifestly
made a bad selection, and is told on its return that
what it has brought home with much pains is no
better than rubbish, and is hustled out of the nest,
and forced to throw its burden away. In order to
try whether these creatures were not fallible like
other mortals, I one day took out with me a little
packet of grey and white porcelain beads, and scat-
tered these in the path of a harvesting train. They
had scarcely lain a minute on the earth before one
of the largest workers seized upon a bead, and with
some difficulty clipped it with its mandibles and
trotted back at a great pace to the nest. I waited
for a little while, ray attention being divided between
the other ants who were vainly endeavouring to
remove the beads, and the entrance down which the
worker had disappeared, and then left the spot. On
my return in an hour's time, I found the ants passing

* Vide supra, p. 8,

20 HARVESTING ANTS.

unconcernedly by and over the beads which lay
where I had strewn them in apparently undiminished
quantities ; and I conclude from this that they had
found out their mistake, and had wisely returned to
their accustomed occupations.

I have often amused myself by strewing hemp
and canary seed or oats, all of which form heavy
burdens for the ants, near their nests ; and it is a
curious sight to watch the eagerness and determina-
tion with which they will drag them away. It is
interesting also to note how on the following day
the husks of these seeds will appear on the rubbish-
heaj), or sometimes, after a shower of rain, they will
be brought out by the ants with the point of the
little root (the radicle or fibril as the case may be)
gnawed ofi" (see Figs. A, B, C, Plate VI., p. 35).

It frequently happens that on the wild hillside the
position of a nest of Jtta harhara is indicated by the
presence of a number of plants growing on or round
the kitchen midden, which are properly weeds of cul-
tivation, and strangers to the cistus- and lavender-
covered banks of the garrigue. These have sprung
from seeds accidentally dropped by the ants, and which
they had obtained from the lemon terraces. Thus
when you see little patches of ground from one to
three feet long and broad, covered with such plants as
fumitory [Fumaria), oats [Avena), nettles {JJrtica mem-
hrariacea), four species of Veronica, chickweed {Alsine
media), goosefoot {CUenopodiwii), Riimex Bucephale-
phoriis, wild vnSiYi^oXdi {Calendi/la arvensis), Antirrhinum
Oroniiurn, Linaria simplex, and Cardamine kirsuta, you
may confidently expect to find a colony of these ants
close at hand.

f^

l> ^^4 w V.U 'W 0'% J\ ' \ -. li.^^

S2>

■E^

HARVESTING ANTS. 21

These plants are sometimes found along the sides
of miniature gullies and crevices in the rock, where
they have been washed by little runlets of water formed
in seasons of heavy rain, and thus these interloping
plants are occasionally dispersed and brought into
competition with the rightful occupiers of the ground.

Aita structor and A. barbara do not employ any
materials in the construction of their nest, simply
excavating it out of the earth itself, or occasionally
out of the sandy rock, and the large mounds, in great
part composed of vegetable matter, which may fre-
quently be found at the entrances of their nests, are
nothing more than the rubbish heaps and kitchen
middens of each establishment. These consist in part
of the earth pellets and grains of gravel which the
ants bring out from their nest when forming the sub-
terranean galleries, but principally of plant-refuse such
as the chaff of grasses, empty capsules, gnawed seed-
coats, and the like, which would occupy much space
if left inside the nest (see Plate I., Fig. A.). While an
army of workers are employed in seeking and bringing
in supplies, others are busy sorting the materials thus
obtained, stripping off all the useless envelopes of seed
or grain, and carrying them out to throw away.
Thanks to the unwearied activity with which this
divided labour is carried on the kitchen middens
speedily rise in the harvest season, and in places where
they are not exposed to the action of wind and rain,
often acquire a considerable size, so much so that
sometimes, if collected, one alone might fill a quart
tankard.

It was the sight of such a refuse mound, and an ex-
amination of the materials which composed it, — many

2% HARVESTING ANTS.

of which show that they were once parts of seeds, &c. .
the albuminous contents of which had been extracted
through holes gnawed in the side, — that gave me the
conviction that large stores of seed must lie hidden
below in the nest ; for if it were true, as some have
suggested, that the ants employ the grain and seeds
which they collect as materials for the construction of
their nest, they would certainly not reject such parts
as the chaff of grasses and the like, which are admirably
suited for the purpose, and are actually used for this
end by other species of ants.

It was therefore with the greatest confidence as to
the result that I opened the nests of Atfa harhara in
search of granaries and seeds. My first attempt was
made upon a nest lying in a hollow where there was
a rather deep bed of soil, and the galleries extended
so far on either side and in a downward direction tbat,
though I removed enough soil to fill a wheelbarrow,
I failed to reach the arcana of the nest, and saw neither
chambers nor granaries.

Yet I frequently encountered workers carrying seeds
downwards along the subterranean passages. I then
selected a nest where the coarse and hard rock lay
much nearer to the surface, barring their downward
course, and compelling the ants to extend their nest in
a horizontal direction.

Here, almost at the first stroke, I came upon large
masses of seeds carefully stored in chambers prepared
in the soil. Some of tliese lay in long subcylindrical
galleries, and, owing to the presence in large quantities
of the black shining seeds of amaranth {Amaranihis
Biitum, &c.), looked like trains of gunpowder laid
ready for blasting. Fig. A, Plate II. represents a trowel-

-^'

'-^Ja^

E^

Pla/^ III.

■:<■&■:

m

:v.i:^

X,7

I

,:, v-.WricV.Vt-

Vincent Bicol^s Day&Son.lmp

L.R-eeve & C"^ Puilisiers.

HARVESTING ANTS, 23

ful of eartli taken from this nest, and lifted with care
so as to leave the seeds almost in situ. Others were
massed together in horizontal chambers, having a
concave roof and a flat and carefully prepared floor.

The texture of the floor usually differs markedly
from that of the surrounding soil, and the fine grains
of silex and mica which are selected for its construction
are more or less cemented together, so that the floor
will sometimes part, when dry, from the soil about it,
as caked and dry mud separates from a gravel path
(see Plate III.).

On carefully examining a quantity of the seeds, grain,
and minute dry fruits taken from the granaries, I found
that they had been gathered from the following plants :
fumitorj^ {Fumaria Capreolata, &c.), amaranth {Amar-
anihus Blitum, &c.), Setaria, and three other species of
grasses, honeywort {Alyssum maritimiim), Veronica^
and from four unrecognised species, one of which was
a pea-flower. There were therefore in this nest seeds,
&c., which had been taken from more than twelve
distinct species of plants, belonging to at least seven
separate families. The granaries lay from an inch and
a half to six inches below the surface and were all
horizontal. They were of various sizes and shapes, the
average granary being about as large as a gentleman's
gold watch.

I was greatly surprised to find that the seeds,
though quite moist, showed no trace of germination,
and this was the more astonishing as the self-sown
seeds of the same kinds as those detected here, such
as fumitory for instance, were then coming up abun-
dantly in garde as and on terraces. The seeds of
Odontites lutea afford a curious test of the presence of

24 HARVESTING ANTS.

moisture in the granaries, and it will usually be found
that, when they are recently taken out of the nest,
they are of a greenish colour and semi-transparent horn-
like texture, which changes on exposure to the air
to a chalky white and opaque appearance, due to the
drying of the coat of the seed.

The fact of the sound condition of the seeds in

these granaries seemed to me so very strange

and difficult to explain that I determined to pay

special attention to the subject, and with this view

collected and carefully examined large quantities of

the grain and seeds taken at different times from the

stores of twenty-one distinct nests, the first of which

was opened on October 29th, and the last on May 5th.

In these twenty-one nests out of the thousands of

seeds taken I only found twenty-seven in seven nests

which showed trace of germination, and of these eleven

had been mutilated in such a way as to arrest their

growth. The sprouting seeds were found in the

months from November to February, while in the

nests opened in October, March, April, and May, no

sprouted seeds were discovered, though these latter

months are certainly highly favourable to germination.

It is therefore extremely rare to find other than sound

and intact seeds in the granaries, and we must conclude

that the ants exercise some mysterious power over

them which checks the tendency to germinate.

Apparently it is not that moisture or warmth or
the influence of atmospheric air is denied to the
seeds, for we find them in damp soil, in genial weather,
and often at but a trifling distance below the surface
of the ground ; and I have proved that the vitality of
the seeds is not affected by raising crops of young

HARVESTING ANTS. 25

plants, such as fumitory, pellitory. Polygonum avi-
culare, and grasses, from seeds taken out of granaries.*
I have frequently remarked that it is the seeds last
collected before a fall of rain which are brought out
in a sprouting condition from the nest ; for T have
observed in cases where I had recentl}^ scattered seeds
near wild nests, that it is these which are carried out
from the nest and placed to dry after a wet night ; and
so in the case of a nest which I kept in captivity, when a
variety of different seeds had been successively sup-
plied to the ants, it was the cabbage, lettuce, and
chicory seeds, given the day before the nest was watered,
that reappeared after having been carried below, and
not the hemp, canary, and mixed seeds of wild plants
previously strewed on the nest. It seems possible
that the process, whatever it may be, to which the ants
subject the seeds which are to remain dormant may
require some time, and the construction of the gra-
nary chambers is doubtless a long affair, so that when
■unusually large supplies of grain, &c., are brought in
by the workers some part of them may not find the
necessary accommodation and attention. When the
seeds do germinate in the nests, and it is my belief
that they are usually softened and made to sprout
before they are consumed by the ants, it is very curious
to see how the growth is checked in its earliest stage,
and how, after the radicle or fibril — the first growing

* This experiment was tried by me on two occasions, in the former case
the seeds were taken from a granary about four inches below the surface of
the ground, on November 10th, and sowed two days afterwards, and several
of these were up on Dec. 1st. The second trial was made on seeds found at
only one and a half inch below the surface, on Dec. 29th, 1871; these were
sowed iu England on June 18tli, 1872, and the young plants made their ap-
pearance in large numbers ten days afterwards.

26 HARVESTING ANTS.

root of dicotyledonous and monocotjdedonous seeds —
has been gnawed off, they are brought out from the
nest and placed in the sun to dry, and then, after a
sufficient exposure, cariied below into the nest.

The seeds are thus in effect malted, the starch
being changed into sugar, and I have myself wit-
nessed the avidity with which the contents of seeds
thus treated are devoured by the ants.

Figs. A,B,C, in Plate VI., p. 35, illustrate the manner
in which the ants mutilate the germinating seeds and
check their growth. Thus, at Fig. C 2 of Plate YI. a
sprouting but uninjured canary seed {Phalaris cana-
riensis) is drawn, magnified, and at Figs. C and CI the
same of the natural size and magnified, after the ants
have gnawed its fibril (fib.), which in this case pierces
the undeveloped radicle (rad.). Fig. A 2 represents a
sprouting hemp-seed, magnified,* and Figs. A, A 1,
the same of the natural size and magnified, mutilated,
the tip of the radicle being removed.

At Figs. B, B 1, B 2, the same process is shown in
the case of a small wild pea.

It is, however, certain that though a few individual
seeds may sprout in the nests from time to time either
with or without the concurrence of the ants, the great
mass remain for many weeks, or even months, quite
intact, neither decaying nor germinating, whereas every
one knows that if a quantity of seeds are placed in
the soil in a moist and warm place, all the seeds that
are of one kind will almost simultaneously begin to
grow after the lapse of a fixed interval.

Now if this took place in an ant's nest, the provisions

* Properly a nut, for it comprises the seed and the enveloping coat of the
ovary. The canary seed also, spoken of above, is a grain containing a seed.

HARVESTTNG ANTS. 27

would have to be rapidly consumed at stated periods
and to be frequently renewed ; but this is not the case.
This is easily shown by an examination of the seeds
contained in the nests in April or May, many of which
will prove to belong to plants which fruit in the autumn
and are not to be found later than November. Thus, for
example, on May 5th at Cannes, I discovered nutlets of
C^no^Iossum jnrtinii, which can scarcely have been col-
lected later than the preceding October or November.
Besides, during the time from the middle of January
to the middle of ]\Iarch, scarcely a seed is collected
under ordinary circumstances, there being extremely
few wild plants in fruit at that season, and yet the
granaries will be found well filled if a nest is opened
at the end of this period.

A knowledge of the fact that ants in warm climates
accumulate large and very varied stores of seeds re-
taining their power of germination, might at times be
of service to travellers, by enabling them to obtain,
by a stroke or two of the spade, an interesting col-
lection of the seeds and the seed-like fruits of the
country, when time and opportunity failed for ob-
taining them in a more satisfactory manner. The
following list of plants, the grain, seeds, and small
dry fruits of which I have found in the subter-
ranean granaries of Atta structor and A. barbara, es-
pecially the latter, shows that the ants probably col-
lect almost indiscriminately from any fruiting plant
that falls in their way.

Fumitory {Fumaria, three species), honeywort
{Alyssum maritivium), narrow-leaved sun rose {Fumaria
viscida and F.Spac/iii), Oxalis corniculata, 8ilene,Linum
gallicum, mallow {Lavatera crefica ?), mQdi\Qk{Medica(^o),

28 HARVEST INO ANTS.

wild lentil {Ervum), spiny broom {Cyiisiis sjnnosui)^
Valerianella carinata, Centaurea aspera, Odontites lutea^
Calamintha Nepefa, Polygonum convolvulus and P. avicu-
/f/;^, amaranth {JmaranthusBUtum andpatulus), pellitory
{Parietaria), Euphorbia, pine {Pinus), wild sarsaparilla
{Smilax aspera), Setaria verticillata and >S'. italica, An-
dropofjon Jschcemuiu, and of eight other plants of which
J do not recognise the seeds. This list, comprising
plants belonging to eighteen distinct families, might
be greatly prolonged if I were to add to it the names
of the seeds which I have seen the ants carry towards
their nests, but have not actually detected in the
granaries. Thus I have seen trains of ants burdened
with the long'beaked, spirally-twisted fruits of crane's
bill [Erodiuni], and, as above mentioned, with capsules
of chickweed {Alsine media) and shepherd's-purse
{Capsella Bursa pastoris), with whole orange pips, and
even haricot beans, seeds of the New Zealand veronica
(F! Andersonii), of Silenepseudoatocion, and many other
garden plants, also with nutlets of the plane tree and
seeds of the cypress.

Pliny mentions* incidentally having watched the
ants carrying away cypress seeds, and comments upon
the fact that so small a creature should be able to
interfere with the growth of such a noble tree.

I have little doubt that tlie seed stores of the ants
in botanic and other gardens, where rare plants are
cultivated in southern Europe and in warm climates
generally, contain samples taken from the fruits of a
great many of the rarer and more interesting species
as well as of the weeds and native plants. Indeed 1

* Pliny, Nat. Hist., xvii. 14, 3-

HARVESTING ANTS. 29

have been told that this is the ease by my friend Dr.
Bornet, who complains of the depredations committed
by the ants in the gardens of the Villa Thuret, at
Antibes. They go so far as to plunder the seed bags
which are hung from the branches of the trees and
shrubs, unless these are securely closed and tied with
string ; they carry off wholesale the grass and anemone
seeds,* which are scattered when the lawns are resown ;
and Dr. Bornet has seen the seeds of Acacia refinoides
lie heaped up by the handful at the entrances of their
nests, and disappear below after a few hours.

M. Germain de St. Pierre has observed similar facts
at Hyeres, where he has detected large stores of cereals
in the granaries of the ants, and considers that the
robberies committed by these creatures are suflBcient
in extent to cause a serious loss to cultivators.

It is difficult to estimate the amount of seed stored
in a single nest by a colony of ants both on account
of the extent of these nests, and because of the number
of seeds which are always lost in digging. The nests
themselves also vary greatly in size. Perhaps I shall
not be very far from the mark however, if I conjecture
that average-sized nests contain during the winter
months about half a pint of seeds.

Atta structor is more frequently found near houses
and in gardens than A. harhara, the latter usually
living on wild ground adjoining cultivation. There
was a flourishing colony oi structor in the main street
of Mentone, cleverly placed at the lintel of the door of
a corn chandler's store, where they were ever on the
look out for stray grains of oats and wheat, which

* Properly grass grain and anemone achenes.

30

HARVESTING ANTS.

might chance to fall from the sacks. Another nest, in a
different part of the town, got its principal subsistence
from the grains of canary seed, which were scattered
by the birds occupying a cage hanging outside a shop
window at a little distance.

Vertical section of an ant's nest. The horizontal lines represent
inches of depth.

The granaries of ^. sfructor are arranged in the same
way as those of ^. barbara, and may, in like manner, be

0

^

HARVESTING ANTS. 31

found stored with, seeds, and lying at depths below the
surface, varying from one to twenty inches.

A diagram is given in the preceding woodcut
of a vertical section of a nest of barhara lying in soil
sixteen inches deep, the granaries being at 1^, 2, 4,
6, 9, and 12^ inchesj as determined by actual measure-
ment on the spot.

In some cases, and especially where the soil is
shallow, the galleries and granaries are much crowded
together, as is shown in Plate IV., which represents a
small mass of earth, pierced by the roots of plants,
taken out of a nest of harbara, lying at two inches
below the surface. When first opened all these
granaries were filled with seeds.

The shape of the granary chambers varies con-
siderably, as may be seen by reference to the draw-
ing of three floors given in Plate III., p. 23, and that
shown diagrammatically in the woodcut on next page,
where the white space represents the granary floor,
and the dark circular spot in the centre, the aper-
ture of a gallery leading downwards.

I once had an opportunity of seeing a large portion
of a nest of the red-headed variety of barbara laid bare
by a cutting recently made through a bank at Cannes in
digging the foundations of a house, which exposed
a very extensive and complicated series of galleries and
granaries. The lowest point at which I detected the
workings of the ants was at twenty inches below the
surface of the ground, and here granaries containing
seeds in abundance were present, and the galleries and
granaries extended over a space measuring 5ft. 9in. in
a horizontal direction. In two cases I have found
nests of Alt a barbara at Mentone which were carried

32

HARVESTING ANTS.

far into the living rock in places where it happened to
be of an even grain, and not gritty or pebbly as it fre-
quently is. It was quite by chance that I first dis-
covered this very interesting fact, having tracked a

train of seed-bearing workers to a part of the sand-
stone rock where steps had quite recently been hacked

out leading to some terraces.

Tioite V.

.-j^

•'^•'liiBN ■-*!■>>'

VincentBrooko Diyft Soa Imp

LKeeve & C° Fiiblisliers .

HA Pi VESTING A NTS. 33

I soon saw that the ants entered and came out from
three or four small passages in the cleft surface of the
rock, and that their nest actually lay in the sandstone
itself. Havino^ contrived to wedg-e off several larsre
flakes of the rock, which was soft in most places and
might be scooped out with a strong knife, I discovered
that though some of the passages of the ants followed
the lines of cleavage and the cracks made by the fine wiry
fibres of the bushes growing on the surface, others were
frequently made in the form of tubular tunnels through
the living rock. Without the aid of hammer and chisel
it was not possible to follow the galleries and to
secure specimens of the mined rock ; but on the next
day (Dec. 7th) I returned armed with tools, and with
the assistance of a friend * quarried out a portion of
the nest, tracing it down eventually to twenty-three
inches below the surface of the rock in a vertical, and
to about sixteen inches away from the surface in a
horizontal direction.

At one point where the rock was almost entirely
solid and without flaw or crevice, and where it was
clear that the passages were entirely the work of the
ants, we measured a tunnel by worming a straw down it,
and found it to be ten inches in length. We subse-
quently traced this tunnel or rock gallery down until
it communicated with a chamber filled with winged ants
and seeds of several kinds. This granary was hori-
zontal, and merely an enlargement of an ordinary gal-
lery of a compressed spindle-shape, flattened from
above downwards, measuring as nearly as I could
estimate three inches in length, by a trifle less than

* I take this opportunity of expressing my tliauks to Mr. Holier t
I.ightbody for help on this and other occasions

D

34 HARVESTING ANTS.

an inch in breadth, and half an inch in height.
Tlie walls were tolerably smooth, but not prepared or
glazed in the way that certain small terminal cells
which I shall shortly describe were. The surfaces,
however, had a very different appearance to that of
the surrounding sandstone, being of a darker and
brownish colour, and seeming to be coated with some
kind of dressing or cement. ,

One of these tunnels at first took a horizontal course
for two and a half inches, then descended vertically for
an inch and a half to a point where it made two hori-
zontal branches, and from these latter several other
vertical galleries descended, two of which we were able
to trace until they expanded into a cluster of small pear-
shaped cells, the walls of which were quite smooth and
very carefully laid with plates of mica and cement. I
was able to draw this on the spot, Fig. A, Plate V., while
Mr. Lightbody worked it out piecemeal with hammer
and chisel. It was unfortunately impossible to se-
cure more than very imperfect fragments as specimens.
These terminal cells were empty when we came to
them, but it is quite possible that the ants may have
conveyed away larvae or winged ants from them,
having received abundant notice of the coming danger
from the continued jarring of the chisel-work.

One entrance to this nest lay in a small accumula-
tion of soil in a hollow of the rock, and it was at this
point that the refuse from the nest was cast out. In- -
deed, had it not been for the accidental circumstance of
myhaving traced the ants to the newly hewn step in the
sandstone, I might never have discovered the fact that
the nests are sometimes carried deep into the living rock.

With this to guide me, however, I succeeded in find-
ing a second nest of the same kind, and here I was

PlaU VJ

■ \

■' ■<- r 2 '-a '

ftb.-jll ^

'H

Vim.eiitBrooksDa.yi Sou, Imp

L. Reeve & C? Publishers

HARVESTING ANTS. 3&

able to secure better specimens of the tunnels for draw-
ing (Figs. B, B 1, Plate V.,p. 33). These drawings may
be taken as representing also the size and shape of
the tunnels in the former nest, which were for the
most part like these, beautifully cylindrical, as is shown
in the front view of the tunnel at B 1. In one nest
of harhara I found a curious hollow spherical dome,
about an inch in diameter, the walls of which were
constructed of hardened earth about two lines thick,
and having a hirge circular aperture at the top and a
very small one below (Figs. D and D 1, Plate VI.). This
dome was imbedded below in earth which adhered
to it, but it was otherwise easily separable from the
soil ; its inner walls were smoothed with great nicety.
It has been suggested to me that this spherical
chamber was originally the work of a scarabseus, which
had chanced to bury the ball containing its eggs close
to the nest of the ants, and that the latter had appro-
priated it after the departure of the beetle grubs.
This may perhaps have been the case, but the dome
was rather larger than the ball usually formed by
the scarab beetle, and I have never seen one of
these balls surrounded by a hardened case. The
chamber thus constructed was employed as a granary,
and filled, as well as the adjacent passages, with the
grain of a grass {Tragus racemosus), still enclosed in the
husks, among which I detected several ants at work,
and also some minute white semi-transparent creatures,
like spring-tails [Podunis], which abound in these ants'
nests. Besides this spring-tail it is common to find in
the galleries and granaries of Atta structor and A. har-
hara, certain silky j^ellowish-white " silver fish" {Le-
jpisma), a small white woodlouse which does not

D 2

86 HARVESTING ANTS.

roll itself into a ball, and at times the larvae of an
elater beetle. I have observed- on more than one
occasion that when in digging into an ant's nest I
have thrown out an elater larva, the ants would clus-
ter round it and direct it towards some small opening
in the soil, which it would quickly enlarge and disap-
pear down. At other times, however, the ants would
take no notice of the elater, and it is my belief that
the attentions paid to it on former occasions were
purely selfish, and that they intended to avail them-
selves of the tunnel thus made down into the soil,
with a view of reopening communications with the
galleries and granaries concealed below, the approaches
to which had been covered up. I have frequently
watched the ants make use of these passages mined
by the elater on these occasions.

At one time I suspected that the elater larvse
might consume the seeds stored by the ants, and I
therefore confined some of them in a tumblerful of
earth and seeds ; but at the end of three weeks,
though the larvse were strong and healthy-looking, I
could not detect that any of the seeds had been
touched, and even those which had sprouted remained
uninjured. I have searched in vain for the beetles
and staphylinidse which are known to inhabit certain
ant's nests. In one nest I found (on Dec. 28) a
quantity of small spherical, egg-like galls, slightly
larger than but resembling the fruit of Fumaria
cajyreolata, spotted with pink-brown on a yellowish or
greyish ground. There was a dark spot at the point
at which the mature insect would emerge, and one did
escape from the egg-like cocoon while I was watch-
ing, and proved to be a Ci/nijjs of very small size, but
furnished with a terrible dart for puncturing its prey.

HARVESTING ANTS. 87

It seems difficult to understand how it comes that
these galls are systematically placed among the
seeds, for it was evidentl}^ no chance occurrence, and
I can only conjecture that the worker ants may have
brought them in and stored them under the impres-
sion that they were really seeds ! Even ants make
mistakes, and of this I have given an example above
(p. 19). Though I have frequently found colonies of
several distinct species of ants inhabiting nests made in
the earth traversed b}^ the widespread galleries of Atta
strudor and barbara, I have never detected any inter-
mixture of species in the chambers of a nest,* and but
rarely found even the galleries and entrance used in
common by more than one species. On one occasion
when opening a nest of structor I cut through a
colony of the tiny, large-headed, yellow ant Fheidole
mcr/acejjJiala, lying in the midst of, though distinct
from, the former. AVhen, however, it chanced that
one of the sfructors fell from the crumbling earth
into the midst of the P/ieidoIes, it was curious to see
how fiercely it would be attacked, and with what
terrified speed it would scamper off, without attempt-
ing any resistance, and often carrying two or three
Fheidohs haniicino: on to its leg's.

Accidentally in this way battles do sometimes take
place between ants of different species ; but by far
the most savage and prolonged contests which I
have witnessed were those in which the combat-
ants belong to two different colonies of the same
species.

* Except in a few cases wbere I have seen one or two structors in nests of
harhara and viceversd, and in the curious instance to be mentioned below,
where one colony cousisted of nearly equal parts of structor, iarbara, and the
red-headed variety of barbara.

38 HA R VESTING A NTS.

Atta barbara, Formica cruentaia, F. erratica, and espe-
ciall}^ Myrw'ica ccBspitiim may sometimes be seen fight-
ing in this desperate fashion. Rival colonies of
Mynnica ccBsjpitum often gather for tlie battle into
dense masses three or four inches deep, and the
place of conflict will be seen on the following day
strewn with the dead, and this though the majority
of the slain are carried oft* for food by the victors.

But the most singular contests are those which
are waged for seeds by A. barbara, when one colony
plunders the stores of an adjacent nest belonging to
the same species, the weaker nest making prolonged
though, for the most part, inefficient attempts to
recover their property.

In the case of the other species of ant which I
have watched fighting, the strife would last but a
short time — a few hours or a day — but A. barbara wdll
carry on the battle day after day and week after week.
I was able to devote a good deal of time to watching
the progress of a predatory war of this kind, waged
by one nest of barbara against another, and which
lasted for forty-six days, from Jan. 1 8 to March 4 !

I cannot of course declare positively that no ces-
sation of hostilities may have taken place during
the time, but I can affirm that whenever I visited the
spot, and I did so on twelve days, or as nearly as
possible, twice a week, the scene was one of war
and spoliation such as that which I shall now
describe.

An active train of ants, nearly resembling an ordi-
nary harvesting train, led from the entrance of one
nest to that of another lower down the slope, and
fifteen feet distant ; but on closer examination it
appeared that though the great mass of seed-bearers

HARVESTING ANTS. 39

were travelling towards the upper nest, some few
were going in the opposite dii-ection and making for
the lower. Besides this, at intervals, combats might
be seen taking place, one ant seizing the free end of a
seed carried by another, and endeavouring to wrench
it away, and then frequently, as neither would let go,
the stronger ant would drag seed and opponent to-
wards its nest. At times other ants would interfere
and seize one of the combatants and endeavour to
drag it away, this often resulting in terrible mutila-
tions, and especially in the loss of the abdomen,
which would be torn off while the jaws of the victim
retained their indomitable bull-dog grip upon the
seed. Then the victor might be seen dragging away
his prize, while its adversary, though now little more
than a head and legs, offered a vigorous though of
course ineffectual resistance. I frequently observed
that the ants during these conflicts would endeavour
to seize one another's antennae, and that if this were
effected, the ant thus assaulted would instantly re-
lease his hold, whether of seed or adversary, and
appear utterly discomfited. Ko doubt the antennae
are their most sensitive parts, and injuries inflicted
on these organs cause the greatest pain.

It was not until I had watched this scene for some
days that I apprehended its true meaning, and dis-
covered that the ants of the upper nest were robbing
the granaries of the lower, while the latter tried to
recover the stolen seeds both by fighting for them and
by stealing seeds in their turn from the nest of their
oppressors. The thieves, however, were evidently
the stronger, and streams of ants laden with seeds
arrived safely at the upper nest, while close observa-
tion showed that very few seeds were successfully

40 HARVESTING ANTS.

carried on tlie reverse journey into the lower and
plundered nest.

Thus when I fixed my attention on one of these
robbed ants surreptitiously making its exit with the
seed from the thieves' nest, and having overcome the
opposition and dangers met with on its way, reaching
after a journey which took six minutes to accomplish,
the entrance to its own home, I saw that it was
violently deprived of its burden by a guard of ants
stationed there apparently for the purpose, one of
whom instantly started off and carried the seed all
the way back again to the upper nest.

This I saw repeated several times.

After March 4 I never saw any acts of hostility
between these nests, though the robbed nest was not
abandoned. In another case of the same kind, how-
ever, where the struggle lasted thirty-one days, the
robbed nest was at length completely abandoned, and
on opening it I found all the granaries empty with one
single exception, and this one was pierced by tlie
matted roots of grasses and other plants, and must
therefore have been long neglected by the ants.
Strangely enough, not one of the seeds in this de-
serted granary showed traces of germination.

No doubt some very pressing need is the cause of
these sj^stematic raids in searcli of accumulations of
seeds, and there can be little doubt that the require-
ments of distinct colonies of ants of the same species
are often different even at the same season and date.
Thus these warring colonies of ants were active on
many days when the majority of the nests were com-
pletely closed ; and I have even seen these robbers
staggering along, enfeebled by the cold, and in wind
and rain, when all other ants were safe below ground.

HARVESTING ANTS, 41

It may be that unusual exertions are necessitated by
some exceptional demands made by the condition of
the larvae of the v/inge(i male and female ants, and I
have observed that these latter appear at very various
periods. Thus I have seen winged males and females
in the nests of Barbara on November 10, December 6,
Februar}^ 2, and March 10 ; and in those of structor
on February 23, 29, March 13, and April G.

Though structor and fjartjara make seed collecting
the business of their lives, they will, at least in times
of scarcity, eagerlj^ devour animal food if it happen to
fall in their way, and in the harvesting trains a few
ants may occasionally be seen carrying small dead in-
sects and the like. Once I threw a dead grasshopper
down close to a nest of barbara ; it was immediately
seized upon, and — after strenuous efforts had been made
to dismember it above ground, some ants straining
back the lejjs and wins^s, while others rushed in to
gnaw at the muscles wdiere the tension was greatest, —
carried down below. On the following morning the
wings of the grasshopper were to be seen on the
rubbish heap in front of the nest. Dead house-flies
and the larvse of bees or wasps were at times readily
devoured by my captive ants {barbara). I have also
seen large numbers of strudors engaged in picking the
bones of a dead lizard, and was once a witness of the
following singular contest between a soft-bodied,
smooth, greyish caterpillar, exactly an inch in length,
and two medium- sized barbara ants. The ants were
mere pigmies in comparison of their pre}^, for as such
I believe they regarded the caterpillar, but they
gripped its soft body with set mandibles, showing
the most savage determination not to loose their hold.

"When I first detected the group the war was being

42 HAR VESTING A NTS.

waged in a tuft of grass over one of the entrances to
the ants' nest, and the caterpillar was striding along
the leaves, or thrusting itself between the culms in
the hope to shake off or brush away its little persecu-
tors. lYom time to time the caterpillar would turn
viciously round and endeavour to pluck away its
assailants, but though it actually succeeded in strip-
ping off by means of its forelegs and mouth five of
the six legs of one of the ants which was within its
reach, they never once released their hold.

At length a chance movement of mine shook the
grass leaf on which they were, and ants and cater-
pillar rolled together down a steep and rocky slope to
about four feet distant. They tumbled over and over
several times, but still the ants gripped their prey as
firmly as ever.

The last endeavour of the giant victim was to rub
off the ants b}^ burrowing into the soil, but on un-
covering its retreat, I saw that their positions were still
the same. After watching this struggle for twenty
minutes, time failed me, and I returned home, carrying
with me, however, the combatants ; and when on
my return I opened the box in which they were im-
prisoned, these bull-dog ants were clinging with man-
dibles locked as firmly as ever, and now as I write,
in death they are clinging still, drowned in a sea of
spirits of wine.

During the winter and spring I kept two colonies
of harbara captive in the house, placed in separate
glass jars, each of which might perhaps hold half a
gallon. The former of these colonies was taken on
December 18 ; but neither the queen ant nor larvae
were found, though there probably were larva3 in some

HA R VESTING ANTS. 43

unexplored part of the nest, and the ants were always
restless and miserable, unceasingly trying to escape,
and dying in large numbers.

On February 12 I found that all these ants, though
abundantl}^ supplied with seeds and all other kinds
of food, were dead. Two other colonies of ants,
however, which had been taken in a torpid state in
the masses of earth which formed part of tlie original
nest, were alive and well, though still torpid.

The second captive colony, taken on December
28, with the wingless queen ant and quantities of
larvae, formed a strong contrast with the previous
one. Here the ants at once set to work upon the
construction of galleries and safety places for the
larvae below the even surface of garden mould on
which I had placed them within the jar; for in this
case I did not attempt to preserve any portion of
their own nest. This was done at 3.80 p.m., and by
9 that evening I found the ants most busily at work,
having in less than six hours excavated eight deep
orifices leading to galleries below, and surrounded these
orifices by crater-like heaps, made of the earth pellets
which they had thrown out. I have observed some-
what similar structures raised b}^ harhara after the
nests have been closed on account of rain, -dMi^strucior
frequently raises still more elaborate and distinct
craters, such as those represented at Fig. B, Plate II.,
p. 22 (reduced one-halt).

On the following morning the openings were ten
in number, and tlie greatly increased heaps of ex-
cavated earth showed that they must probably have
been at work all night. The amount of work done
in this short time was truly surprising, for it must

44 HARVESTING ANTS.

be remembered tliat, eighteen hours before, the
earth presented a perfectly level surface, and the
larvae and ants, now housed below, found themselves
prisoners in a strange place, bounded by glass walls,
and with no exit possible.

It seems to me that the ants displayed extra-
ordinary intelligence in having thus at a moment's
notice devised a j)lan by which the superabundant
number of workers could be employed at one time
without coming in one another's way. The soil
contained in the jar was of course less than a tenth
part of that comprised within the limits of an or-
dinary nest, while the number of workers was pro-
bably more than a third of the total number belonging
to the colony. If therefore but one or two entrances
had been pierced in the soil, the workers would have
been for ever running against one another, and a
great number could never have got below to help in
the all-important task of preparing passages and
chambers for the accommodation of the larvie. These
numerous and funnel-shaped entrances admitted of
the simultaneous descent and ascent of large numbers
of ants, and the work progressed with proportionate
rapidity. After a few days only three entrances, and
eventually'' only one remained open. Yet for weeks
this active work went on, and the ants brought up
such quantities of earth from below that it became
difficult to prevent them from choking up the bottle
containing their water, which they repeatedly buried
up to the neck. On January 10 the surface of the
earth was raised from an inch and a half at its
lowest, to three inches at its highest point above
its original level, and this ])ulk of excavated earth

.BA R VESTING ANTS. 45

represented the amount of space contained in their
galleries and chambers constructed below. Tt was
not, ho^vever, until nineteen daj's after their capture
that the ants began to form systematic trains to carry
down the seeds which I placed for them on the
surface, and I suppose that they had required this
time for the construction and consolidation of the
granary chambers. From this time forward the
ants came out repeatedly in greater or less force to
gather in the various seeds with which I supplied
them. Indeed, throughout the whole of their cap-
tivity they seemed to be perfectly contented with their
lot and free from disease, remarkably few ants dying
or appearing feeble, and as far as the limited space
would permit they reproduced most of the habits
Avhich I had noted as belonging to them in a wild
state, .such as the formation of a rubbish heap ;
bringing out refuse materials, gnawed and empty
seed-coats, the ends of radicles, and root fibres which
had penetrated their nest, and laying sprouted seeds
in the air to dry after having gnawed off the radicle
in order to arrest their growth.

I was also in this way able to see for myself much
that I otherwise could not have seen. Thus I was
able to watch the operation of removing roots which
had pierced through their galleries, belonging to
seedling plants growing on the surface, and wdiich
was performed by two ants, one pulling at the free
end of the root, and the other gnawing at its fibres
where the strain was greatest, until at length it gave
way. Again the habit of throwing sick and appa-
rently dead ants into the water, the object of which
was in part, I imagine, to be rid of them, and partly

46 HARVESTING ANTS.

perhaps with a view to effecting a possible cure, for
I have seen one ant carry anotlier down the twig
which formed their path to the surface of the water,
and, after dipping it in for a minute, carry it labo-
riously up again, and lay it in the sun to dry and
recover ; thirdly, the stripping off the ccats and
husks of seed and grain swelling and on the point
of sprouting, previous to eating it ; and finally, the
actual eating of the contents of the seed.

Most of these operations are usually performed below
ground, and even in my captive nest it was but rarely
that I could get a glimpse of their subterranean life,
as they avoided the glass as much as possible, though
it was carefully covered with flannel and black paper ;
and it was only by having the nest constantly before
me on my table, and thus becoming a witness of their
operations day and night during four months, that I
detected them in positions which permitted me to
watch these actions of theirs.

The ants were in the habit of coming out in num-
bers of an evening to enjoy the warmth and light of
my lamp, and it was on one of these occasions that I
first observed them in the act of eating. I perceived
that in the midst of the black mass of ants gathered
together on the side of the glass jar one was holding
up a white roundish mass about as big as a large pin's
head. Having turned a stream of bright light passed
through a condenser on this group, and being per-
mitted by the ants to make free use of my pocket lens,
I was able to see the details with great precision. The
white mass appeared to be the floury portion of a grain
of millet, and I could see that two or three ants at a
time would scrape off" minute particles with their

HARVESTING ANTS. 47

toothed mandibles, and take them into their mouths, re-
peating the operation many times, before giving place
to other ants, and often returning again. It certainly
appeared to be a botidjide meal that they were making,
and not merely an act performed for the benefit of the
larvse, as when they detach crumbs from a piece of
bread and carry tliem below into the nest. However,
I must own that, though I subsequently dissected
ants taken in tliis act, which I suppose to be that of
eating, I was unable by the use of the iodine test to
^detect starch grains in their stomachs.

Still it seems quite possible that this failure may
have been due to my not having allowed the ants
sufficient time to swallow their food, as I killed them
almost immediately after disturbing them at their
meal.

After having twice observed the ants eating as
above described, I made some experiments in feeding
them myself.

They immediately seized and set to work upon a
minute ball of flour which I cut out from the centre
of a grain of millet, taken from a heap in front of a
nest of A. structor, which had begun to sprout and
been deprived of its radicle and dried. A similar ball
taken from a sprouting grain of millet, but the growth
of which had not been arrested, was also partially
eaten ; but the hard, dry flour taken from a grain of
the same in its natural state, not moistened, was at
once rejected and thrown on the rubbish heap. The
fat, oily seed leaves of the hemp, however, were eagerly
taken, though not softened by water, their peculiar
texture allowing the ants to scrape off" f)articles, as in
the case of the ball of flour of the sprouted millet.

4S HARVESTING ANTS.

Under ordinary circumstances the hard shell of the
hemp-seed, and the coats of most other small fruits,
grain, and seeds, would prevent the ants from getting
at the contents while dry, but in the earliest stage of
sprouting the shell parts of itself, allowing the radicle
to protrude, and then they find their opportunity. (See
Figs. A, A 2, Plate VI., p. 35.)

It has always been siipposed that ants, from the
delicate nature of their mouth organs, were only able
to lap up liquids or to swallow very soft animal tissues,
and one of the great difficulties in the way of admit-
ting that they might collect seeds for food, lay in the
apparent impossibility of their eating such hard sub-
stances. But it has generally been overlooked that
not only are all seeds soft when moistened with water
and ready to grow, but also that there are certain
kinds of seeds the contents of which are naturally
soft.

The most important organs in an ant's mouth are
shown in Fig. D 2, and D 3, in Plate I., p. 21 . D 3 re-
presents one of the horny, toothed mandibles, which
serve admirably for scraping off particles of flour from
the seeds. Within these are the parts shown at D 2,
where the outermost pieces are the maxillae and their
four-jointed palpi or feelers, and the innermost piece
the labium and its three-jointed palpi, between which
the end of the delicate membranous tongue appears.

I repeatedly placed leaves from the orange trees
covered with cocci and aphides from rose-bushes and
pine trees, all of which are eagerly sought by several
other kinds of ants, in the captive nest, but the ants
never looked twice at them, and this corresponds with
the fact that I have never seen either strudor or

HARVESTING ANTS. 49

harhara attending on or searching for apliides and the
like. These captives took part of a small quantity of
honey which I placed in the nest, but displayed no
eagerness about it, and soon neglected and allowed it
to be covered up with earth thrown out from the nest.

Tlie ants work very frequently at night during
the dark,* and this is the case in the wild as well
as in the captive nests. A friend, at my request
twice visited a nest of sfructor ants in the garden of an
hotel at Mentone, when it was quite dark (in March,
between seven and eight o'clock p.m.) and no moon,
but the light of a candle showed that the workers,
both large and small, were busily engaged in carrying
into the nest seeds which had been purposely scattered
in their neighbourhood. I have myself seen Pheidole
mcgacephala similarly engaged at about nine p.m. on
a warm night in April, when it was perfectly dark,
not even the stars showing ; but in this case the ants
were collecting from the weeds in the garden. On the
same occasion I also observed long and active trains
r)f Formica emargitiaia [a rather small dusky ant, with
a yellow thorax], making for the orange-trees in search
of cocci and apliides, just as if it were broad day.

Before leaving Mentone, on May 1, T turned out
this second captive nest, and found that the colony
appeared perfectly healthy, and did not seem to have
diminished materially in numbers. The queen ant
and the larvse seemed to be in just the same state as
when they were taken. The earth in the lower part
of the jar was honeycombed with galleries, granaries,

* This beara out the much-questioned assertion of Aristotle, though he
only claimed that ants work "by night when the moon is at the full." — H'st.
Anim., lib. ix. cap. xxvi.

50 HARVESTING ANTS.

and cells, constructed quite as in the wild nests, but
more crowded together. Tlie granaries were in many
instances full of seeds, which, though very wet, [the
surrounding soil being extremely moist on account of
there being no drainage to carry off the water which
I was obliged to sprinkle from time to time over the
surface of the nest], still showed no trace of germination
that I could detect. The ants were therefore able to
exercise the same influence over these seeds, under
the strange conditions of their captive state, that
they do in their natural homes.

The foregoing remarks, as has been stated above,
refer for the most part to only one of the three
kinds of harvesting ants which I have observed on
the Eiviera — that is to say, to Af/a larhara, the jet-
black ant.

As far as the manner of collectino: and storinij the
seed is concerned, all that has been said of Atta
harhara applies with equal truth to A. stnictor.

A. structor is, however, less frequently seen above
ground from December to March than barhara, and
is more frequently found in or near the streets and
gardens of a town.

The fourth species, on the other hand, the little
Pheidole megacepliala, differs in several particulars. This
ant appears to shun the daylight, and to be most active
at night, when, in the warm weather at the end of
April, it may frequently be seen carrying large quan-
tities of seeds into its nest. I have rarely observed
it at work in the daylight, so that my knowledge of
its habits is but small. Nor have I succeeded in dis-
covering its subterranean granaries, though I have
opened several nests. Still, I believe that it is a

HARVESTING ANTS. 51

true harvesting ant, and not merely a casual collector of"
seeds. Of the habits o^ P//cidoIe paUldida, a very closely
allied and similar species, but one less frequently met
with, I cannot speak with certainty, though it is
quite possible that it also may be a true harvester, in
which case it would add a fifth species to this class.

Both Pheidole megacephcda and Ph. paUidula appear
to remain inactive, or nearly so, during the mouths
from November to April, and it is probable that they
are only to be seen in full activity during the sum-
mer when I am not there to watch them.

There can be little doubt that any naturalist who
will take the pains to note the habits of ants on the
shores of the Mediterranean through June, July,
August, and September, might collect a most inte-
resting series of observations on harvesting and other
species, and add to, and perhaps modify, those
which my limited opportunities have enabled me to
make.

There are three other ants* — namely, Formica emar-
glnata, F.faaca, and Myrmica caspitmn, which may also
occasionally be found carrying a few seeds, but this is
tlie rare exception, as far as my experience goes,
these species living on honey dew, sweet secretions,
and animal matter, like the great majority of ants all
over the world. I have never found seeds in the
nests of any ants except those of Atta harbara and
A. slrudor, though I have carefully searched for them
in most of the nests of the sixteen species of ants
whose habits I have watched.

* For some details of the habits of the sixteen species of ants observed on
the Riviera, see Appeudix A.

E 2

62 HABVESTINO ANTS.

There is every probability that these harvesting'
ants will be found all round the shores of the Medi-
terranean, but the only points at which I have posi-
tively heard of the existence of the habit besides Men-
tone, Cannes, and Marseilles, are Capri* and Algiers.
I am indebted to Miss Forster for having, during a
short visit to Algiers, devoted some time to watching
the habits of the ants in a garden at that place.
These observations were made in April last (IS 72),
when the three following species were watched : —

(1) Formica {Catcu/I/jpJiis) viatica, a large, long-legged,
blackish ant, with orange-red and semi-transparent
thorax, which never carried seeds, but lived on animal
food, especially flies. (2) Formica {Tapinoma) nigerrima,\
a rather small dusky ant, which brought in some seeds
to its nest, but principally " animal food, flies, small
worms," &c., and which did not carry the hemp and
canary seed strewed in their path, though on one occa-
sion when Miss Forster scattered some split hemp seed,
they eagerly fastened upon the contents, and ate some
on the spot, while they transjDorted the greater part to
their nest, and (3) Atta harbara, which, as on the
Hiviera, was a true and most active harvester, and
eagerly seized upon the hemp and canary seed when
these were placed in its way.

Recapitulation and Concluding Remarks.

There are some points of interest suggesting open-
ings for future observation, to which I will now allude,

* Where a harvester, probably AUa harbara, has been observed by Mr.
Buchanan White. See Appendix C.

t Mr. Smith thinks that this ant is either F. nigerrima, of Nyhander, or a
new species, but it was not possible for him to pronounce with absolute
certainty as he had only two specimens of workers from which to judge.

HARVESTING ANTS. 53

making at the same time a partial recapitulation of
what has gone before.

We have learned in the first place that the ancients
had facts on their side when they said that the ant is
one of the very few creatures which lays up supplies
of food sufficient to last for months, or even perhaps,
as Bochart says, for a whole year ; and though we
cannot quite accept the statement that " there is no
animal except men, mice, and ants, that stores its
food,"* they were right in sajdng that the habit is a
most singular and interesting one. It is probable,
however, that the old writers may have fallen into
the error of supposing that all ants were harvesters,
though the truth appears to be, that even in hot
climates, it is only a very small number of species
that are so. The fact that certain ants in Southern
Europe do store large quantities of sound seed in
damp soil, and check their tendency to germinate,
may be thought to favour the possibility of the exis-
tence of those deeply hidden supplies of seed which,
though they have never been detected, are popularly
supposed to explain the sudden appearance of the
crops of weeds on soil newly brought out from great
depths.

The argument may be stated thus : seeds remain
for months undecayed, and still capable of germination,
at depths varying from one to twenty inches below
the surface of the soil in certain ants' nests, why
should they not lie hidden for indefinite periods in
ordinary soil?

To answer this positively, experiments should be

* Soiihian, quoted by Bochart in his Hierozoicon, ii. cap. xxi. p. 497.

54 HARVESTING ANTS.

made* in order that we might learn whether these
seeds can retain their vitality without sprouting in
moist soil ; but the general belief is that under these
conditions thej will do one of two things, they will
either grow or rot. Be this as it may, one of the
most curious points that we have learned about these
ants, is that they know how to preserve seeds intact,
even when within from one to three inches of the
surface of the ground, that is to say, at the actual
depth at which a gardener most frequently sows his
seeds, though if these very seeds are taken out of the
granary and sowed by hand, they will germinate in
the ordinary way. It is possible that this may be in
part due to the compact nature of the floors and
ceilings of the granaries, these excluding air in some
measure, though as moisture freely passes through
them, and there are always two or three open galleries
leading into tlie granaries, and which communicate
directly with the open air, I can scarcely accept this
explanation as complete.

The seeds do occasionally sprout in tlie nest, though
it is extremely rare to find instances of this, and then
the ants nip off the little root, and carry each seed
out into the air and sun, exactly as the old writers
have described, and when the growth has been checked
and the seed malted by exposure, the}^ fetch them in

* In order to try the experiment fairly, seeds taken from ants' nests, or
seeds of the same species as those which are habitually found in ants' nests,
should be placed at different depths in the earth and examined after the
lapse of six or eight mouths.

Why it is that certain seeds resist the influences which destroy the vitality
of other seeds of closely allied species is another and a very curious but
coniplic£ited problem, the explanation of which may perhajjs lie in the
different chemical 2)roperties of the seeds in question, in the more or less
permeal'le character of their seed-coats, or their general texture.

HA R VESTING A NTS. 55

again. It is in this condition that the ants like best
to eat them, as I have proved by experiments among
my captives.

As the ants often travel some distance from their
nest in search of food, they may certainly be said to
be, in a limited sense, agents in the dispersal of seeds,
for they not unfrequently drop seeds by the way,
wliicli they fail to find again, and also among the
refuse matter which forms the kitchen midden in
front of their entrances, a few sound seeds are often
present, and these in many instances grow up and
form a little colony of stranger plants. This presence
of seedlings foreign to the wild ground in which the
nest is usually placed, is quite a feature where there
are old established colonies oi Atta barbara, as is shown
at Fig. A in Plate 1., p. 21, where young plants of
fumitory, chickweed, cranesbill, Arabis ThaUana, &c.,
may be seen on or near the rubbish heap.

It would be interesting to make a list of all these
ant-imported plants, and I think it quite likely that,
if a sufficiently large number of nests were visited,
some seedlings of cultivated species might be found
amongst them, for we have seen that garden plants
are frequently put under contribution.

One can imagine cases in which the ants during the
lapse of long periods of time might pass the seeds of
plants from colony to colony, until alter a journey of
many stages, the descendants of the ant-borne seedlings
might find themselves transported to places far removed
from the original home of their immediate ancestors. It
is a true cause, but at the same time it may be one which
has, like many true causes, exceedingly small effects.
One can scarcely look at the teeming population of an

5(i HARVESTING ANTS.

ant's nest, without asking whether there are any
checks to their increase, and if so, what these checks are.
I know ver}^ little of what foreign enemies they may
have, though I have occasionally seen them captured
by lizards, Cicindela beetles, and spiders,* and it is
well known that the females are eagerly sought for
b}^ birds at the season when they are above ground,
and about to found new colonies ; but I believe that
ants are the ants' worst enemies, for fearful slaugh-
ter and mutilation often result from the encounter of
armies of the same race, but belonging to different
nests.

Harvesting ants have nothing to do, as far as
I have been able to discover, with aphides, cocci,
and the like, nor do they seek for any of those
sweet secretions which are the staple food of the
generality of ants ; they live, however, on very
friendly terms with certain yellowish-white and
satiny-coated " silver-fish " {Lepisma), which are found
in the passages and chambers of the nests ; but
what their relations are to these creatures and to
certain beetles which have been found in the nests of
Atta harhara in Spain and Syria is unknown. It is
possible that by carefulty watching captive ants in
company with these creatures under very favourable
conditions, something further might be learned on
this head. My captive ants constructed all their

* I have seen tlie remains of ants at the bottom of the tube of trap-door
sijitler nests, and watched a hunting sjiider, Lycosa, capture a large black
ant [Formica xjubcscens) , by entangling it in threads, which it deftly spun
about its limbs, while running rapidly r^und the struggling victim in a
circle, and dodging out of the way of the ant's mandibles. In England
one may frequently see ants caught in the spiders' webs among the rose-
bushes, and Mr. Blackwall says, in his Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland,
that Theridion riparium lives principally on ants.

HARVESTING ANTS. 57

chambers, granaries, and almost all their galleries
away from the glass, and in the interior of the earth,
though I tried to tempt them to work in parts more
accessible to sight by swathing the jar in flannel.

There is much to be learned, I do not doubt, about
the friends and enemies of harvesting ants ; and an-
other great desideratum is further information as to
the parts of the world in which they are found and
what causes may be assigned for the limitation of the
habit.

What is the geographical distribution of the har-
vesting species, and what the geographical distribution,
of the habit? For instance, to quote Mr. F. Smith,*
jitfa structor, though not " found in England, is scat-
tered over a great part of Europe, having occurred in
France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Dalmatia, and Swit-
zerland ; it has also been found in Algeria" and Syria ;
and A. harhara is almost as widely spread. May we then
conclude that these species are harvesters wherever they
are found, and that they store seed in Germany and
Switzerland as freely as they do on the shores of the
Mediterranean? If this be really so, then Huber, whose
attention was specially directed to this point, and a host
of laborious and scrupulous observers of the Continent,
have had the very fact under their eyes, though they
have been at considerable pains expressly to deny it.
I cannot think that this is likely, but it is a matter
Nvhich could easily be settled by those who travel or
reside in Germany, Northern France, or Switzerland.

It seems to me more probable, however, that tliey
do store in the south, but not in the north ; for all the

* Mr. F. Smith, On Some New Species of Ants from the Holy Laud, in
Jouru. Linnean Soc, London, vol. vi. p. 35.

58 HARYESTIXG ANTS.

difficulties wliicli attend the preservation of the seed
in the granaries in the south would be greatly in-
creased in the wet climates of Northern Europe, and
there, moreover, the greater cold would render the
ants torpid almost throughout the winter, when food
would not be required. But the question is plainly
an open one. We may also ask why it is that only
a very few out of the many species of ants which
inhabit the shores of the Mediterranean should
possess this habit of collecting seeds, and differ so
widely in their manner of living, from their neigh-
bours ?

If we wish to put ourselves in the way to answer
these queries, the first thing we should do would be
to examine and compare tlie structure of the digestive
organs and parts of the mouth in harvesters and non-
harvesters, with a view to seeing whether there may
not be some capital difference here.

These observations demand some skill in dissection
and preparation, and in regretting that it has not
been in my power to make them, I can only hope
that some one more skilled than I am may undertake
the subject.

It seems probable, that in warmer latitudes
there are many conditions which favour the rapid
increase of ants, so that a given tract of country
in Southern Europe, for example, must have on an
average more colonies to support than a similar
tract in the north, and that to meet this increase of
population, it has therefore become necessary for these
creatures to seek their subsistence from as many and
as dissimilar sources as possible. The fierce conflicts
over booty both between rival nests of the same and

HA R VESTIXG A NTS. 59

of distinct species, tend to show tliat, even as things
are, the}'" frequently have to fight for their food.

Hitherto, as far as I have been able to learn, only
nineteen true harvesting ants have been detected in
the whole world, limiting this term to those species
which make the collection of seeds the principal occu-
pation of their outdoor lives, and are evidently in the
main dependent upon this kind of food for subsis-
tence.

Now if we compare these nineteen species of ants*
together a very curious fact forces itself upon our
notice — namely, that all of them are closely related,
so much so that not only do all belong to the same
division of ants (the tribe MyrmicinecB), but that with
one exception {Pseudou/t/rma) all would have been
jDlaced by the great Fabricius in one genus, Atfa, and
the one exception is not far removed from it.

We must not forget, however, that, as has been
stated, there are other ants which do occasionally
collect seeds, and thus appear to show traces of this
remarkable instinct ; but as far as I have yet seen, it
is always possible to distinguish them readily from true
harvesters. Still I think it verj^ likely that in hot
climates the division between harvesters and non-
harvesters may be bridged over by a complete chain
of intermediates. Here two more questions suggest
themselves for more complete future solution. (1)
Do true harvesters which store seed in granaries ever

* These 2ire Myrmica (Atta) harhata, from Texas and Mexico; (Ecohma
{Atta) cephalotcs, fiom Brazil and Mexico ; CEcodoina (Atfa) proridens, from
India ; (Ecodoma (Atta) dijusa, from India; Atta rufa, from India; Pheidole
{^Atia) megacephala, from South France; Atta harbara, from South France,
Capri, and Algiers ; Atta structor, from South France; and Fseiidomyrma
ru/oni(/ra, from India.

60 HA R VESTING A NTS.

attend upon aphides and seek for sweet secretions ?
(2) Do occasional harvesters ever form granaries ?

In any case the name of " the provident one "
is only, I suspect, fully deserved by a limited number
of ants, and ^Esop, in his well-known fable, might
as properly have made the dialogue which ends in
the recommendation to " dance in winter as he piped
in summer," take place between two ants as between
an ant and a grasshopper, as far at least as their
respective foresight is concerned.

Why it is that one ant should require stores of
food in the winter of which other ants have no need,
is one of the many problems which only patient
watching and careful comparison and experiment
can help us to solve.

There are not wanting those among the many
winter visitors of the south who have time in abun-
dance or superabundance at their disposal, and might
help to clear up these and many other mysteries,
and to them I would strongly recommend the study
of the habits of plants and animals as a pastime, if
nothing more.

The way is open : it is not difficult to follow, and
it leads to very pleasant places.

APPENDIX.

The following are the species of ants which I have observed
on the Riviera, and principally at Mentone ; the actual locality
where my notes were taken being given in every case.

Family Formicidce.*

Tribe Formicinece. — Petiole (or stalk which unites the
thorax and the abdomen) of one joint, and furnished with a
single vertical scale, abdomen not contracted.

(1) Formica fusca, Linn. — A rather large ant (.3 J to 4|
lines long), of a blackish ash colour, with a satiny sheen on
the upper half of the abdomen. Smells of formic acid when
crushed. Lives upon sweet secretions and animal matter,
and occasionally carries a very few seeds into its nest, which
is made in the ground. (Mentone.)

(2) F. emarginata, Latr. — Of medium size (2^ lines),
brownish, with yellow thorax. Has a strong smell of honey
when crushed. Lives principally upon sweet secretions, but
occasionally carries a very few seeds also. Nest in the ground.
(Mentone.)

(3) F. (Camponotus) cruentata, Lat. — Large (5 to 6 lines),
dusky brown, with orange red on legs and abdomen. Strong
smell of formic acid. Lives on sweet secretions and animal

* Ants have been divided iuto three tribes, the two first of which,
Formicinece and Ponerinece, are distinguished by the latter having a contrac-
tion in the abdomen not found in the former, and both are separated from
the third tribe, Myrmicinece by having but a single scale on the petiole,
while in Mi/rmicinece there are always two nodes or protuberances on the
petiole. It is important to remember the difference between the first and
the last named tribes, as we shall find that all the true harvesters belong
to Mijrmicinece. I have not seen any of the representatives of the second
tribe in the south.

62 HARVESTING ANTS.

matter, and has never been seen by me carrying seeds. Nest
in the ground. (Mentone and Cannes.)

(4) F. (Camponotus) marginata, Latr. — Large (i to 5^
lines), black. Has no perceptible smell even when crushed.
Lives principally on sweet secretions, and does not bring in
seeds to its nest, which is made in the ground. I have seen
this ant at Cannes ascending the cork oaks in search of certain
cocci which resemble black and shining berries rather larger
than a pea, and which exude sweet secretions. (Mentone
and Cannes.)

(5) Formica cursor, Fonscol. — A rather large but slender
ant (8 to 4 lines long), nearly black, with a faint bronzy hue,
legs very long. Smell not noted. Runs very swiftly, and is
hard to catch ; feeds on sweet secretions, and does not carry
seeds. Nest in ground. (Cannes.)

(6) F. (species undetermined). — A large ant (5 to 6^ lines),
black brown with yellow thorax and legs. In shape resembles
F. onarginata. Strong smell of formic acid. Habits not
observed. Nest found under a stone in a pine wood. (Cannes.)

(7) F. (species undetermined). — A rather large ant (3 to
4^ lines), resembling F.fusca, but having the thorax yellow.
Strong smell of formic acid. Feeds on sweet secretions, and
does not carry seeds. Nest in ground. (Cannes.)

(8) Forraicob {Tapinomo) erratlca, Latr. — Rather small
(2 lines), nearly black. Has a strong and most disagreeable
smell, something like rancid oil, which is emitted if the nest
is disturbed or the insect crushed. Lives upon sweet secre-
tions and animal matter, but rarely if ever carries seeds, and
paj s no attention to them if placed in its path- It nests in
the ground, and forms superficial covered ways, roofed in with
a thin crust of earth and vegetable fibres cemented together.
(Mentone, Cannes.)

Tribe Myrmicinece. Petiole two jointed, furnished with
two nodes (protuberances).

(9) Crematogaster {Myrmica) scutellaris, Oliv. — Of
medium size (3| to 4 lines), nearly black, with yellowish red
head. Disagreeable smell like rancid oil when crushed.
Erects the abdomen when excited, and runs about with it
turned up at right angles to the body. Lives on sweet secre-

APPENDIX. 63

tions, and does not carry seeds. When dissecting the abdo-
men of this ant, I noticed that in freshly killed specimens a
drop of poison appears at the extremity of the sting, which
if brushed away will form again several times in succession.
Nest in the bark and wood of sick or decayed trees. (Men-
tone and Cannes.)

(10) C. sordidulus, Mayr. — Very small (1| to 2 lines),
reseml)les C. scutellaris, but is uniformly black brown. No
perceptible smell. Lives on sweet secretions, and may fre-
quently be seen inside flowers. Nest in earth. Behaves like
C. scutellaris when excited. (Mentone and Cannes.)

(11) Myrmica ccespitwrn, Latr. — Small (2 lines), brown.
Faint smell like peat smoke. Feeds on animal food and sweet
secretions, and may occasionally be seen collecting and carrying
in seeds. Nest in the ground. (Mentone and Cannes.)

(12) Pheidole {Atta or Myrmica) megacei:)hala. — Very small
(1|- to 2 lines), yellow, the larger workers having enormous
heads. Smell very peculiar, and a trifle like aniseed when
crushed. Appears to be a true harvester, and not to seek for
sweet secretions. Nest in ground. (Mentone and Cannes.)

(18) Ph. {Atta or Myrmica) pallidula. — Very small (1^
lines), pale yellow, closely resembles Ph. megacephala, but is
paler and more transparent, and the larger workers have less
disproportionate heads. Smell not noted. Habits not fully
observed. Nest in ground. (Mentone.)

(14) Atta {Aphenogaster or Myrmica) structor. — E,ather
large (2 to 4 lines), of a claret brown. No smell when crushed.
A true harvester, and does not appear to seek for sweet
secretions, though it will occasionally take animal food. Nest
in ground or under stones. (Mentone and Cannes.)

(15) Atta. {Aph. or Myrmica) harhara. — Rather large
(2 to 4 lines), jet black. No smell when crushed. Habits of
strudor. Nest in earth, and more frequently in uncultivated
ground. I have twice seen a few ants coloured like structor
in colonies of harhara. (Mentone, Cannes, and Marseilles.)

(16) Atta {Aph. or Myrmica) harhara var. — A large ant (3
to 6 lines). The larger workers black, witli red or mahogany-
coloured heads, the smaller most frequently black, and like
those of Atta harhara, of wliich this is probably only a

64 HARVEST FNG ANTS.

variety. It differs however in its smell, which, when the
body is crushed, resembles that of Pheidole Tnegacephala,
and is something like aniseed. Habits of structor and
barhara. Nest in earth. On one occasion I opened a large
nest at Cannes, where the colony was composed in about equal
parts of ants which in colour and appearance might be said
to represent the three forms, structor, barbara, and the red-
headed variety of the latter. There were also a few ants
with pale yellowish brown heads. (Mentone and Cannes.)

B.

The following Indian species are described by the late Dr.
Jerdon as harvesters, in the Madras Journal Lit. and Sc.
1851 :—

(p. 45). Atta rufa. — "Its favourite food is dead insects
and other matter, but it also can-ies off seeds like the (Eco-
dorna, chaff," &c. &c. (p. 46). (Ecodoma providens. — " Their
common food I suspect to be animal matter, dead insects,
&c. &c., which at all events they take readily, but they also
carry off large quantities of seeds of various kinds, especially
light grass seeds, and more especially garden seeds, as every
gardener knows to his cost. They will take off cabbage,
celery, radish, carrot, and tomato seeds, and in some gardens,
unless the pots in which they are sown be suspended or
otherwise protected, the whole of the seeds sown will be re-
moved in one night. I have also had many packets of seeds
(especially lettuce) in my room completely emptied before I
was aware that the ants had discovered them. I do not
know, however, if they eat them or feed their larvae on them,
though for what other purpose they carry them otf I cannot
divine. I have often observed them bring the seeds outside
their holes, as recorded by Colonel Sykes, and this I think
generally at the close of the rainy season ; but in some cases
I had reason to beheve that it was merely the husks, of
which I have seen quite heaps, and that the ants did not take
them back to their nests. If any of the forementioned seeds
be sown out at once in a bed, most likely in the morning the

APPENDIX. 65

surface of the whole spot will be found covered over with little
ridges, the works of these creatures, and the few seeds that
perhaps remain, dug all round, and being carried off sometimes
above ground, at other times under ground. Their galleries
and subterranean passages are often very extensive, and it is
no easy matter to dig down to their nest to see what becomes
of the seeds." (Ecodoma diffusa has the same habits as
(E. providens.

Lieut.-Col. Sykes, Descriptions of New Indian Ants in
Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., i. 103 (1836).

AttOj providens, Sykes. '' In illustration of the habits of
this species of ant, I shall give the following extract from my
diary: — 'Poena, June 19, 1829. In my morning walk I
observed more than a score of little heaps of grass-seeds
(Panicum) in several places on uncultivated land near the
parade-ground ; each heap contained about a handful. On
examination, I found they were raised by the above species
of ant, hundreds of which were employed in bringing up
the seeds to the surface from a store below ; the grain had
probably got wet at the setting in of the monsoon, and the
ants had taken advantage of the first sunn}'^ day to bring it
up to dry. The store must have been laid up from the time
of the ripening of the grass-seeds in January and February.
As I was aware this fact militated against the observations of
entomologists in Europe, I was careful not to deceive myself
by confounding the seeds of a Panicum with the pupae of the
insect. Each ant was charged with a single seed, but as it
was too weighty for many of them, and as the strongest had
some difficulty in scaling the perpendicular sides of the cylin-
drical hole leading to the nest below, many were the falls of
the weaker ants with their burdens from near the summit to
the bottom. I observed they never relaxed their hold, and
with a perseverance affording a useful lesson to humanity,
steadily recommenced the ascent after each successive tum-
ble, nor halted in their labour until they had crowned the
summit, and lodged their burden on the common heap.' "

(p. lOi). " On the 13th of October of the same year,
after the closing thunderstorms of the monsoon, I found
this species in various places similarly employed as they

F

66 HARVESTING ANTS.

had been in June preceding ; one heap contained a double
handful of grass-seeds. It is probable that the Atta pro-
videns is a field species of ant, as I have not observed it
in the houses."

c.

After the appearance of a brief notice of a communication
•which I sent in the winter of 1871-72 to the London Ento-
mological Society, announcing the fact that certain ants harvest
seeds in a systematic way at Mentone, two papers were pub-
lished, in which confirmatory evidence of the existence of the
habit in other parts of the world was set forth — one by Mr.
Buchanan White, and the other by the late Mr. Home.

Mr. Home's account of his observations was published in
Eardwicke's Science Gossip, No. 89, p. 109 (for May 1, 1872),
and runs as follows :* —

" My notes carry me to the far East, where I have often
watched this most interesting class of insects, and briefly
recorded my observations — unfortunately cut short by illness,
and the necessity of return to Europe, which must be my
apology for their want of completeness.

" But before transcribing, I would remind my general reader
that all ants may be seen carrying off food to their nests for
present consumption, and that this food consists of a great
variety of substances. This is disposed of inside the said nest,
being often masticated, and the juice extracted by the workers,
and then given in an inspissated form from their mouths to
the young grubs, which are in general tended by their nurses
with the greatest care. It is indeed very curious to watch
this feeding process ; but to proceed.

" Under date Nov. 7th, 1866, I find in my natural history
note-book as follows : — Mainpuri. This morning as I was
walking across the ' Oosur/ or waste plain, where it was very
sandy, being cut into small ravines, and clothed only here and
there with fine grass disposed in clumps, thus forming little
hillocks of sand blown by the wind, and arrested in its course

* I omit the prelimiuary portion, in which my observations are erroneously
stated to have been made at Nismes and Capri.

APPENDIX. 67

by the grass, I came across a long line of ants, travelling four
deep, some coming empty, and others laden each with one
grass-seed, on their way home.

"I followed up the procession to the nest, which was sub-
terranean, and at the mouth of which on the level plain there
was no trace of elevation caused by the soil brought up from
below, owing to the habit of these ants of taking each grain
of sand to some distance along their road, and depositing it
on one side or the other.

" There may have been five or six entrances to the nest, in
and out of which a prodigious number of ants were passing,
the species of which has been described by Dr. Jerdon. They
were of a medium size, shortish bodies, and of a reddish-brown
colour — Fseudomyrma rufo-nigra, Jerdon. Around the
mouth of the nest, forming a circle of perhaps eighteen inches
in diameter, was a space beaten flat, and kept clear by these
said ants, from which radiated in every direction thirteen roads,
each about four inches in width for about thirty to forty yards,
when they branched off and became narrower, being ultimately
lost amongst the grass roots. These paths were fairly straight;
they did not cut through elevations, but went round them.

" From a careful examination it appeared that they had
been cleared of all obstacles, such as small stones, twigs, &c.,
but that their smoothness resulted only from the tread of
countless feet.

" The bearers of burdens took the seeds into the nest, which
I did not dig up, and certainly stored them there, after having
prepared them, probably by the removal of a portion of the
outer husk. Of these husks there were large collections near
the entrances to the nest, all carefully set aside by the ants.

" In times of famine, I am told, not only are the nests rifled
of their grass-seed stores, but these heaps of apparent husks
are collected and ground with other grain to eke out a
subsistence.

"This kind of grain has a name, 'Jurroon,' derived from
* Jharna,' to sweep, literally sweepings. I much regret that
I have not preserved specimens of this ' Jurroon,' for it is
very unlikely that the ants after taking it to their granary,
should again throw it out, and yet, if grainless, what benefit

F 2

68 HARVESTING ANTS.

could there be in eating it? The season of the year when I
observed them (November) is the beginning of the cold
■weather, and no rain would probably fall (excepting a little at
Christmas) till next May or June. Later on seed would be
rare ; and how the nest fares at a time when floods of water
often pass over the plain I cannot conceive.

" It is clear that some escape, and we know with what pro-
digious rapidity these colonies increase. But these jottings
have been recorded merely to show how this species of ant
store grain against a time of scarcity, and fully bear out the
statement in the text with which I commenced this paper."

The following are Dr. Buchanan White's notes, alluded to
above, published in the Transactions of the Entomological
Society (London, 1872) part i.. Proceedings, p. v. : —

"Capri, June 3, ]866. In the afternoon to the Punta
Tragara, where a colony of ants afforded us much amusement.
These little insects had a regular road, made by cutting away
the grass and other plants in their way. This road was about
one inch and a half wide, and several yards long, and led to
a clump of plants in seed. Along this road a long train of
ants were perpetually travelling to the nest {or formicarium),
bearing with them pods of leguminous plants, seeds of grass
and of Composites [Chrysanth. segetwni), &c.

" The perseverance with which a single ant would tug and
draw a pod four times his own length was very interesting ;
sometimes three or four ants would unite in carrying one
burden. Near the formicarium was a great mass of debris,
consisting of empty pods, twigs, emptied snail shells, &c., cast
out by the ants. The seeds appeared to be stored inside the
nest, as in one that I opened the other day I found a large
collection. The species was a black ant ; the formicarium
was underground."

D.

0)1 Collecting and Bxamining Ants.

There are very few branches of natural history which might
be more easily followed b}' a traveller, or one who fears to

APPENDIX. 69

encumber himself with bulky collectious difficult to transport
from place to place, than the study of ants. The whole
European ant fauna might be adequately represented by
specimens preserved in spirit of wine and packed in the
compass of a hat-box.

In taking specimens of ants it is important never to put
the representatives of more than one nest in each bottle, but
then in most cases a sufficient number may be placed in a
single bottle of the size used for containing the smaller
homoeopathic globules. If possible the winged male and
female ants, as well as the wingless workers, should be secured.

The ants die very quickly in pure spirit of wine, and they
can afterwards, even after the lapse of months or more, be
pinned out in the cabinet after having been washed in warm
water. In examining the mouth organs of an ant in order to
determine by the aid of books to what genus it belongs, it is
best to relax the parts by first washing away the spirit of
wine, and then leaving the specimen for a day or more in a
stopper bottle partly filled with finely chopped laurel leaves.
It is probable that a drop or two of prussic acid on a bit of
sponge might act as efiectually in rendering the tissues pliable,

A compound microscope is necessary for the final examina-
tion of the joints of the labial and maxillary palpi (see Fig.
D 2, Plate I., p. 21); but the neuration of the wing (D 1,
Plate I.), another very important character, is easily detected
with a good pocket-lens.

The works which may most usefully be consulted are, for
France, M. Ny lander's Forinicides de France et d'Algerie,
published in vol. v. of the fourth series of the Zoological
Division of the Annales des Sciences Naturelles ; for Eng-
land, Mr. F. ^unih! ^Catalogue of British Fossorial Hymenop-
tera (L856) ; and for a more general review of the species in
the world at large, Mr. F. Smith's Catalogue of Hymenop-
terous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
Part vi., Formicidce (1858), and M. Mayr's Beitrdge zur
Kenntniss der Ameisen, published in the Verhandlungen
des Zoologisch-botanischen Vereines in Wien, iii. 1853.
Ahhandlangeii (p. lOl).

PART II.

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

PART II.

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

It is now one hundred and sixteen years since
Patrick Browne gave an illustration in his Civil and
Natural History of Jamaica"^ of the nest of a trap-door
spider, the first record of the kind with which I am
acquainted. Seven years later the careful observa-
tions of the Abbe Sauvages appeared,! in which he
gave a very good description of the nests of tlie
" araignee mafonne " {Nemesia ccBmentaria) , which he
discovered near Montpellier, likening them to little
rabbit burrows lined with silk and closed by a tightly-
fitting moveable door. In 1778 and 1794 Eossi |
published an interesting account of the nest and
habits of a trap-door spider which he had observed in
Corsica and near Pisa ; and from that time ujd to the
present day the curious dwellings of these creatures,
many species of which have been discovered in warm
climates, have continued to attract the attention of
naturalists.

Very little, however, has been added to our know-
ledge of the life-history of these remarkable archi-

* p. 420, tab. 44, fig. 3 a. This work was published in London in 175G.
f In Histoire de I'Acad. Eoyale des Sciences (Paris 1763), p. 26-30.
% Rossi (P.), Osservazione Insettologische (Memorie di Matematica e Fisica
della Societa Italiana, vol. iv. (1778), and Fauna Etrusca, vol.ii. (17!'4).

74 TRAPDOOR SPIDERS.

tects for several years past, and, indeed, I think it
may be safely asserted that the study of the habits
and interdependence of the members of the animate
world has not, during the last fifty years, made any-
thing like a corresponding progress to that which
may be seen in classification and description. The
microscope has led many who, a century ago,
would have found their chief delight in observing
those points in the habits and external characters of
living creatures which the naked eye could readily
seize upon, to look much closer, to anatomize and
describe in detail every organism, great and small,
and to examine every tissue and cell.

It is, however, to the materials now being amassed
by these modern " cabinet naturalists" that recourse
must be had if we wish to form a true comprehension
of the functions and habits of living things. They
must tell us, for example, what instruments, tactile
and visual, an animal possesses if we wish to under-
stand how it constructs a particular fabric, so that the
" field naturalist" will have to apply to his brother
of the " cabinet " before he can turn his observations
to good account.

Still, the fact remains that the habits of plants and
animals afibrd many openings for careful investiga-
tion, and such as are especially within the reach of
those lovers of nature who have ample time at their
disposal, and the opportunity to spend it in a warm
climate where life abounds, and is never wholly
checked even in the depth of winter. It seems
strange to think that collectors so frequently take
creatures out of wonderfully constructed nests and yet
never observe, or at any rate never describe, the

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 75

structure of these fabrics. Thus, for example, the
dwellings of only eight out of the thirty-six species
of trap-door spider stated by Prof. Ausserer* to be-
long to the Mediterranean region are known in books,
those of the remaining twenty-eight being, as far as
I have been able to learn, yet to be discovered. This
is the more strange as from the nocturnal habits of
these creatures it is almost always necessary to dig
them out of their nests ; indeed it is more than pro-
bable that if all the dwellings which have been de-
stroyed had been described, the following pages would
never have appeared.

Before proceeding to pass briefly in review what
has been written on the subject of trap-door spiders,
it will be w^ell to take one glance at the relation which
these spiders bear to their fellows. The great order
of spiders {Aranece) has recently! been divided into
seven sub-orders, the fourth of which, Territelaria,
includes all the trap-door spiders, and some others
which do not construct trap-doors. This sub-order
corresponds with that which was formerly called
Mygalidce, but this name, as well as that of Mygahy
originally given to all trap-door spiders, has been
abandoned because this latter name had previously
been applied to a genus of Mammals, and it was
feared that confusion might arise.

The Terriielarice [or underground weavers] are dis-
tinguished from all other spiders by the position of

* Prof. Ausserer (Anton.), Beitriige zurKenntniss der Arachniden Familie
der Territelarise (Mygalidae), iu Verhandlungen der k.k. Zool. But. GescU-
schaft in Wien. Jahrg. 1871, Band xxi.

t Thorell, On European Spiders, in Nova Acta Reg. Soc. Scient. Upsa-
liensis, ser. iii. vol. vii. fasc. 1 and 2 (1869-70).

76 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

their falces,* which have the fang directed downwards,
and move vertically parallel to one another. Thus
when a victim is seized by one of the Territelarits it
receives a downward blow, while other sjjiders strike
sideways, the falces moving in a horizontal or oblique
direction. With very few excej^tions this sub-order
may also be known by the presence of four blotches
of paler colour at the base of the abdomen underneath,
indicating the position of four air-sacs, almost all, or
indeed perhaps all, other spiders having but two.

Certain species of TerritelaricB are the only spiders
known to construct nests closed with a door, and these
creatures must be admitted to rank among the first
of Nature's handicraftsmen and inventors.

The geometrical webs of many common spiders
are very beautiful structures, but these are for the
most part only snares for prey, and not permanent
dwellings, although the cocoons in which the eggs
are placed are often most ingeniously contrived. Thus
in the south we may sometimes find an inverted bal-
loon of strong silk about an inch long attached to
heath and other bushes, which, if examined during
the winter, will be found to contain in its centre a
case enclosing a mass of eggs about one-third the bulk
of the entire cocoon. This inner case is shaped ex-
actly like the outer, and both have a circular silk lid
carefully closed, and the space between the two is
filled with a dense mass of golden-brown silk, which
acts no doubt as an excellent non-conductor. This
cocoon is the work of Epeira fasclata, a species ap-
parently only found in southern Europe.

* Sometimes called mandibles. One of these is rei^resented, enlarged, at
Fig, A 7. in Plate VII., p. 88.

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 77

Other spiders again, such as Theridion* suspend by
a long and delicate cord of silk a minute balloon,
scarcely larger than a seed-pearl, containing their
eggs, which sways to and fro in the lightest breath
of air. But admirable as these cocoons and geo-
metrical snares are, the homes of these and of spiders
generally do not exhibit much contrivance or ingenuity,
or cannot at any rate be ranked in the same category
as those of the trap-door spider. But it may be asked,
why should we admire the one more than the other,
since it is clear that the most squalid and mean-
looking nest exactly serves the purpose of its occu-
pant, whether for shelter or defence, and in many cases
a spider might even say with truth that as for her
home it would not be so safe if it were not so dirty.

But the answer is simple : the trap-door spider's
dwelling is to that of common spiders what the
Mont Cenis tunnel is to other tunnels, and some-
thing besides.

What delights us is to see how by clever con-
trivance and great perseverance new and multiplied
difficulties have been overcome, and dangers avoided,
and the interest aroused is exactly proportionate to
the amount of these difficulties and dangers.

It is hoped that the following pages and their ac-
companying illustrations will vindicate the claims of
these spiders to the marked attention and admiration
which is here asserted to be their due as architects
and engineers.

There is but one British or North European re23re-
sentative of the Territelarice — namely, Atypiis piceus (or

* Theridion variegatum (Bl.). Ero tuberculata, Koch.

78 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

Suheri)* and this creature does not appear to
deserve the name of trap -door spider, for in three
nests which M. H. Lucas kindly showed me, pre-
served at the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, the mouth
of the tube was destitute of any covering. I gathered
from what I saw, and from what M. Lucas told
me, that these nests [wdiich he had taken in the
neighbourhood of Paris], consist of a silk tube from
eight to ten inches long, of which about one inch
only at the lower extremity penetrates the earth, the
remainder being carried upwards in an irregular and
sinuous course among the stems and leaves of small
plants and grasses to which it is attached. When the
tube is removed from these supports it collapses, and
appears like a rather coarsely woven ribbon-shaped
strip of silk.f

Four types of trap-door nest, properly so called, may
now be distinguished in the world at large, and these
are represented diagrammatically in the following
"woodcut. \

* Unless it should prove, as Prof. Ausserer suggests, tliat the British
.^ ^?/pMs is distinct from the Continental, when it would bear the name of
Atypus Blachwallii. (Ausserer, 1. c. p. 17).

1 1 have never been able to meet with an English specimen of the nest of
A typus ; but it would appear from the descriptions that the English differ
from the French nests in being subterranean, and in having the mouth of the
tube concealed by a loose flap of silk. Mr. Blackwall saj's : [Spiders of
Great Britain and Ireland, part i. p. 14] "Dr. Leech has taken specimens
of A typus Suheri in ths vicinity of London and Exeter. It excavates, in
humid situations, a subterraneous gallery, which is at first horizontal, but
inclines downwards towards its termination. In this gallery it spins a tube

of white silk, of a compact texture, about half inch in diameter

Part of the tube hangs outside of the aperture to jirotect the entrance."

It would be interesting to learn whether these differences permanently
distinguish the English from the French nests, and if so, whether the spiders
which construct them are not, as Prof. Ausserer is inclined to believe, dis-
tinct also.

t Where all the figures, except C 1, and D 1, which are of the natural
size, are reduced to about one-third of the actual size in large specimens.

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

79

Of these two only (A and B) were known up to
the present time, the construction of which is much
simpler than that of the two new types (C and D),
which I have hitherto only found at Mentone and
Cannes.*

It will be seen at a glance that A and B have but

* It must not be supposed that I have a sole or prior claim to what may
prove to be new and of interest in the following observations on the Trap-
door Spiders of the Riviera. This prioritj- belongs to the Hon. Mrs. Richard
Boyle, to whom I owe it that I ever took np the subject. It was, thanks to
her guidance, that I first became acquainted with these marvellously-con-
cealed nests in their native haunts, and to her active help that I finally
arrived at a comprehension of the different types of structure which they
present.

80 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

one door, while C and D have two, these latter having
a surface door, and also another door a short way
under ground.

All the nests consist of a tube excavated in the
earth to a greater or less depth, unbranched in all but
D, and in every case lined with silk, this lining being
continuous with the lining of the door or doors of
which it forms the hinge,

I have found it convenient to distinguish these
four types of nests by the following names : — A, the
single door cork nest, or shortly tlie cork nest ; B, the
single door wafer nest; C, the double door unbranched
nest ; and D, the double door branched nest.

The type B has only been found in the West India
Islands, and is chiefly distinguished from A by hav-
ing a thin and wafer-like door, wholly constructed of
silk, Avithout admixture of earth, lying on rather
than fitting into the aperture of the tube ; while in
A the door is much thicker, made of layers of earth
and silk, and so contrived that it tightly closes the
mouth of the tube, which is bevelled to receive it,
much as a cork closes the neck of a bottle.*

The West Indian nests are of a much tougher and
coarser texture than those which I have seen in
Europe, and vary somewhat in the shape of their
tube, which is curved or straight, and sometimes has
near its lower extremity a short spur-shaped enlarge-
ment, giving to the whole a ludicrous resemblance
to a stocking, of which this spur is the heel.

Mr. Gosse,t in his Naturalist' s Sojourn in Jamaica,

* Nests belonging to the type A, are represented in Plates VII., p. 88,
and VIII., p. 94.

t Gosse (P. H.), Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica (1851), jx 115-118. See
also for another description of the same nest Latreille's Vues Generales sur
les Araueides, in the Nouv. Ann. du Museum (Paris, 1832), torn. i. p. 73-4.

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 81

lias given an admirable description of one of these
single door wafer nests, the work of Cteniza nidulans,
which I cannot do better than quote : — ■

The nest is " cylindrical, or nearly so, from four to
ten inches deep, and about one inch in diameter ; the
bottom is rounded ; and the top, which is at the surface
of the soil, is closed very accurately with a circular
lid. They are not all equally finished, some being
much more compact, and having the lid more closely
fitted than others. Some have irregular bulgings, and
ragged laminated offsets on the outer surface ; but all

are smooth and silky on the inside The mouth

of the tube, and the parts near it, are very strong ;
the walls here often having a thickness of from one-
eighth to one-fourth of an inch ; but the lower parts
are much thinner. The lid is continuous with the
tube for about a third of its circumference, and this
part may be called the hinge, though it presents no
structure peculiar to itself ; it is simply bent at a right
angle, as is manifest, if a nest be cut longitudinally
through with scissors, the incision passing through
the midst of the lid. The mode of construction, I
judge, from examination of many nests, to be this.
The spider digs a cylindrical hole in the moist earth,
with her jointed fangs or mandibles, carrying out the
fragments as they are dislodged. When the excavation
has proceeded a little way, she begins to spin the
lining which forms the dwelling. I conclude thus,
because nests are occasionally found a few inches in
length, with the lid and upper |)art perfect, but without
any bottom, these being evidently in the course of
formation. I suppose that she weaves her silk at first
in unconnected patches, against the earthy sides.

82 TRAP- DOOR SPIDERS.

perhaps where the mould is liable to fall in ; and thus
I account for the loose rough laminae of silk tliat are
always found projectin<^ from the outer surl'ace. These
are overlaid with other patches more and more ex-
tensive, until the whole interior walls are covered ;
after which the silk is spun evenly and continuously
all round the interior, in successive layers of very dense
texture, though thin. Under the microscope, with a
power of 220 diameters, these layers are resolved into
threads laid across each other and intertwined in a
very irregular manner ; some are simple, varying from
y-oVo- to ^ToVo of an inch in diameter, and others are
compound, several threads, in one part separate, being
united into one of greater thickness which cannot then
be resolved .... The mouth of the tube is com-
monly dilated a little, so as to form a slightl}^ 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.

The thickening of the hinge by additional laj^ers is,
I think, accidental only, as, out of the many specimens
that I have examined, only one or two had such a
structure. In the neatest examples, the lid is of equal
thickness throughout its extent, agreeing also with
the walls for the first few inches of their depth,"

Mr. Gosse says that he possesses one specimen of
peculiar compactness, which differs from all the others
that he has examined in having " 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

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 83

substance, the li^lit 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 the 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 interior would be imper-
meable to air but for this contrivance."* " The spider
that inhabits this nest is black, with the thorax of an
exceedingly lustrous polish, its abdomen is full and
round, its legs very short."

Another form of this single door wafer nest is de-
scribed by j\Ir. Sells,! in wdiich there is a hinge-like
thickening of the silk lining of the tube about an inch
below the actual hinge of the door, which it is sug-
gested may serve to give additional elasticity. This
was not found, however, in all the nests examined,
and Mr. Sells conjectures that in newly constructed
nests the lid may close sufficiently firmly without
this contrivance, and that it is only added in older
nests.

Patrick Browne's figure, to which reference has been
made above, represents a nest with two doors, one
applied against the other, at the mouth of the tube.

* I cannot myself think this explanation probable, and should still be
inclined to consider these punctures to be the claw marks of the spider, as is
the case in some European nests.

t ]Mr. W. Sells. Notes respecting the Nest of Cteniza nididans, in Trans.
Ent. Soc. ii. 207-210.

G 2

84 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

and it has often been asked what this could possibly
mean.

Some have thought that the drawing was fanciful,
others that it was made from an abnormal or injured
nest. However, I believe that the drawing, though
rude, is, in fact, not ver}^ incorrect, and shows a case
of repair or enlargement of the nest, a subject to be
treated of more fully further on. There is a specimen
exhibited in the British Museum which in this respect
very nearly corresponds with Browne's figure ; it is
labelled " Nest of Trap-door Spider with two doors,
from the spider having enlarged its abode. — Jamaica."
Here one sees that the spider has prolonged its tube
about half an inch beyond the original mouth of the
nest, where it has constructed a new mouth and door,
the old door standing straight up at the back of and
behind the new one.

I imagine that the explanation of this curious piece
of cobbling may be somewhat as follows : — When the
nest was in its original state and had but one door,
this door became by some accident covered over with
earth to about the depth of half an inch, and the in-
mate was thus imprisoned. Then the sj)ider, being,
like most other members of its order, very unwilling
to abandon its home, determined to clear away the
entrance to its nest, and to lengthen the tube so that
it should reach up to the new level of the surftice of

the earth If I am right, this should rather be

called a lengthening than an enlargement of the tube.

The nests of the cork type (A, p. 7t)) may usually be
distinguished at a glance from those of the wafer type
by the greater thickness of the door, and by its manner
of shutting, but a nest from Morocco has been figured

TRAP- DOOR SPIDERS. 85

and described by Prof. Westwood,* whicli seems in-
termediate between the two. The door in this case
may perhaps be considered as of the cork type,
thougli it is very thin, for it does fit into the mouth
of the tube, which is bevelled to receive it.

These nests were forwarded with their living occu-
pants {Cteniza \_Actinopiis] {Bclifcatorius) from Tangiers
to Prof. West wood, who describes the nests as being
" about four inches deep, slightly curved within, about
three quarters of an inch in diameter, the valve at the
mouth not being circular, but rather of an oval form,
one side where the hinge is i^laced being straighter
than the other. The valve is formed of a number of
layers of coarse silk, in the upper layers of which are
imbedded particles of the earth, so as to give the
cover the exact appearance of the surrounding soil,
the several successive layers causing it, when more
closely inspected, to resemble a small flattened oyster-
shell.^

The resemblance between this nest and that of the
West Indian species is the more interesting as Prof.
Westwood says that both belong to the same genus,
{Cteniza or Actinojjus of different authors,) and are so
closely allied as to present scarcely any important
distinction but that of size.

We shall find, however, on comparing the nests of
these trap-door spiders and their occupants, that we
cannot as yet make any rule as to the kind of nest
which we may expect from a given spider.

* Observations on the Species of Trap-door Spiders, in Trans, of Entomo-
logical Soc, Loudon, 1841-3, vol. iii. p. 175.

I wish to take the present opportunity of thanking Prof. Westwood for
having afforded me special facilities for examining this and other specimens
forming part of the very valuable collections under his care at Oxford.

86 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

It will be seen tliat species belonging to the same
genus, and closely resembling one another, sometimes
build dissimilar nests ; wliile others, belonging to
different genera, and unlike in many important
respects, construct almost identical nests.

This is the more strange, because, if we examine
the structure of the claws and palpi, they often seem
to be specially adapted to serve as carding instruments
and to play a very important part in the weaving of
the silk linings of the nest ; and yet nests of the same
type are occasionally produced by spiders in which these
appendages are quite unlike, and dissimilar nests where
the claws and palpi are to all appearance identical.

Thus, for example, if the reader will examine the
drawings of part of the foremost right foot of Cteniza
fodieus, figs. A, 9 and 10, Plate VII., p. 88, with that of
Nemesia C(jem.enfaria,^^^s. A, 9 and 10, Plate VIII., p. 94,
both of which make nests of the cork type, he will see
that in the former the last joint of the tarsus is armed
along the inner side, with many moveable spines, and
that each of the two curved terminal claws has only
one very strong tooth near the base ; while the same
joint of the latter {N.ccementaria) has no spines, and the
claws have three minute comb-like teeth near the base.

On the other hand, in the reverse case, where the
structure of the same joint is very similar, the nests
may be wholly unlike, as in Nemesia Eleanora, Plate
XII., p. 106, and N. ccBmentaria, Plate VIII., where the
nest of the former is of the double-door unbranched
type, and that of the latter of the single-door cork
type. ^

It is probable however that a fuller and closer
comparison of, and a more exact acquaintance with the

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 87

several parts and their functions might show us that
all spiders wliich spin similar webs are furnished with
equivalent instruments, so that what one leg lacks
another may possess in some shape or another; brushes
of stiff hairs in one place, compensating for a toothed
claw, or for a row of moveable spines in another.*

It would be interesting, from this point of view, to
draw all the parts which may be supposed to aid in the
act of weaving, and so to contrast the corresponding
limbs of different spiders, the nests of which are known,
that one might see at a glance in what they differed
and agreed. I have done this for the falces and the
last joint of the foremost right foot of the four spiders
figured in Plates VII., VIII., IX., and XII., but to
make the case complete all the limbs should be re-
presented in the same way.

* Tlie claws are probably of first-rate importance in tliis respect and should
be most carefully studied. M. Lucas has stated that the claws of Myijale
Blondii, and M. ni<jra from Algiers, and oi M. nigra and M. avicularia from
Brazil, are retractile like those of a cat ! Unfortunately the dwellings of
these spiders have not been described. See Lucas (H.) in Rev. et Mag. de
Zoologie, s^r. 2, torn. ix. 1857, p. 587, and Ann. de la Soc. Entom. de France,
ser. 3, torn. v. p. cxx., and vi. p. clxxi. Another curious point in which
spiders differ is the presence or absence of viscidity in the hairs which clothe
their feet and palpi. Mr. Blackwall states (Spiders of Great Britain and
Ireland, vol. i. p. 13), that by far the greater number of the suborder
TerritdaricB, or Mygalidce as he terms them, " have the inferior surface
of their biuugrdate tarsi, and of the digital joint of their pediform
palpi, in the females, densely clothed with compound, hair-like papillae,
constituting an apparatus which, by the emission of a viscous secretion,
enables them to traverse the perpendicular surfaces of dry, highly polished
bodies ; others have three pairs of spinners aud are destitute of hair-like
pajiillse on the legs aud palpi."

The four species of trap-door spider on the Riviera, here described, ap-
pear to form exceptions to this rule, however, for they all remained heljdess
prisoners when placed in a glass tumbler, though struggling vigorously for
free<lom.

When, however relying on th's experience, I placed a number of smaller
spiders of different kinds in glasses for examination some walkeil stiaight
out without any difficulty, while others wei'e unable to climb uj) the sides.

88 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

Of the two spiders which are shown with their cork
nests in Plates VII. and VI J I., the purplish grey
Cteniza fodiens, (Plate VII.) appears to be much rarer
than the brown striped Nemesia ccementaria (VIII.), at
any rate at Mentone. I have hitherto only succeeded
in obtaining four specimens of the former, though I
have searched repeatedly for them at Cannes and
Mentone, while the latter species is tolerably common.

The nests are, however, often extremely hard to
find, and in some cases it is only by chance that I have
been able to light upon them. 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, and concealment is afforded by the creeping
lycopodium {Sdaginella denticulatci), Ceterach, spleen-
wort or maiden-hair ferns, with short moss and splashes
of white lichen to distract the eye.

Itwas from such a terrace wall at Mentone, on March
26, 1872, that the nest A in Plate VII. was taken,
the tube running obliquely back into the earth between
the stones, and the door being concealed by a net- work
of lycopodium, one spray of which had been allowed
to grow on its upper surface.

The tubes of these as of the other kinds of nest are
sometimes straight, but more frequently they are bent,
and almost always take a downward course.

The following is Mr. Pickard-Cambridge's de-
scription* of Cteniza fodiens, the spider which con-
structs this nest.

* The following description and remarks, printed in a different tj^ie, have
been kindly prepared for this work by the Rev. 0. Pickard-Cambridge, to
whom I sent a series of specimens of the sjiiders preserved in spirit of wine
and their nests. My very sincere thanks are due to Mr. Pickard-Cambridge

TRAP.DOOR SPIDERS. 89

FAM. THERAPHO SIDES.

Gen. Cteniza, Latr.

Ctexiza fodiens. Plate YII.

Syn. Mygale fodiens, Walck. Ins. Apt., i. p. 237.

M. Sauvagei, Ausserer, Beitrage zur Kenntruss der Arachniden
Jh''amilie der Territelari(B {Thor.), p. 36.

Female adiilt length 10 lines.

Cephalothorax oblong oval, somewhat truncate at each end, and
of a dull whitish-yellow brown colour, the normal grooves and
furrows are strongly marked, the caput is large and elevated,
roimded on the sides and slightly higher near the occiput than at
the ocular area, the junction of the thoracic segments is indicated
by a strong deep curved indentation, the curve directed backwards ;
there are a few strong black bristles of different lengths within the
ocular space, and several others run backwards in the central line to
the occiput. The height of the Clypeus is equal to rather more than
the diameter of one of the foremost eyes. The Eyes are eight, and
form a rectangular figure whose transverse diameter is the longest,
and whose fore side is a little shorter than the hinder one; the longi-
tudinal diameter is about equal to the space between the two fore-
most eyes ; these are the largest of the eight, and are separated by
an interval of very nearly two eyes' diameters ; the two central
eyes are the smallest, and are distant from each other just about
one eye's diameter, the eyes of the hinder row are in two pairs
forming the hinder corners of the rectangle, those of each pair are
nearly contiguous to each other, and the inner one of each is the
smallest; these last in the figure appear to be the smallest of the
eight, but this arises from the point of view whence the figure was
drawn ; the two central eyes occupy as nearly as possible the centre
of the figure formed by the two foremost eyes, and the two inner
ones of the hinder row, and are seated on a large black spot. The

for this assistance, wliicli will give to my publication a vahie in the eyes of
Arachnologists which it could not otherwise have possessed. To all those
who wish to study the true structural relations of the four spiders, the
habits of which are recorded in the following pages, these details will prove
of the highest importance ; while those who are only interested in the
economy of these creatures can readily pass them over. For observers in
the field there is a very ready way of knowing these four spiders apart, as it
will be seen that w^hen they are somewhat alike the nests are diflerent
{Neiiiesia nuridionalis and N. Ekunora), and when the nests are alike
{Cteniza fvdiens and Neniaia cwiacntariu) the spiders are markedly dissimilar.

90 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

Legs are short, strong, and similar to the Cephalothorax in colour,
their relative length appeared to be 4, 3, 1, 2, they are furnished
with hairs, bristles, and short strong spines. These latter are on
those of the two first pairs, situated chiefly in two longitudinal
parallel rows beneath the tibife, metatarsi, and tarsi ; on those of
the third pair they are situated on the sides and upper sides of those
joints, while the fourth pair has them only beneath the metatarsi
and tarsi ; all the tarsi terminate with three claws, the two superior
ones are much the longest and strongest, and have a single short
strong tooth inside near the base. Near the union of the femora
and genuaj of the legs of the fourth pair are numerous short strong
spines, hairs, and bristles. The Palpi are similar in colour to the
legs ; they are strong and about equal in length to the legs of the
second pair, and have a double longitudinal row of strong spines
widely separated and divergent from each other beneath them ; the
digital joint (like the tarsi of the legs) is furnished with other
spines between these two rows ; each palpus terminates with a single
untoothed curved claw. The Fakes are strong, prominent, rounded
in the profile line, and have some hairs, bristles, and spines near
their fore extremities ; the longest and strongest of the spines are
three in number, and form a kind of transverse row or comb at the
extreme inner point on the upper side of each falx ; besides these
there is a row of short toothlike spines on either margin of the fur-
row on the under side of each falx in which the fang lies concealed
when at rest. The Maxillcd are short and strong; the palpi issue
from their extremity on the outer side, and the inner extremity is
somewhat prominent and pointed.

The Labium is small, short, someAvhat rectangular in form, and
broader than high ; the apex is a little rounded, and furnished
with a single transverse row of small tooth-like spines.

The Sternum is somewhat subtriangular in form, much broader
behind, where it is rounded on the outer angles.

The Abdomen is short oval, very convex above, where it is of a
yellowish vinous brown colour, with a slightly darker longitudinal
tapering, indistinct central stripe on the lore part ; it is sparingly
clothed with hairs, and the under side is of a pale dull yellowish
colour ; the spinners are four in number, and those of the superior
pair are the strongest, three jointed and upturned.

Adults and immature examples (all females) were found in
tubular holes lined with silk and closed at the orifice with a strong
solid hinged lid, shutting into the opening Uke a cork.

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. H

The portions of nests at B and C in Plate VII.
also belong to Cteniza fodiens, the latter being very
similar to A in its surroundings, but having a
rather thinner door, slightly hollowed out above
(C 1). The smaller nest shown shut at B and
open at B 1,* is admirably concealed by mosses and
lichens, some of which actually grow upon the door,
and here two minute trap-doors, belonging to infan-
tine examples of a distinct species of spider {Nemesia
meridionalis), are seen on the left hand below.

It is not rare to find small colonies of nests of the
same or distinct species grouped closely together in
this way, though I greatly doubt whether one can
safely assume their sociability from this fact.

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.

In the Ionian Islands another species or variety of
Cteniza, described under the name of Cteniza (or
Mygale) iofiica, and represented as being of an uniform
yellow-brown colour, is said to make its nests in the
earth of the terraces round the roots of the olive
trees.

Mr. Saundersf gives admirable figures and descrip-
tions which show us at once that these nests, which
he discovered in rather elevated situations in the island
of Zante, are of the cork iy^Q ; but, in this case, the
entire door does not shut flush with the surface, as in

* It must be clearly understood that when the doors are represented as
standing open or ajar this is unnatural, as they always close by their o'mi
combined weight and elasticity.

t Sydney Smith Saunders. Description of a Species of Mygale from Ionia,
in Trans. Eut. Soc. Loudon, 1839, vol. iii. p. I(i0, Plate IX.

92 TRAP -DOOR SPIDERS.

ordinary cork nests, but has a short spur-like projec-
tion above and behind the hinge, serving, as is con-
jectured, like a lever, by pressing on which from the
outside the lid may easily be raised,* When I come
to speak of the manner of constructing and repairing
nests I shall have occasion to refer to these nests
again.

I have not as yet found any nests on the Eiviera
which can be said to correspond accurately with those
of Cf. ionica, the only builders of cork nests yet dis-
covered in this district being Cteniza fodiens and
Nemesia ccBmentaria.

This latter species is described by Mr. Pickard-
Cambridge,t in the following terms : —

Gen. Nemesia (Savigny).

Nemesia c^mentaria. Plate IX.

Syn. Ml/gale ccementaria (Latr.), //. iV. des Crust, t. vii.
p. 164.

M. ccementaria (Walck), Ins. Apt. i. p. 135.
Female advilt, length 9 to 11 lines.

Cephalothorax rather elongate, oval, and somewhat truncated
at each extremity ; the caput is elevated and rounded on the sides
and upper part, but less elevated than in Cteniza ; the normal
grooves and indentations are well marked, and the junction of the
cephalic and thoracic segments is indicated by a strong deep impres-
sion or cleft, of a transverse, curved, or somewhat bent angular
form, the curve or angle directed forwards. The colour of the
cephalothorax is yellow-brown tinged with olive, the margins are
paler, but have no distinctly defined marginal band. On the
hinder part of the caput are three clear brown-yellow longitudinal
stripes ; the central one reaches from behind the two hind central
eyes to the thoracic junction, the lateral ones converge a little to

* I must own to some hesitation about accepting this explanation, though
I am not prepared to oflfer any other.

t See above, p. 88.

TRAP- DOOR SPIDERS. - »8

tlie same point, but do not reach nearly, in fact not much more
than half way, to the eyes. The clypeus is of a clear brown-yellow
colour also, and on either side of it (extending from each fore
lateral eye), is an irregular patch of the same. The ocular region
and clypeus are furnished with a few strongish black bristles, and the
three yellow stripes above mentioned have a few more, those on
the central stripe being the longest and strongest, and disposed in
a single longitudinal row.

The Eyes, eight in number, are seated on a transverse oval
eminence, and form a rectangular figure, whose transverse diameter
is double the length of its longitudinal diameter : their relative
position is similar to that of Cteniza, but in the present species
they are smaller than in C. fodiens : those of the hind central pair
are the smallest of the eight, and each is very nearly contiguous
to the hind lateral on its side ; the interval between those of each
lateral pair is small ; the space between the two central eyes of the
eight is equal to an eye's diameter, and each of these is separated
from the hind central and fore lateral nearest to it by a similar
interval. The Legs are strong, moderately long, their relative
length 4, 1, 3, 2 ?, but little diflEerence is observable between 1, 3,
and 2 ; they are furnished with hairs, bristles, and a few, not very
strong, spines ; each tarsus terminates with three curved claws, the
two superior ones much the longest and strongest, and have a few
small teeth near their base inside.

The Palpi are strong and similar in colour and armature to the
legs ; each is terminated with a curved black claw.

Falces strong, prominent, and rounded in the profile line ; they
are furnished with hairs, bristles, and strong tooth-like spines ; the
four strongest of these latter form a transverse row at the inner
extremity of each ; besides these there is a row of short tooth-
like spines on the inner margin of the furrow on the underside of
each falx, in which the fang lies concealed when at rest. The
Maxill(B are strong, with a small angular prominence at their inner
extremities (when looked at from beneath), and each has three to
four small dark-coloured teeth in a short, straight, obliquely trans-
verse row at the base on the inner side. Labium broad but short,
its breadth is double its height, and the upper corners are roimded
off. The Sternum is of a somewhat pentagonal form.

Abdomen ritther elongate oval, tolerably, but not excessively,
convex above ; it is of a dull yellowish whitey-brown colour
marked and mottled above with dark chestnut brown ; the mark-
ings are rather irregular, but a general disposition in the form of

94 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

a longitudinal central, and oblique lateral, stripes or bars may be
traced on the hinder half; the superior spinners are short and
three-jointed, those of the inferior pair are exceedingly minute.

Adult females were found in nests similar to those of Cteniza
fodiens.

The cork nests are the simplest form of nest, with
the exception of those described above from Jamaica,
and have constituted, up to the present time, the only
type known in Europe. Their chief claims to our
admiration lie in the perfection of workmanship which
the doors usually exhibit, and the marvellous conceal-
ment which they afford when closed. These doors as
a rule fit so tightly [thanks to the accurate adjustment
of their sloping sides to the bevelled lip of the tube
which receives them,] that the}^ afford a certain amount
of mechanical resistance, even when the spider is
away. But, after examining a very large series of
these cork nests, I find that there is some variation in
the degree of perfection attained in their work by
different individuals of the same kind. The mechanical
resistance is greater or less in proportion to the thick-
ness and weight of the door, and to the slope of its
sides, and of the bevelled edges of the tube ; and in
each of these details a marked difierence may be
observed.

One might suppose from what has so often been
repeated as to the habits ofiV. cceiiieniaria,i):i2ki, when-
ever any one attempts to open the door, the spider,
which is always at home in the day time, would dart
up from the bottom of the tube and endeavour to
keep it closed by holding on from within.

I cannot say what may take place during the summer
months ; but from October to May I have but rarely

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 95

found one of these spiders ready to oppose me, though
Nemeiiia meridionalis and N. Elecuwra frequently
did so. Many times, wishing to provoke them, I have
tapped at the door in order to apprise the occupant of
my arrival, or lifted it and let it fall again, and always
in vain, though the spider was there, crouching at
the bottom of her tube.

Indeed I can only recall six or eight instances in
which this spider did hold down her door, and on
three of these she was captured.

I will now relate what I saw on one of these
occasions,* for there has been much speculation as to
the manner in which the spider clings to the door and
offers the determined resistance which is experienced.

No sooner had I gently touched the door with the
point of a penknife than it was drawn slowly down-
wards, with a movement which reminded me of the
tightening of a limpet on a sea- rock, so that the crovvn
which at first projected a little way above, finally lay
a little below the surface of the soil. I then contrived
to raise the door very gradually, despite the strenuous
efforts of the occupant, till at length I was just able
to see into the nest, and to distinguish the spider
holding on to the door with all her might, lying back
downwards, with her fangs and all her claws driven
into the silk lining of the under surface of the door.
The body of the spider was placed across, and filled
up, the tube, the head being away from the hinge, and

* Mrs. Boyle was the tirst to witness this curious sight, and my descrip-
tion of the resistance of the spider is almost an exact repetition of hers to
me. It is curious also that, following her indications, I found the very nest
and spider on which she had made her observations, and every detail
recurred again though several days had elapsed between her visit and mine.

96 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

she obtained an additional purchase in this way by
blocking up the entrance,

I did not force the spider to release her hold, but,
by a rapid stroke with a long-bladed knife, cut out the
upper part of the tube with the surrounding mass of
soil, and tbus secured the trap-door and its owner.
This specimen is represented at fig. C, Plate VIII.,
where the pin-point holes made by the claws may be
seen in pairs round the whole circumference of the
flatter portion of the lower surface of the door except
on the side next to the hinge.

Whenever a spider resists in this way she must
make these holes, but I have very rarely seen them
in other nests ; this may perhaps be accounted for by
their having been effaced by the action of moisture
which would stretch the silk. However this may be,
this specimen showed the claw marks quite distinctly
on my return to England after the lapse of several
weeks.

Much has been written about these marks, which
are frequently spoken of as holes purposely made in
the silk in order to give the spider a better purchase.
It has also been stated that two holes may be seen in
the silk of the tube near the mouth on the side away
from the hinge, but these I have never been able to find.
The door of nest A in Plate VIII. is rather abnormal,
as it is made up of two doors, the smaller one being
spun into the top of the one now in use. This is, I
believe, an abnormal and rather clumsy example of
the ordinary way of enlarging the nest, but of
this we shall see more when we come to speak of
the construction and repairing of these nests gene-
rally.

TRAP- DOOR SPIDERS. 97

Fig. B in this plate represents a moss-covered sod
pierced by the tube of a nest, the door of which is
entirel}^ concealed from view, and only discovered
when opened as at B 1.

This nest was found accidentally by Mr. Robert
Lightbody, who kindly brought it to me, its presence
having been betrayed by the tube, which he happened
to cut through in digging up a plant. The moss on
the door grew as vigorously, and had in every way
the same appearance, as that which was rooted in the
surrounding earth ; and so perfect was the deception
that I found it impossible to detect the position of
the closed trap even when holding it in my hand.
There can be no doubt that many nests escape observa-
tion in this way, and the artifice is the more surpris-
ing because there is strong reason to believe that this
beautiful door-garden is deliberately planted with
moss by the spider, and not the effect of a mere
chance growth. I shall adduce evidence in support
of this statement by-and-by.

I alluded to the nest C (Plate VIII.) when speak-
ing of the claw marks which it exhibits, and that
figured at D and D 1 in this plate is merely an in-
stance of a good example of this type. I have taken
nests of N. came nt aria both at Cannes and Mentone,
and have little doubt that this species will be dis-
covered at many points along the Eiviera. I detected
two abandoned nests of the cork type, which I fully
expect had belonged to iY. caimentaria, in an enclosed
space called the Campagne de Garonne in Marseilles
itself. These nests lay in the little mound of undis-
turbed earth between the divided trunks of the small
olive-trees, and I do not doubt that if 1 had had time

H

98 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

to search I should have discovered more nests, and
perhaps others which were still tenanted.

We now turn from the single-door nests to those
with double doors, and from the well known to the
new types of structure.

In these we have a thin and wafer-like door at the
mouth of the nest, and froiu two to four inches lower
down, a second and solid underground door. These
lower doors are characteristic of the nests to which
they belong, that of the branched nest [Nemesia meri-
dionalis, Plate IX.) being long and more or less
tongue-shaped, while that of the unbranched double-
door nest {N. Eleanor a, Plate XII. p. 106) is some-
what horse- shoe shaped.

The surface doors of these two kinds of nest do not
appear to differ, and, though rather thinner, may be
compared to those of the single-door wafer kind from
Jamaica.

The commonest form at Mentone is the branched
nest, which may be found in abundance in many of
the loosely-built walls of the lemon and olive ter-
races or on sloping banks, but they are rarely to be
met with on flat ground.

In the nests of Nemesia meridionalis the tube,
instead of being simple, as it is in all other known
nests, is invariably branched, a second tube joining
the first at the point where the lower door is hung
and forming with it an angle of about 45°. The main
tube descends and is frequently curved, or sometimes
doubly bent like the spout of a tea-kettle (A, Plate X.
p. 100), while the branch ascends, and in some few
instances reaches the surface, though it is usually a cul
de sac (Plate IX.)

TRAP- DOOR SPIDERS. 99

In the exceptional cases where the nests have two
superficial openings, one of the two surface doors
always appears neglected and going to decay, or is
covered with earth which chokes the upper part of
its tube. The explanation of this probably is that
the spider found the original entrance blocked up or
in some way unfitted for use, and then prolonged
what was the blind branch until it reached the sur-
face and replaced the former doorway. However this
may be it is certain that in the great majority of
nests it will be found that the branch ends in tlie
earth, and is a cul de sac, and this I have invariably
observed to be the case in the nests of very young
spiders of this species (fig. B, Plate IX.)

The tube is frequently enlarged at the mouth, and
forms a spreading lip which the surface door is usually
large enough to cover (A 1, Plate IX.)

In these branched double-door nests the upper door
does not fit into, but merely lies upon, the mouth of
the tube, the elasticity of the hinge and its own weight
being sufficient to keep it closed. The lower door is
suspended by a hinge placed at the apex of the angle
formed by the bifurcation of the tube, and is hung in
such a manner that it can either be pushed upwards
so as to lie diagonally across and block the main tube,
or be drawn back so as to fit into and close the
entrance to the branch.

This will, I think, best be understood by reference
to the drawings of a small nest of this iy^Q given at
B 1 and B 2 in Plate XI. p. 105, where the second door
is shown in its two positions. This lower door is from
1 to li lines thick, channeled above, but nearly fiat
on the back, and of an elliptic form, with a loose ap-

H 2

100 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

pendage at its lower end, the whole being made of
earth enclosed in a case of silk.* When the lower
door is drawn back so as to close and conceal the en-
trance to the branch, it lies in the same plane, and
closely corresponds in curvature with the lining of
the main tube and almost appears to form part of it
(fig. A, Plate X. p. 100, and fig. B 1, Plate XI. p. 105).

When digging out these nests, after carefully re-
moving the upper portion, I have frequently seen the
lower door move adross and block up the main tube
in a mysterious manner, it being in reality pushed by
the spider from below, and she may sometimes be cap-
tured at her post with her back set against the door.
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.

What then, it may be asked, is the use of the
branch ? I do not think that we can draw any safe

* Since writing the above I have learned, thanks to a better method which
I have recently adopted for preserving the nests for examination, that some-
times the lower door, instead of being free within the tube and only attached
to the lining by the hinge, is surrounded on either side bj' a delicate silk
web, which extends from either edge of its lower surface to the silk walls of
the tube below and forms a sort of double gusset. This admits of the
movement of the lower door in the way described above, but perhaps serves,
together with the solid appendage at the extremity of the free end of the door
(that away from the hinge), to prevent the door from being driven too far in
an upward direction and thus becoming so tightly jammed as to make the
spider a prisoner in her own nest. I think it possible that the lower door
is always attached to the tube in this way, but, as it parts readily from the
silk on either side when the earth which supports the tulie is removed, it
very frecpiently appears to be free, as I have represented it in Plates IX. ,
X., and XI.

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 101

conclusion from what takes place when we dig out a
spider, as to what would occur if she were besieged by
one of her natural enemies, such as ichneumons, sand-
wasps, centipedes (Scoloj^endra), small lizards &c.*

Let us suppose, however, that one of these creatures
has found its way into the nest and is crawling down
the tube. What will probably happen? Why, in
the first place, the spider will slam the second door in
the face of the intruder, and then, if worsted in the
pushing match which follows, quickly draw this door
back again and run up into the safety branch, when
the enemy, after descending precipitately to the bottom
of the main tube, will look in vain for the spider as
it searches on its way up for the secret passage now
closed by its trap-door. This is but a purely imaginary
case, and it may be that the branch has some wholly
different purpose.

It seems very improbable, however, that it should
be mainly intended as a safety place for the eggs or
offspring ; at least if this were the case we should not
expect to find it, as v/e do, in the nests of very young
spiders (fig. B, Plate IX.), which could have no use
for it.

The large spider and its nest figured at A and A 3
in Plate IX. were taken at Mentone on March 17,
1872, and the following is the technical description of
the species, written by Mr. Pickard-Cambridge : —

Nemesia Meridionalis. Plate IX.

Syn. Mygale mei-idionalis (Costji). Fauna del Regno di Napoli,
p. 14, PI. I., figs. 1-4, ad partem.

Female adult, length 11 to 13 lines.

This spider is very nearly allied to N'. ccementaria both in
general structvire and colours, but it may be distinguished by the

* For some account of the principal enemies of spiders generally, see p. 134.

102 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

more elongate form both of the cephalothorax and abdomen ; the'
colours also of the present species are more distinctly distributed ; a
well-defined narrow marginal band, irregular on the inside, sur-
rounds the thorax ; and the caput has a large curved patch of the same
on either side of the ocular area, with a broad tapering band tinged
with orange, which runs from immediately behind the eyes to the
thoracic junction, where it ends in a point. The transverse diameter
of the ocular area is also less in proportion to its longitudinal
diameter than in N. ccemenfaria, and the eyes are all smaller, but
placed on a similar oval eminence, and several bristles are directed
forwards from the middle of the lower margin of the cly^seus, while
one or two others are found in the ocular area, and three or four
more (long, strong, and nearly erect) form a longitudinal row
along the middle of the central tapering thoracic band. The Falces
are deeply yellow-brown, with two to three elongate oval patches
or short longitudinal parallel bands on their upper sides; in their
armature the falces are similar to those of N. ccementaria. The
Labium appeared to be less broad in proportion to its height, and
the Sternum smaller and of a more oval form than in that species.
The Abdomen is similarly marked, though the chocolate-brown
markings appeared to be less deep and dense, being more broken
up, but still forming several fairly defined, bold, and broad angular
bars or chevrons on the upper side. The inferior spinners, though
small (like most of the corresponding pair in species of this family),
are yet considerably stronger than in iV. ccementaria.

Adult females of this spider were found in tubular silk-lined
holes in the earth, closed at the external orifice with a flat scale-
like hinged lid, covered with lichens and mosses. Not quite half
way down this tube is a tubular branch running off upwards at an
angle of 45° or less ; the main tube also at this point is iurnished
with an elliptical-hinged valve, with which the spider appears to
have the power to close the entrance to the branch or to shut off
the upper part of the main tube. This branch (found also in the
tubes of very young examples) seems to be certainly a strong dis-
tinguishing character in the economy of the species, and separates
it at once from A'", ccementaria. In the nest of A^. meridionalis the
tube also projects at times above the surface of the soil upAvards
among the herbage which serves to conceal it. Costa appears to
have had before him this latter species as Avell as Avhat is here
taken as the typical N. meridionalis, as he speaks of the nests
under his observation as being frequently branched, while his
description would suit both species ; his figure, however, more

TRAPDOOR SPIDERS. lOS

nearly agrees in the thoracic pattern with the spider above de-
scribed. Ausserer, in his elaborate paper on the Mygalides, lately
published {Beitrage &c. vide supra), appears to have overlooked
M. meiidionalis (Costa) altogetlier; while Canestrini and Pavesi
(Catal. degli Araneidi itnlinni in Atti Soc. Ital. Sc. Nat. xi. (1869),
p. 25, include it under the synonyms of M. fodiens Walck., from
which it is undoul)tedly distinct, as may be seen at once, even if it
were only by the difference in the form and structure of the lid
with which the external orifice of the tubular nest is closed.

In the case of tlie upper door of these branched
nests, as there is but a very thin coating of earth on
their upper surface, it is rare to iind any of the larger
mosses or lichens growing upon them ; but, as if to
compensate for this deficiency, a variety of foreign
materials are employed which are scarcely ever found
in cork doors, such as dead leaves, bits of stick, roots,
straw of grasses, &c., and I have even seen freshly-
cut green leaves, apparently gathered for the purpose,
spun into a door which had recently been constructed.

But here again there is the widest possible difference
between nest and nest in the degree of perfection in
their concealment ; and, although as a rule the surface
of the upper door harmonizes well with the general
appearance of its surroundings, there are some indi-
vidual nests in which it readily catches the eye and
even attracts attention.

Thus, I have seen nests in mossy banks where the
doors, being made of nothing but earth and silk,
showed distinctly as brown patches against the green ;
and those doors which are covered with earth only,
even when they are surrounded by earth, are often
easily detected, because when they dry up, as they
quickly do, they become much paler in colour than
the earth of the bank, which retains its moisture.

104 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

Perhaps in no case is the concealment more complete
than when dead leaves are employed to cover the door.
In some cases a single withered olive leaf only is spun
in and suffices to cover the trap ; in others, several are
woven together with bits of wood and roots, as in the
accompanying woodcut, which represents different
views of the upper door of the nest which is drawn
in Plate X. p. 100.

In this nest another interesting feature presents
itself, for here the tube projects a short way beyond
the surface of the ground and is hardened and coated

with earth and fine gravel in such a way that it
requires no other support. This is not commonly the
case, and may perhaps be the result of a contrivance
to meet the necessities of a nest which has had the
surface earth washed away from it. But I have fre-
quently observed nests in which the upper part of the
tube is carried up for two or three inches through

FlMe. XL

r'^'^

i'^-

?

ViDceiit. Bi ooks Day & Sou, imp

L.Reeve & C° Ptublishers.

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 105

grass, moss, ferns, pellitory, or the like, the stems of
the sheltering plants being interwoven with and made
to support the tube.* In every case the second door,
which is designed for resistance and requires a firm-
walled tube into which it may be wedged, is below
ground, and for the same reason w^e scarcely ever
find cork nests constructed with any part of the tube
projecting beyond the surface of the soil.

At fig. A, Plate XI., one of these branched nests is
seen concealed in a plant of ceterach fern, and here
the tube is raised a short way above the soil ; while
in iig. B of the same plate the common form is
represented, the upper door lying flat on the surface
of the ground, from which, thanks to its covering of
small mosses, it is scarcely to be distinguished.

The figs. B 1 and B 2 show this door open and the
lower door in its two positions.

Now that attention has been drawn to the existence
of this new type of nest, I fully expect that Nemesia
meridionalis will be found at many points along the
Biviera and in the whole Mediterranean region, but
I have hitherto only discovered it at Mentone and
Cannes. Mrs. Boyle saw one of these nests in the
Pallavicini gardens near Genoa, and there seems every
reason to believe that certain nests which have been
detected near Naples and in Ischia, will, wdien better
known, be found to be of the branched double-door type.

It seems probable that our spider belongs to the
species which was first described by M. Costa, f under

* This aerial portion of tlie tube corresponds with that of A typus piceiis
described above (p. 7^), but differs in having its aperture closed Ijy a door.

t Fauna del Kegno di Napoli, (vol. containing Animali Articoluli, classe ii,
Aracnidi : incomplete, Naples, 18G1), p. 14, tab. i. figs. 1-4. See
Appendix A.

10« TRAP -DOOR SPIDERS.

the name of Mygale meridionalis, though, if we are to
rely implicitly on the figures and detailed account
given by this naturalist, we must suppose that it con-
structs a different nest in Southern Italy from that
which it makes on the Eiviera, and one which,
although it agrees in most other respects, is destitute
of the characteristic subterranean door.

It is more likel}', however, that M. Costa has over-
looked the existence of the lower door, though it is
strange that he should have done so, as he says that
the nests " sometimes have a double aperture, and the
upper portions of the burrows meet and anastomose
at about two inches distance," thus showing that he
was aware that the tube is branched.

One more nest only now remains to be described,
and this is again an example of a new type — namely, of
that which I have distinguished as the unbranched
double door (Phite XII.), the work of Nemesia
Eleanora. This nest is never branched, and its second
and subterranean door is situated from one to four
inches below the surface door, and only serves to close
the one tube which is narrowed above the insertion of
this lower door. Here, as in the branched nest, the
thin and wafer-like surface door appears to serve
principally for concealment and the lower one for
resistance. This latter, made out of earth encased
in strong white silk, is from one to two lines thick,
and has, at the end away from the hinge, a similar
appendage to that found in the lower door of the
branched nest. This appendage serves, I imagine, as
a kind of ear by which the door, when firmly jammed
into the tube on the approach of an enemy, may be
pulled down again as soon as the alarm is over. As

^ RAP -DOOR SPIDERS. 107

in the branched nest it has the upper surface con-
cave and the lower slightly rounded, so that when
drawn back and not in use it may not obstruct the
passage. The sides of this lower door slope a little,
so that the crown is smaller than the base ; and this
is important, because it causes the door to fit more
tightly when driven upwards into the tube, acting on
the principle of an inverted cork door.

In form this door is somewhat elliptic, but much
broader and shorter than the second door of the
branched nest, and it is frequently of a nearly horse-
shoe shaped outline. The second door of the branched
nest is necessarily longer, having to perform the
double function of closing the opening to the branch
and the passage of the main tube.

In either case, however, these doors will be found to
be more or less elliptic, and this is necessarily so, for,
lying as they do when in use in a plane which cuts
the subcylindrical tube obliquely, they have to fill a
somewhat elliptical area.*

I have observed some variation as to the exact
proportions of these doors, and it is quite possible
that in many cases tliey are specially adapted to meet
peculiarities in the curvature of the tube.

* The lower door here, as in the branched nest (see above, p. 100), is some-
times united to the silk of the tube below by two nearly triangular gussets
of silk, when, instead of Ijeing free except at the hinge, as I have represented
it (Plate XII.), it is surrounded on either side by silk and only free at the
extremity away from the hinge. Tnis does not, however, alter the function
of this door in any way.

It may be that these lower doors are always attached from below in this
way, but it is very dithcult to be sure of this, as they readily break away
from the surrounding silk, when they appear quite free, as in my drawing.
It was not until I adopted the plan of stuffing the tube full of cotton wool
before removing the suriounding earth that I detected this fragile attach-
meut.

108 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

The nest and spider drawn at figs. A and A 3 of
PlateXII. were first discovered by the Honourable Mrs.
Eichard Bo^de at Mentone, onMarcli 26th, 1872, and
the following is the description of the species kindly-
prepared by Mr. Pickard-Cambridge : —

Nemesia Eleanora, sp. nov, Plate XII.
Female adult, length 11 to 12 lines.

This spider, which has (like iV". meridionalis) probably been
confused with its near ally N. cce7nentaria, is yet easily distin-
guished from both by its deeper and richer colouring, as well as
by other characters.

The Abdomen has a far more spotted appearance ; in some ex-
amples a similar series of dark, broken, slightly angular bars is
indistinctly visible on the hinder half of the upper side ; in others
(the more common type) the darker colouring preponderates, and
some transverse, broken, slightly angular, or nearly curved bars or
lines of pale spots constitute the pattern ; the lateral margins of
the thorax are not so distinctly yellow as in N. meridionalis, and
there is a single longitudinal strij^e on the caput, of a dull orange-
yellow brown, commencing directly behind the eyes and tapering
to the thoracic junction ; the depression or pit at this jDoint is more
strongly marked than in either of the two foregoing species ; the
ocular area is also smaller, and its transverse diameter is less in
proportion to its width ; the bristles on the margin of the clyjieus,
as also those within the ocular area and in the central longitudinal
line of the caput, are similarly disposed to those in N. meridionalis,
but are more numerous; in some details, however, of form and
structiu-e — viz., the Labium and Sternum — the present species is
more nearly allied to N . meridionalis than to N. ccementaria. The
Legs seemed to be rather longer and stronger than in either ; the
tarsi and metatarsi of the two first pairs, as well as the digital
joints of the palpi, are rather densely clothed a little underneath
on their outer sides with a kind of fringe or pad of close- set hairs;
in other respects the armature of the legs appeared to be similar
to that of the other two species, except that in the present one
there are three short strong red-broivn spines in a longitudinal roiu
on the outer sides of the genual joints of the third pair ; these spines
were plainly visible in all the examples found, but did not exist in
any one of those of the two former species. The armature of the

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

109

falces, whicli are of a uniform yellow-brown colour, is similar to
that of those species.

Adult females were found in tubular silk-lined unbranched holes,
closed at the orifice with a flat scale-like hinged lid concealed by
mosses and lichens, and having a horse-shoe shajaed second valve or
door less than half way down the tube, of which it serves to shut off
the upper part. In this nest, as in that of N. meridionalis, the
upper part of the tube often projects above the surface of the soil.

Nemesia Eleanora S Adiilt, natural size.

Since the above description of the female of this species was
written, an example of the adult male has been most opportunely
discovered. It is much smaller than the female, its length being
only six lines. The Cephalothoi'ax is of an uniform clear yellow-
brown colour, tinged with orange, and thinly clothed with a gi-eyish
pubescence : the oblique indentations marking the union of the
cephalic and thoracic segments are indicated by a strongish black-
brown band on either side, which becomes obsolete as each ap-
proaches the other near the central curved indentation ; there are
also two or three converging suffused blackish stripes on the hinder
slope. The relative length of the Legs is the same in both sexes,
4, 1, 2, 3, but in the male those of the fourth are longer in
proportion to those of the third pair than in the female ; the spines
also on the legs are more numerous and stronger, the upper sides
of the femora of all the legs are deeply suffused with black, while
in the female this suffusion is not nearly of so marked a character,
though the genua of the different females examined had a strong
brown-black macula on the outer side of each, while the correspond-
ing maculae in the single male examined were but just visible ; the
three spines observed on the outer side of the genua of the third

no TRAP- DOOR SPIDERS.

pair of legs in the female are of even a more marked character in
the male, and hence they may be considered a good and tangible speci-
fic difference from other nearly allied species ; the tibise of the first
pair are considerably enlarged on the under side at the fore extremity,
where each is armed with a single, longish, strong, slightly curved,
pointed black spine directed forwards (fig. a, 3). ThQAbdomen'is small
and of an oval form ; its colours and markings resemble those of the
female, but on the hinder half of the upper side two or three indis-
tinctly traced pale angular bars or chevrons are formed by the dis-
tribution of the black-brown colours and markings; the under side of
the abdomen is of a uniform pale whitish yellow, except the spiracu-
lar plates, which are yellow-brown. The Palpi aro. moderately long
and strong ; the radial joint is longer than the cubital, and is of a
tumid and somewhat oval form, suffused over most of its surface
with dark brown, the rest of the palpus being of a yellowish-brown
colour ; the digital joint is small and somewhat oblong-oval,
curved downwards, and very slightly concave on its inside ; the
palpal organs consist of a nearly globular, basal, corneous bulb
prolonged into a strongish, curved, but not very long, pear-
stem form, the stem being distinctly cleft or bifid at its extreme
point {vide figs, a 1, and a 2), one portion of the bifid part is larger
than the other, thoiigh both are equal in length, and the stem of
the palpal bulb is directed transversely outwards, almost at right
angles with the digital joint.

Until the discovery of the male spider noAV described, and which
is, without doubt, the male sex of the female described immedi-
ately before, this latter was thought to be the female of Nemesia
Manderstjerno} ( Ausserer), and it had indeed been so determined by
Professor Ausserer himself But the form of the palpal organs
diff'ers so decidedly from those of N. Manda'stjernce (Ausserer,
Beitrdge .... der Territelarice, Verhandl. Z. B. Gesellsch: Wien,
1871, Bd. xxi. p. 170), that all doubts as to the present being a
distinct (and as it is believed to be) a hitherto undescribed species,
are removed. From M. Ausserer's description, the pear shaped
stem of the palpal bulb in N. Manderstjernoi is comjjaratively
slender, ending in a fine and uncleft point, whereas, in N. Eleanora,
the stem is strong and its extremity cleft : other differences are
also observable in the two spiders, but this one is well marked and
the most tangible.

The specific name, Elea)iora, now conferred upon the species, is
taken from the Christian name of the Hon. Mrs. Boyle, reference

TEA P-DOOR SPIDERS. Ill

to whom has been before made, and of whose kind exertions some
acknowledgment is thus permanently recorded.

In fig. A, Plate XII., the upper door, which, if
closed, would be entirely hidden by the long filmy
mosses which surround and cover it, is represented
open ; but it should be clea.rly understood that this is
artificial and not natural, as in reality these doors
close of their own accord by means of their weight
and the elasticity of the hinge. It will be seen that
living mosses of two kinds are worked into the upper
surface of this door, which was admirably concealed,
(fig. A 1, Plate XII.).

It is chiefly in the absence of the branch and the
different form of the lower door that the nest of
Nemesia Eleanora differs from that of N. meridio-
nalis ; and, as they inhabit the same localities, it is
only when one has dug down as far as the lower
door that it can be known to which of the two species
the nest belongs. When once this point is reached
however, ail doubt is at an end; for in this case the
unbranched double-door nest differs from the branched
in a way which any child could realize, though the
respective spiders are not very dissimilar when seen
with the naked eye alone. This affords a good
instance of the benefit which may accrue to a collector
from a study of the habits of the creatures which he
collects, for it is certain that it was the nest in this
case which first proclaimed the distinctness of its
tenant.

Nemesia Eleanora is rather less common at Men-
tone than N. meridionalis, but at Cannes I found the
reverse to be the case. At the latter place, on the
northern slope of the little hill of St. Cassien, branched

112 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

and unbranclied double-door nests may, however, be
found in tolerable abundance, the traps being frequently
concealed by fallen leaves from the cork oaks, which
are woven into their upper surface.

The nest of N. Eleanora often has the upper part
of the tube prolonged above the surface of the ground
and carried up through mosses, grasses, and the like.

An example of this is seen in figs. B and B 1, Plate
XII., in which the upper part of the tube is represented
with the surface door open in the one case and shut in
the other.

The concealment here was so complete that I should
never have discovered the nest but for the merest
accident. I happened to want some moss to la}"" with
flowers in my botanical tin, and in one handful which
I plucked up this trap-door lay concealed. It should
be observed that the upper part of the tube and its
surface door were covered with growing moss, and
this moss must have lived exclusively upon the mois-
ture which the very damp and shad}^ situation afforded,
as there was no earth mixed with the silk.

When digging out the nests of N. Eleanora, I
have frequently seen the lower doors pushed forwards
so as to close the tube ; and it is my belief tliat the
spider, after having thus barred the passage, puts her
back against the door and resists in this way. I must
own, however, that, though I believe I have seen the
spider in this attitude when I have severed the tube
from below, I am not quite certain about it.

I have twice in the months of April and May, and
frequently in October and November, found young of
this species in the nests with their mother. Usually
they were all very small and not larger than that

TRAP -DOOR SPIDERS. 113

represented at fig. B 2, Plate IX., p. 9S, but occa-
sionally in October I have found two or three young
spiders thrice the size of their companions still in the
nest. On one occasion (in April) I found twenty-four
small spiders clustered beneath and beside their
mother.* 1 secured the whole family by quickly
cuttino; out the mass of earth containino^ the lower door
on the under side of which they remained crouched,
and brought them home alive. I had up to this
time been in the habit of killing the spiders by placing
them in a stopper bottle full of strong spirit of wine,
but on treating these spiders in this way I saw
reason to res^ret havins^ done so. I knew that these
large spiders, when thrown into spirit of wine, would
continue to struggle for an hour or more, spasmodically
spreading out their legs as if swimming ; but I had
supposed that this w^as only muscalar motion, and was
not in the least aware that the unfortunate creatures
were probably conscious all the while. In this
instance I first placed the mother spider in the bottle,
and then, after the lapse of about ten minutes, when
I supposed that the spider, though still struggling,
was dead to sense, I dropped in the young spiders.
No sooner, however, had I done this than the mother,
perceiving them, gathered all her 3'oung to her, and,
after placing them beneath her, with her legs drawn
up round them, as a hen screens her chickens with her
wings, never stirred again, and retained this attitude
until death released her, and the limbs, no longer under

* I have found similar families in October and November in the nests of
N. meridionalis, only all the young were of nearly uniform size, and very
small. On Novemlier 21 I dag out a mother spider of this species (meri'
dlonalis) with forty -one little ones !

I

114 TRAP- DOOR SPIDERS.

tlie control of this wonderful maternal resolution,
slackened and fell abroad.*

I need scarcely say that the small spiders were
killed by the spirit in a very few instants, but
it is almost certain that the mother was alive
and conscious for half an hour. Now this pain can
easily be spared by placing large spiders for about
ten minutes in a closed box with a piece of cotton
wool steeped in chloroform beside them, before drop-
ping them into the spirit of wine, a system which I
have since that day adopted and found to answer
perfectly.

I examined these young spiders carefully, hoping
to detect some males among them, but the males,
though they differ markedly from the females when
adult in their smaller size and curious!}^- enlarged
palpi, do not appear to afford any distinctive mark at
this early period. It appeared that these spiders had
been but recently hatched, for some among them
were still semi-transparent.

I have never found young spiders in the nests of
Cteniza fodiens or Nemesia ca7ne?itaria.

M, de Walckenaerf quotes a statement made by
M. Eossi to the effect that Cteniza fodiens carries
its young on her back, as certain species of Lycosa
(Tarantula) do. He points out the interest which
would attach to this observation if confirmed, as show-
ing a similarity in habit between the two groups,
which are otherwise nearly related.

* My own impression is that this act was one of conscious protection on
the part of the niotber spider ; but Mr. Pickard-Cambridge doubts this,
and would attribute the action to the tendency which spiders commonly
display to clutch at any material object when dying in this way.

t Walckenaer (C. A. de), Les Aran^ides de France (date ?), p. 5,

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 115

Observations of this kind are difficult to make satis-
factoril}^ at least in the case of the trap-door spiders
with which I am acquainted, and which appear to be
nocturnal in their habits. I have certainly never
seen them out of their nests in the daytime, and but
rarely detected one of them {Nemesia ccementarid) even
venturing to peer out of her door set ajar for the
purpose.*

The following very singular account is given by
M. Erberf of the habits of Cteniza ariana, which he
watched in the island of Tinos. I quote from the
abstract given in the Zoological Record cited below : —
" At night these spiders come out of their nests,
fasten the open trap-door to neighbouring objects,
and spin a net, about six inches long by scarcely half
an inch in height. In the morning the nets were
removed, and Erber believes that the net of each
night is added to the trap-door. He found eggs at
the bottom of the tubes, attached singly to threads, to
the number of about sixty. The young seem to form
dwellings very early."

It would be very interesting to know whether
these nocturnal habits are also found in our spiders
on the Kiviera.

* M. Olivier, however, states (Encyclopedic Methodique, torn xviii.,
p. 228, Art. Araign^es Mineuses, Paris, 1811) that he has twice found nests
in the islands off Hyeres and on the promontory of St. Tropez the doors of
which were set open in the daytime and the tube emi^ty, this seeming to
imply that the spiders were out hunting and were diurnal in their habits.
He did not see the spiders, but from his description the nest was of the cork

type Here is an interesting point, and one which those naturalists

who make Hyferes the held of their observations should endeavour to throw
further light upon.

t In Verhandlungen der k. k. zool. hot. Gesellschaft in Wien, vol. xviii.
pp. 905, 906, quoted in Zodoyicul Record, vol. v. p. 173 (18G8); see also
Appendix B.

I 2

118 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

I have been favoured* with a sight of an unpub-
lished mannscript by Mr. Hansard giving an account
of his observations on Cteniza fodiens, made in Corfu.
This gentleman states that some of these spiders
which he kept in captivit}^ used to come out at night,
and might sometimes be surprised roaming about the
room at a very early hour in the morning. He, how-
ever, relates tliat he had received from a friend an
account of a trap-door spider inhabiting the island of
Formosa, in the Cliina seas, which constructed nests
similar to those of Cteniza fodiens, but which were
habitually to be seen outside their nests in the day-
time, attracting attention by " staring at" any one
who might approach, and then hurrying back to
their nests and closing their doors after them.

Lady Parker has also told me of some black trap-
door spiders which were so common about Paramatta,
near Sydney, in Australia, that scarcely any one paid
attention to tliem, and which miglit habitually be
seen out on the garden paths in the daytime near
their holes, to which they would run in all haste
when alarmed. The eye of the passer-by was at-
tracted by the open doors, which were about the size
of a sixpence, and fall over backwards when the spider
makes her exit, but when closed, on her return, they
fit so neatly that it is extremely difficult to detect
them.

It will, perhaps, have been observed that I have
throughout spoken of the female spider only, scarcely
any allusion having been made to the male. The
truth is that, though 1 have carefully searched for

* I am indebted to Mr. Moseley for procuring this MS., and to Prof.
RoUeston, whose property it is, for periDission to make use of it.

TRAP -DOOR SPIDERS. 117

them, T have never been able to secure more than
a single male spider.* During the winter, spring,
and late autumn (October) the female appears to live
solitary, in the daytime at least, and the male proba-
bly hides in the crevices of old walls and in similar
places. I have diligently turned over piles of stone,
greatly to the annoyance of many little scorpions, but
have never secured, or even seen, another male spider.
This is the more to be regretted as the species of
trap-door spider are much better characterized in the
male than in the female sex, the bulb-like enlarge-
ment which is found at the end of the palpi in the
former taking on a great variety of forms, each of
which is distinctive.

M. de Walckenaerf says: — "C'est toujours pen-
dant la nuit que ces araneides travaillent a leurs
habitations et courent apres leur proie. C'est en
Aout que la Mygale mayonne {Nemesia — or Mygcde —

ccementarid) atteint toute sa grosseur En

Septembre elle devient mere et mechante en meme

temps les m ouches, les moucherons, les

petits vers lui servent de pature ; elle les prend dans
les filets qu'elle etend et attache sur les iuegalites des
terres voisines de sa demeure. Elle vit apres la ponte
en societe avec son male. Dorthes a vu plusieurs fois,
dans la meme habitation, le male et la femelle avec
une trentaine de petits."

Any one, therefore, who has an opportunity of exa-
mining the nests during the early autumn, might

* Three days before sending this ^IS. to print, and long after the plates
had been coiiiijleted. I captured on Oct. 23rd one male of Stmcsia Eleunora.
He lay crouched in a crevice in a mossy bank, and had, perhaps, been driven
out of some deeper hiding-place by the heavy rains.

+ Les Araneides de France, p. 4.

1:18 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

perhaps, discover the happy families spoken of by M.
Dorthes, but wliich it has never been my good for-
tune to see. It is not known positively whether the
male spider ever assists in the construction of the
nest, but, as we know that the female is able to make
it without his aid, there seems no reason to suppose
that he does.

I have seen the female Nemesia meridionalis construct
a trap-door in captivity, after having been placed on a
flower-pot full of earth in which I had made a cylin-
drical hole.* She quickly disappeared into this hole,
and, during the night following the day of her
capture, she made a thin web over the aperture, into
which she wove any materials which came to hand.
The trap-door at this stage resembled a rudely con-
structed, horizontal, geometrical web, attached by two
or three threads to the earth at the mouth of the hole,
while in this web were caught tlie bits of earth, roots,
moss, leaves &c. which the spider had thrown into it
from above. After the second night the door appeared
nearly of the normal texture and thickness, but in no
case would it open completely, and it seemed that the
spider was too much disgusted with her quarters to
think it worth while to make a perfect door. I believe
that when a door is finished the few threads which
served as supports and connected it with the earth on
either side of the hinge are severed, and this is borne
out by the following instance. While I was at work
one evening drawing the spider's nest concealed in the
plant of ceterach fern (Plate XI., fig. A, p. 105) which
I had dug out for the purpose, i detected something

* An account of fiirther experiments with captive spiders will be found in
Appendix G.

TRAPDOOR SPIDERS. 119

moving at the moutli of a tiny hole [just large enough
to admit a crowquill pen] in the mass of earth on the
opposite side of the fern to that in which the large
trap- door lay.

The lamp-liglit fell full upon it, and I soon saw that
the moving object was a very small spider, not bigger
than that drawn at B 2 in Plate IX., which was at work
in the moutbof its tube. Whetherlhad,in removing: this
mass of earth, destroyed the door I cannot say, but it
is certain that the opening of the tube was completely
uncovered, and it soon became apparent that the little
spider was intent upon remedjnng this deficiency.
A.fter a few threads had been spun from side to side of
the tube I watched the spider make one or two hasty
sorties, apparently spinning all the while, and finally I
saw her gather up an armful, as it were, of earth and lay
this on the web. After this the occupant of the tube
was concealed, but I could see from the movement of
the particles of earth that tliey were being consolidated,
and that the weaving of the under surface of the door
was being completed. Next morning I was able to
lift up the door, which had the form of a small cup of
silk, in which the earth lay. It was then soft and
pliant, but in ten days time it had hardened and
become a very fair specimen of a minute cork door (see
figs. A 1, A 2, of Plate XL).

On one occasion a captive Nemesia ineridionalis
emploj^ed some pieces of scarlet braid which I had
purposely strewed, along with bits of moss and frag-
ments of leaves, in a circle round the opening of, and
about two inches away from, the hole.

It is probable that these spiders have in times past
learned by experience that they cannot do better than

120 TRAP-DOOB SPIDERS.

take such materials as come to hand, as these will
ordinarily serve for the concealment of their door.

However, these trap-door spiders do seem to exercise
some discrimination in the choice of materials ; for I
have observed several instances in which, when the
door of a cork nest has been removed, if the door was
originally covered with moss, moss will again be used
in its reconstruction, even though the mouth of the
tube be then surrounded by bare earth.

Thus, for example, in one case where I had cut out
a little clod of mossy earth, about two inches thick
and three square on the surface, containing the top of
the tube and the moss-covered cork door of N. ccEmen-
taria, I found, on revisiting the place six days later,
that a new door had been made, and that the spider
had mounted up to fetch moss from the undisturbed
bank above, planting it in the earth which formed
the crown of the door.* Here the moss actually called
the eye to the trap, which lay in the little plain of
brown earth made by my digging.

I have seen the same thing happen when the door
of N. Eleanor a has been removed and replaced, moss
being again used in the work of reconstruction. Trap-
door spiders in warm weather very quickly replace
their trap-doors ; and if you pass by a wall where
several nests have been robbed of their doors only
a week before, they will usually be found quite perfect
again.

It has been statedf that, if the door of a cork nest

* Mrs. Boyle first called my attention to tins curious fact, of which I
have since seen many examples. I have purposely removed several cork
dcors from mossy banks in order to observe this point.

+ M. Dorthes on the Structure and CEconomy of some Curious Species of
Arauea, in Trans. Linn. Soc. (London), II. 88 — 90.

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 121

"be fastened down with a pin, a second door will be
found next day by the side of the former one. No
doubt spiders not unfrequently find their doors
blocked up by a fall of earth, and are thus obliged
either to make a new opening or to prolong the old
tube.

I once fastened open the surface doors of three of
the double-door nests by passing a thread through
the silk of the door and tying it back to some twigs
above. The doors were thus turned backwards, and
the aperture of the tubes, which lay in a vertical ter-
race wall, exposed to view.

Next day, after a night of very heavy rain, I found
the doors as I had left them, but in one nest the
lip of the tube had been dragged inwards so as
partially to close the tube ; in the second nothing
appeared to have been done, but in the third nest a
new covering had been very cleverly extemporized
out of three fallen oUve-leaves, which were loosely
spun together and attached by one or two threads to
the margin of the tube. This formed an admirable
concealment, but did not move freely as a door, the
web being too imperfect Two days later, however, it
was comiDleted and had become a perfect door, mov-
ing on a hinge just within and below that of the
former door, which still remained as I had fastened
it. The other nests remained in the same condi-
tion as before, only that a little moss had been
dragged into the mouth of the tube of the nest,
which had been partially closed with its own lip.

The extreme reluctance which these spiders show
to abandon their dwellings is curiously exemplified
by what follows.

122 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

Certain nests which were furnished with two doors
of the cork type were observed by Mr. S. S. Saunders*
in the Ionian Islands. The door at the surface of
these nests was normal in position and structure, but
the lower one was placed at the very bottom of the
nest and inverted, so that, though apparently in-
tended to open downwards, it was permanently closed
by the surrounding earth. The presence of a cai-e-
fully constructed door in a situation which forbade
the possibility of its ever being opened seemed,
indeed, something difficult to account for. However,
it occurred to Mr. Saunders that, as these nests were
found in the cultivated gi'ound round tlie roots of
olive-trees, they may occasionally have got turned
topsy-turvy when the soil was broken up. The
spider then, finding her door buried below in the
ground and the bottom of the tube at the surface,
would have either to seek new quarters or to adapt
the nest to its altered position, and make an opening
and door at the exposed end. In order to try
whether one of these spiders would do this Mr.
Saunders placed a nest, with its occupant inside, up-
side down in a flower-pot. After the lapse of ten
days a new door was made, exactly as he had conjec-
tured it would be, and the nest presented two doors
like those which he had found at first.

There is a specimen of one of these inverted nests,
with its two doors, in the British Museum, and this
might easily be supposed, at first sight, to be an
example of a new kind of double-door nest. On close
inspection, however, it will be seen that one of the

• Description of a sjjecies of Mygale from Ionia in Trans, of Eut. Soc.
(London, 1839), III. p. 160.

TRAP -DOOR SPIDERS. 123

two doors is discoloured and partly decayed, this
being, no doubt, the one which had been buried be-
neath in the earth and so rendered useless.

Questions have often been asked as to the manner
in which trap-door nests are commenced in the first
instance, and whether the weaving of the silk lining
is begun at the top or the bottom of the tube.

The structure of the cork door also, which often
appears so perfectly turned as to resemble the work
of a potter's lathe, is another difficulty.

These questions have, as it seems to me, been
needlessly complicated by taking it for granted that
the perfect nest of the mature spider is made all at
one time, that the tube, perhaps of a foot in length,
is excavated, lined, and furnished with a door within
some short period of time, such as ten days or a
fortnight, perhaps.

On the contrary, I believe that the nests are, as a
rule, the result of many successive enlargements, and
that the nest of the infant, the tube of which is no
bigger than a crowquill, is not abandoned, but be-
comes that of the full-grown spider. This must
require time, but how long, whether months or years,
we have yet to learn.

Very little is known at present as to the longevity
of spiders, but Mr. Blackwall* says that some live
only one year, while others, such as Tegenaria civilis
and Segestria senoculata, have been known to live four.

Whether the trap-door spiders are very long lived
or not I cannot positively sa}^ but, from the appear-
ance of the growth of moss and lichen on the doors

• Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland, p. 8.

124 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

of some nests which I have observed, I am inclined
to think that they must have been inhabited for
more than a twelvemonth.

Evidence of the enlargement of the door is not
very rare to meet with, though, as a rule, the new
piece is woven on to the old with such neatness as
more or less to obscure this. In fig. B, Plate X., p. 100,
the old and smaller surface-door of a nest of Nemeaia
meridionalis is seen partially attached to the larger
new door, which has been constructed below it ; while
in fig. C of the same plate, three doors, or rather three
enlargements of one door, may be traced. It is this,
I believe, that gives rise to the tiled appearance
which these trap-doors sometimes present, and which
has caused them to be compared to oyster-shells.
Something similar may also be occasionally seen in
doors of the cork tj^pe, as, for example, in that figured
at A and A 1 in Plate VIII., p. 94, where the old and
smaller door is seen partially raised above the surface
of the new one. This I imagine to be merely an
example of rather clums}' workmanship, as, if I am
right, a full-sized cork door usually incloses within
itself several lesser doors, which formerly fitted the
tube and have had to be enlarg'ed.

This is borne out by the fact that such a door will,
on examination, be found to consist of several layers of
silk, with more or less earth between each, these layers
decreasing in size from without inwards, and together
forming a sort of saucer in which the small central mass
of earth lies. Thus by moistening a series of the cork
door.s of Nemesia cceinentaria, I have been able to detach,
in one of medium size, from six to fourteen circular
patches of silk, of which the outermost, or that which

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 125

forms the lower surface of the door, is the largest, and
the innermost the smallest, the others being inter-
mediate in size as in position. Perhaps if I had had
larger doors at my disposal for examination I might
have found more layers, as other authors* speak of a
much greater number of la3^ers in the cork doors of
Cteniza fodiens. Be this as it may, I am confirmed in
my opinion that the layers of silk mark the suc-
cessive enlargements of the nest by the additional fact
that in very small doors the layers of silk are few or
single, and that a proportion is observable as a rule
between the size of the door and the number of layers
of which it is composed, t

Another proof that enlargement takes place, may at
times be found in the nests of N. Eleanora, where one,
or even two useless doors may be detected behind the
lower door.

Now when there are three lower doors in this way
the one which is in use is the largest, and the door lying
nearest to this one the next in size, while the hindmost
is the smallest of all. But though those abandoned
doors are now too small to fit the existing tube, they

* M. de Walckenaer seems to have found more than thirty alternate layers
of silk and earth in cue of the doors of Cteniza fodiens, as we may gather
from the following : — " Quoique cette porte n'ait guere que trois lignes
d'epaisseur, elle est form^e par la superposition de plus de trente couches de
terre s^parees les unes des autres par autant de couches de toile. Toutes
ces assises successives s'emboitent les unes dans les autres comme les poids
de cuiv^re a I'usage de nos petites balances. Les couches de toile se termi-
nent au pourtour de la porte." Walckenaer, Histoire des Insectes Aptferes
(Suites k Buffon), vol. i. p. 238 (Paris, 1837).

I have not found the regular layers of earth and silk of which M. de
Walckeuaer speaks, the silk laj-ers being usually in contact at their centres
and only separated by a little ring of earth interposed between their edges,
this earth being thickest towards the circumference of the layers of silk.

+ This may be seen by the comparison of the composition of doors of
different sizes, given in Appendix H.

126 TRAP- DOOR SPIDERS.

did SO, no doubt, in their day, for they are exact copies
in miniature of the ordinary horse-shoe shaped lower
doors. The lower door actually in use may sometimes
be found to have two separable cases of thick silk
enclosing the central mass of earth, and this also, very
probably, represents enlargement. In the nests of JV.
meridionals I have never found any of these abandoned
doors behind the one in use, nor should I expect
to find any, for if they were present they would
permanently obstruct the entrance from the main tube
to the branch.

It is clear that it is better economy on the part of
the spider to enlarge its nest rather than build a new
one each time. If we compare the infant spider and its
nest (fig. B, Plate IX., p. 98) with the full-grown
creature and its nest (fig. A, Plate IX.), it becomes
evident that the growing spider must either construct
many nests of intermediate size, or frequently enlarge
the original domicile. And we do in fact find nests
of all sizes between the two extremes.

I cannot help thinking that these very small nests,
built as they are by minute spiders probably not very
long hatched from the egg, must rank among the most
marvellous structures of the kind with which we are
acquainted. That so young and weak a creature should
be able to excavate a tube in the earth many times its
own length, and know how to make a perfect miniature
of the nest of its parents, seems to be a fact which has
scarcely a parallel in nature.

When we remember how difficult a thing it is for
even a trained draughtsman to reduce by eye a com-
plicated drawing or model to a greatly diminished
scale, we must own that the performance of this feat

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 127

by a baby spider is so surprising as almost to exceed
belief.

And yet even tlie most complicated form of nest —
namely, that of the branched double-door type — is
perfectly reproduced in miniature by these tiny
architects, with the upper door, lower door, main
tube, and branch (fig. B, Plate IX., p. 98).

In order to test whether the doors are enlarged or
not I measured the surface doors of seven double-door
nests and one minute cork door on April 30th, making
a careful plan of the terrace wall in which they lay, in
order to make sure of finding them again on my return
to Mentone in October.

The following table will show that all were enlarged,
the average rate of increase being 1^^ lines in the
five and a half months which had elapsed: —

Measured April 30, 1872.

Measured Oct. 18, 1872.

No. I. 9 lines across

No. I. 10| lines across

II. 4

II. 54

III. ik

III. H

IV. 4

IV. 4L

V. 2

V. 3

VI. 24

VI. missing

VII. 1

,, (the cork)

VII. 2 lines across

VIII. 5

VITI. 74 „

We can scarcely venture from such limited premises
to draw any precise conclusions, but if we suppose
that during the entire course of the year the nests
increase on an average by about four lines in
diameter, and assume that the rate of growth continue
the same, the nest of the infant spider, whose surface
door measures scarcely a line across, would still
require four years to attain the dimensions of some
of the largest double-door nests, whose surface doors
measure sixteen lines across.

128 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

It seems to be the rule with spiders generally that
the offspring should leave the nest and construct
dwellings for themselves when very young.

Mr. Blackwall,"'^ speaking of British spiders, says : —
" Complicated as the processes are by which these
symmetrical nets are produced, nevertheless young
spiders, acting under the influence of instinctive im-
pulse, display, even in their first attempts to fabricate
them, as consummate skill as the most experienced
individuals."

Again, Mr. F. Pollockf relates of the young of
Ujjeii'a aurelia, which he observed in Madeira, that
when seven weeks old they made a web the size of
a penny, and that these nets have the same beautiful
symmetry as those of the full-grown spider. Those
of the latter are vertical, circular, made of about 250
feet of thread, having about 35 radial lines and 38
concentric circles, the outermost of which is some 20
inches in diameter. After the lapse of a day or two
the web loses its adhesive property and a new one is
made. In about six months the female Epeira has
completed her ten changes of skin, one of which takes
place in the cocoon, and " at the end of eight months
the spider is 2700 times as heavy as at its birth."
This ^czr« lives, we are told, for about eighteen months.

One can scarcely contemplate the work of these
architects and weavers, and especially of the trap-door
makers, without being carried away into the whirlpool
of discussion which has so long raged round the word
instinct.

* Loc. cit., p. 11.
+ The History and Habits of Epeira aurdia, in Annals and Mag of Nat,
Hist, for June, 1865.

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 129

Do the young spiders build their first nest by in-
stinct— that is to say, independently of all teaching or
personal experience — or do they coj^y the nests in
which they were hatched ?

What is wanting, however, is not discussion, of
which we have had enough, but demonstration, and
demonstration is hard to come by, depending as it
must upon careful and repeated experiment.

If it were practicable, and I have no reason to know
that it is not, to rear spiders from the egg away from
the nest, and then to cause them to build in places
where they should be perfectly at home and yet cut
off from all communication with their kind, we might
liope to learn whether they can construct the charac-
teristic nests of their species without ever having
seen one.

Mr. Wallace* shows that there is some reason to
doubt whether birds, which are so frequently said to
build by instinct, would, under parallel circumstances,
construct the nest proper to their kind ; and he states
that birds brought up from the egg in cages do not
do so, nor do they even sing their parents' song with-
out being taught.

Of course we can scarcely compare birds and spiders
together, but we should hesitate, in view of Mr.
Wallace's expressed opinion as to the nest-building
habits of the former, to assume that the latter are
independent of teaching and personal experience. It
may very possibly be so, but it has never been proved.

I have endeavoured to gather together all the pub-

* Chapters on Instinct and on tlie Philosophy of Birds' Nests, in his Con.
tributions to the Theory of Natural Selection.

K

130 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

lished records of tlie nests of spiders belonging to the
sub-order Territelarice, with a view, if possible, to trace
out the geographical range of the several types of
structure. 1 have, however, met with but a small
amount of success, and even among the limited number
of tolerably complete accounts of nests which I have
been able to discover, several made no mention of the
spider to which the nest belongs.

Prof. Ausserer* has enumerated 215 species of
Territelari(B as having been found in the world at
large, but of this large number ten only, as far as I
have been able to learn, have been described in con-
nexion with their nests, and eight of these belong to
the Mediterranean region. f To these we may now
add two more, namely, Nemesia meridionalis, with its
branched double-door nest, and N. Eleanora the builder
of the unbranched double-door nest, thus making
twelve in all.

Three of the twelve, however, Atypus piceus. A,
Blackwallii, and Nemesia celUcola,\ do not appear to
build true trap-doors, but only a simple silk tube
without any covering at the mouth.

The following tabular view will show to which of
the four types of trap-door nest those of the remain-
ing nine spiders belong, and their geographical dis-
tribution : —

* In his monograph of Territelarice quoted above.

+ I use this term in its widest sense, making it even include Morocco.
A list of the species known to inhabit this region will be found in Ap-
pendix C.

t See Appendix A, p. 141.

TRAP. DOOR SPIDERS.

131

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS WHICH BUILD

Nests of the cork type.

Nests of tlie sin-
gle-door wafer
type.

Nests of the

double-door

brauthed type.

Nests of the

double-door

unbranched type.

Idiops syriacus, Beirut.
Ctenizafodiens ( Ct. Sauvagei), Cor-
sica, Pisa, Mentone.
Ct. iedificatoria, Tangiers.

Cteniza nidic-
lans, West
Indies (and
South Ame-

Nemesia
meridionalis,
Mentone,
Cannes, and

Nemesia
Eleanora.
Mentone, and
Cannes.

Ct. {Cyrtocarenum) ionicum,
Ionian Islands.

rica ?)

Sestri, near
Genoa.

Ct. {Cyrtocarenum) Ariana, Xaxos,
Tinos.

Nemesia ccementaria, South of
France, Spain, Sardinia, Cor-
sica, Sicily, Algiers, and the
var. germanica from Wippach,

near Gorz.
[Nests, apparently of the true
cork type, have also been
found in Australia, New Gra-
nada, India, and the island of

Formosa, but their occupants
are unknown.]

As far, therefore, as I know at present, the cork
type of nest is the only one which is widely spread,
and which is constructed by spiders of more than one
species. For, while the single-door wafer, and the
branched and unbranched double-door nests are each
the work of one particular spider, we see that nests
of the cork type are made by spiders of six distinct
species, belonging to at least three genera.

It is almost certain that a much larger number of
spiders of different kinds, though all probably members
of the sub-order Territelarice, construct nests of the
cork type, for descriptions and sjDecimens of trap-
doors of this kind are brought from the most distant
parts of the globe. It is true that these specimens
and descriptions usually only show us the surface-
door, but as far as our present knowledge goes, we

K 2

132 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

are led to suppose tliat a door of the cork type is
always associated with a simple tube, in which there
is no trace of a second door or valve, so that, judging
of the unknown by the known, we conclude that
nests which possess the characteristic peculiarity of
a true cork door are true cork nests in other respects
also. Further research may possibly show tliat there
are exceptions to this generalization, but I do not
at present know of any.

I have seen Australian specimens of large trap-
doors, of the cork type, measuring from one to two
inches across. In some of these the doors were scarcely
more than semicircular but very thick, and having
their edges bevelled so as to correspond with the
sloping margin of the tube ;* in others, found at
Paramatta, and described to me by Lady Parker
as being tenanted by a black spider, the doors were
said to be circular and much smaller, scarcely larger
than a sixpence, and of the cork type.

The upper portion of a nest from New Grranadahas
been figured and described by M. Victor Audouin,f
which closely resembles that drawn at Fig. A in Plate
VII., p. 88, but the door is about a third larger.

I have also been assured that nests of the cork
type are found in many parts of India, and we have
seen above that they are reported to be common in
the island of Formosa.

Putting all this together, it will be seen that nests
of this type are found all round the globe ; in For-
mosa, India, Syria, the Grecian Archipelago, Italy

* Specimens of Australian nests may be seen in the cases at the British
Museum.

+ Note sur la demeure d'une araignee magonne de I'Am^rique du Sud,
Annales des Sciences Naturelles (Zoologie), torn. vii. tab. 3, p. 227-231.

TRAP. DOOR SPIDERS. 1S3

and the adjacent islands, Trieste, South France, Spain,
Morocco, New Granada, and Australia; while the
single-door wafer nest is only known at present in
the West India islands ;* the branched double-door
nest at Mentone, Cannes, and Pegli near Genoa, and
[doubtfully] near Naples and in Ischia ; and the un-
branched double-door type at Mentone and Cannes
alone. It is quite probable that these three latter
forms of nest will some day be found to have a much
wider range than that assigned to them here, but I
can scarcely think it likely that they will ever be
shown to claim the world-wide distribution of the
cork type. Supposing that these nests are eventually
discovered in many widely distant localities, a very
interesting question will arise as to the specific cha-
racters of the spiders which inhabit and construct
them. Shall we then find, for example, that nests of
the unbranched double-door type are not tenanted
and fixbrieated by Nemesia Eleanora alone, as we
have hitherto found to be the case, but by many
other distinct species also, each in its peculiar
district ?

That is to say, will the type of nest remain the
same while the occupants vary, as in the cork
nests ?

If, on the other hand, we learn that these three
types, the single-door wafer, the branched and un-
branched double-door nests, are very local, we shall
be led to inquire into the probable causes of this
limitation.

But we must study much more closely the habits of

* There is a nest exhibited in the Museum collection at the Jardin des
Plantes at Paris, marked " Am^rique du Sud," which is perhaps of this type.

134 TRAP- DOOR SPIDERS.

these trap-door spiders, and the difficulties and dangers
to which they are exposed, if we wisli to appreciate
fully the true meaning and intention of the structure
of their nests, and to find the clue to the difficult
question why one type should be more frequently
adopted than another. Above all, we must discover
what are their enemies, and how and when they are
most exposed to them. M. de Walckenaer gives an
entertaining account* of the enemies to which spiders
generally are exposed, and of this the following list is
an abstract,

Manj^ kinds of monkeys, squirrels, and several sorts
of birds, as well as lizards, tortoises, frogs, and toads
prey upon spiders. A species of black sheep, found in
the steppes of Asiatic Jlussia, unearths the tarantulas
(Lycosa), and eats them. (" Une espece de brebis noire,
dans les steppes de la Eussie asiatique, deterre les
tarentules et les mange"). In the East India Archi-
pelago there is an entire genus of birds of the passe-
rine order, which have been named " Arachnopteres "
because the different sj^ecies of which it is composed
live exclusively on spiders. Besides these, the centi-
pede {Scolojjendrd), and the following Hymenopterous
insects, Pliilanthes, Sjjhex, Fowjnlus, FimjAa Ovivora,
and F. Arachnitor [which last lay their eggs in the
eggs of spiders], carry on perpetual hostihties against
them.

I have seen it stated that ants are among the worst
enemies of spiders, driving their galleries through the
silk tubes of the latter and devouring their eggs. Of
this I have never seen any trace, and, on the contrary.

Histoire dcs Insectes Aptferes (Suites a Buffon), vol. i. p. 172-7.

TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS. 135

have on four occasions found the remains of ants'
bodies at the bottom of the trap-door spiders'
nests.

I have but seldom detected any refuse in these nests,
and this accords vv^ith what M. Erber tells us* of the
care with which Cteniza Ariana, which he watched by
moonlight in the island of Tinos, carried away the
empty bodies of the beetles, the juices of which had
been sucked out, to a distance of some feet from its
hole. In October, 1872, however, I found a black
layer of debris 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.

As far as I am aware, M. Erber is the only naturalist
who has ever placed any detailed observations on
record as to the nocturnal habits of a trap-door spider
in its native haunts ;. and we may learn from him
how we should watch these creatures, if we wish to
discover the manner in which they take their prey,
and of what their prey consists.

He relates how he witnessed the capture, in the
long low snare which Cteniza Ariana spreads close to
the ground, of two strong, night-flying beetles {Pimelia
and Cephalosteims), and how these were at once de-
voured, and their horny coats thrown away.

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?

* A translation of these very interesting observations will be found below
in Appendix B.

186 TRAP-BOOR SPIDERS.

and what do they fear ? we should have advanced a
long way towards resolving the larger problem as to
the causes which limit particular species to certain
districts.

I greatly envy those who are able to travel, and
who have it in their power to investigate the habits
of these creatures at several widely sej)arated points ;
for there seems every probability that other new types
of nest remain to be detected in warm climates, some
of which may perhaps exceed those we have been
here studying in beauty of workmanship and adapta-
tion ; 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.

Indeed it appears to me that we are only on the
threshold of discoveries of this kind, and that the
materials brought together in tlie preceding pages
may be considered as but a small sample of what may
be collected on the outermost edge of this great
domain.

I shall be satisfied if I have been able in the present
little work, to hold the door sufficiently ajar to permit
those who love nature and her ways to catch a glimpse
of the wonders and beauties of the untrodden land
that lies beyond.

APPENDIX.

A.

Kemesia {My gale) meridionalis, Costa.*

" M. fusco rufoque-flavicante, maculis obscurioribus, thorace
radiatim, abdomine seriatim dispositis, subtus thorace rufes-
ceute, abdomine flavidulo, mandibulis spinarum serie unica,
tarsis omnibus spinulosis."

" The cephalo-tborax oval, elongated and truncate in front,
while the head is smooth and bare, with a group of eight
eyes, a little keeled in the middle ; of a fulvous-brown colour,
with ten rather dusky spots arranged in rays, and correspond-
ing to the direction of the eight legs (anche) and the two
maxillae. The mandibles are large, horizontal at first, then
curved downwards, making a quarter of a circle, furnished
with numerous hairs, especially on the inner side, and at the
anterior extremity above there are mobile and rather long
spines ; below they are channelled, with six little teeth or
spines on the edge (rilievo) of the inner face, clothed with
many bristling hairs, with which the outside is also covered,
but without any teeth ; on the inner face they are flat-
tened, so that they fit perfectly close. The fang is strong,
curved, acute, and black. The maxillae are clothed with
brown hairs almost as the legs are, and at their extremity, on
the outer side, stand the long palpi, rather hairy (pelacciuti),
terminated by a very short and simple little claw. The ster-
nal lip is very small and round. The abdomen oval, longer
or shorter according to age, dusky ash in colour, spotted with

* Costa, Fauna del Eegno di Napoli, Aracnidi (1861), p. 14, tab. i.
figs. 1-4. [Translation.]

138 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

brown, and covered with short and depressed (rasicci)
hairs. The brown spots are disposed in slanting lines, placed
obliquely to the median line, which is also brown ; below it is
somewhat lighter, and becomes slightly yellow, increasingly
so in the female as pregnancy advances. The pulmonal sacs
are always pale yellow, and involved in the fold (trainezzati
dalla ripiegatura) . Between these, and within the fold itself,
the female sexual organ opens, consisting of a transverse
opening invisible to the naked eye, but clearly seen on using
a lens and removing the fold under which it is concealed, by
means of the point of a scalpel or of a pin. The posterior
extremity of the anus presents four spinnerets, of which the
two upper are much the longer, and composed of four easily
seen joints, the lower very short. The feet are moderate,
and the longest are of the length of the entire body when
this is fully developed (quando e perfettamente sviluppato) ;
of these the fourth pair are about a third longer than the
first, the third of about the same length as the second, which
is the shortest of all. The tarsi of these are armed with two
small curved claws, and the third and fourth joint with many
long, delicate, straight, and mobile spines, which in the first
pair become fewer as they approach the last joint. The eyes
are arranged in three lines, as they are represented in C,
Plate I., Fig, 3, and of these the two last of the posterior line
are white and glistening, the others brown,

" Our Mygale lives m tubular cavities, or burrows, which she
excavates for herself in loose and friable soil, in walls made of
volcanic earth, 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. The burrows do not exceed the length of
a palm, eight lines at their widest part. For about the
length of an inch the tube is funnel shaped, thence it con-
tinues of a nearly uniform magnitude. Its first direction is
almost horizontal, then it rises continually, turning to the
right or left, and sometimes makes zigzags. As the tubes
are excavated in friable soil, she takes care to tapestry them
inside with the same glutinous material of which the other
races make their web, by means of which the burrows are
made smooth on the inside, and to strengthen them in

APPENDIX. 139

such a manner that even when the outer earthy part has
become cracked, or been torn away by the action of the rain,
they remain firm and fit to conceal their inhabitant. I have
often found the tubes of web thus left exposed, as they are
represented in Plate L, Fig. 4, situated in the cement of a
wall, and among Lyeopodium dentlcidatum, Adiantuni
Capillus- Veneris, Marcha7itia polymorpha, and other small
plants. And it seems that the animal, perceiving the nature
of the soil, takes care to reinforce the silken case, so much
the more as she finds the earth less firm, and rice versa. So
that in burrows excavated in solid ground, with the exception
of a little space close to the aperture, the nest is merely
smoothed and daubed ; while sometimes the spider constructs
a tube so strong that it supports itself even when deprived of
all the earth, the animal having had the foresight to attach
it along the course of the clefts of the rock, or to the cement
of the pieces of tufa in the wall, as represented in Plate I.
They have often also a double aperture, and the upper por-
tions of the burrows converging, meet and anastomose at about
two inches distance. The aperture is closed by a little door or
valve (a), which, having its hinge in the upper part and a little
on one side, falls by its own weight, and fits itself exactly to the
opening. The outer surface of the wicket is covered with
earth, cemented by the glue of the spider, so that it is ren-
dered imperceptible to common eyes, and the industrious
little creature takes care to leave around the aperture a Kind
of rim, to which the door fitting closely, leaves no passage for
any animal, nor does it show its edges. At the bottom of its
tube the creature keeps her numerous offspring, and always
stands herself as sentinel at the door, holding the wicket
raised by means of the four anterior feet, and the palpi, curved
extremities of which she inserts between the rim of the tube
and of the door, as represented in a' f. Sometimes, however,
they do not appear, but she leaves only the chink for observa-
tion, as one sees in a of the same figure. Fig. 2, at c, repre-
sents the aperture of an abandoned burrow, and at d the
raised door of another burrow, with its almost funnel-shaped
aperture. That which Sauvage, Olivier, and Latreille relate
of her is not true — namely, that she remains at the bottom of

140 TRAP- DOOR SPIDERS.

the burrow, and runs to the door only when she sees it
threatened, in order to keep the door firmly closed. On the
contrary, always standing at the door as sentinel, she leaves
it as soon as she thinks it in danger, so that it can be raised
without the least effort : but if you hold it a little raised
without making any sign of movement, she turns on her
back, and comes out to draw it down with her feet, making
all the efforts she can to conquer the obstacle. But if
you take it away entirely, she turns down the edges to
close the aperture as best she car, and that she does hurriedly,
without waiting for night. The li^ht seems to offend her
so much that, if exposed to the full day, she remains so
stupefied as to appear dead, nor does she move even if
shaken ; on the contrary, she constantly stops still and
holds herself with her feet pressed against her body. At
last, if very much disturbed, she runs quickly for some
distance, till she finds a place in which to hide her head, and
from thence she does not stir. I have observed that the bur-
rows are always short when the aperture is small, and in-
crease in length as they augment in diameter, which makes
me conclude that it is not true that they begin their excava-
tions from the base of the mother's tube, where I have never
found any communication with others. This spider is found
in the neighbourhood of Naples (ne' contorni della Capitale),
on the Camaldoli, in the island of Ischia, where it lives near
the sources of mineral waters, in Gaeta at the foot of the
olive trees, among the stones in the ground, &c. &c.

"Observation. The difference which distinguishes our My-
gale from the Sauvagesii consists, first, in the toothing of the
mandibles, which is observable on one side only of the chan-
nel, and not on both ; secondl}^ in the tarsi all equally armed
with spines, and not only the four anterior ones ; thirdly, in
the colour of the thorax and the abdomen, which is not
uniform as is usual in the Sauvagesii. Nevertheless, such
differences might be in part climatic, which would cause our
Mygale to be considered as a mere variety of the same
species, and the others might be the result of the different
method of examining the parts, and of the goodness of the
instruments,"

APPENDIX. 141

At p. 19, in the Fauna del Regno di Napoliy M. Costa
gives tiie following account of the ne&t o( Nemesia cellicola,
which he discovered above Saa Martino in September,
1833 :—

" Vive entro la polvere arida, nelle cavitk oscure delle
rauragUe, e propriamente nelle cosi dette Saettiere, ove, col
glutine suo, si costrnisce un tubodelicato e mobile, che ha cura
di affidare nel suo engine a qualche corpo stabile nel fondo del
muro, e che in terra uella polvere, aprendosi I'altro estremo
sul piano inclinato dalla polvere stessa costituto."

This, with the exception of the words " e che in terra nella
polvere," which are unintelligible to me as they stand, and
appear to want a verb, may be translated as follows: —

"She lives in the dry dust, in the obscure crevices of walls,
and especially in those which are called Saettiere (loop-holed
walls?), where she constructs a delicate and flexible tube with
her viscid secretion, and which she takes care to fasten at its
commencement to some solid body at the bottom of the wall,

the other extremity opening on the inclined plane

formed by the dust itself."

We may remark that there is here no mention of any door
or concealment at the mouth of the tube, and in this and
some other respects the nest of Nemesia cellicola would
appear to resemble the nest oi Aty pus 2:>iceus from the neigh-
bourhood of Paris. See above in the text, p. 78.

B.

On the Habits of Cteniza Ariana.

The following is a free translation of an account read by
M.Erber before the Botanico Zoological Association of Vienna,*
of the very curious observations which he made on Cteniza
Ariana when travelling in the Grecian Archipelago.

" On my return voyage [from Rhodes], I stayed for a fort-
night in the island of Tinos, and, among other things, I cap-

* Verhand. der k. k. zoologisch-botanischer Verein in Wien, vol. x\4ii.
(1868), p. 905.

142 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

tured several specimens of the so-called trap-door spider
(Deckelspinne)C^e?M2'a^rm7i«,Walck., and with much trouble

procured an entire tube and trap-door of this creature

I am thus enabled to exhibit to this honourable assembly the
complete nest of this creature, and the spider herself, with her
eggs, preserved in alcohol, and can moreover add some few
words as to her habits.

" It needs some practice, as the specimen before you shows,
to enable one to discover the nest, as the door is always closed
by day. I dug out several of these tubes, but failed to find
either the remains of food or excrement. So there was nothing
for it but to devote a couple of nights to watch these creatures.
With this view I selected a place where manj'^ spiders had
excavated their tunnels, and availed myself of a moonlight
night for my observations.

" Shortly after nine o'clock the doors opened and the spiders
came out, fastened back the trap-doors by means of threads
to neighbouring blades of grass or little stones, then spun a
snare about six inches long by half an inch high, and after-
wards returned quietly to their holes.

" I had so chosen ray position that I could see three of these
spiders at the same time. I now captured a specimen and put
it into spirits, and in a short time saw entangled in the net of
one of the remaining spiders a Pimelia, and of the other a
Ceplialostenus, both rather hard-lived, night-flying beetles,
which were seized by the spiders, and the latter, after sucking
out the juices, carried the empty bodies to a distance of
several feet from their holes. All these events happened in
about three hours, after which time I allowed the two spiders
to remain undisturbed, and returned to the house.

" Early next morning 1 revisited the spot, and then perceived
that these two spiders had entirely removed the net which they
made the preceding night, but the entrance to the nest of the
spider which I had captured still remained open, and I could
clearly trace the shape of its snare, on which the heavy
morning's dew lay. The upper threads were isolated, but the
snare became thicker as it approached the ground. I found
that these snares had, strange to relate, been gathered up by
the two other spiders, fastened on to the door, and smoothly

APPENDIX. 143

spun over, and, on making a vertical section of the doors, which
were nearly a quarter of an inch thick, I discovered that they
were composed of several layers.

"In the nests of several females I found eggs at the bottom
of the tube, not placed in cocoons, but attached by separate
threads. The young spiders when hatched are turned out
from the asylum of their mother's nest ; and I found these
creatures when scarcely two lines long already established in
nests three inches deep, and furnished with perfect trap-doors,
of which facts the specimens I now lay before you are the
evidence."

c.

Species of Territelarise, enumerated by Professor Ausserer,*
belonging to Europe and the Mediterranean region, with
synonyms, and two species which I have added in brackets: —

Atypusjnceus, Sulzer.(J.. Sidzeri, Latr.). Holland, France,
Switzerland, Germany, Northern Italy.

A. Blachwallii, Auss. England.

A. Anachoreta, L. Koch. Fiume.

Idiops Syriacus, Cambr. Beirut.

jEjjycephalus brevidens, Doleschall. Sicily.

Cteniza Sauvagei, Rossi. (Ct. fodiens), Corsica, Pisa,
Mentone, Ionian Islands.

Ct. orientalis, Auss. Brussa.

Ct. cediJicatoria,W est\Y. {Actinopus mdificatorius, Westw.)
Tangiers.

Ct. algeriana, Luc. Algiers.

Cyrtocarenum Arianum, Walck. [Mygale {Cteniza)
Ariana, Walck.). Naxos, Tinos.

C. tigrinwm, L. Koch. Syra.

C grajitm, C. Koch. Nauplia in the Morea.

C. ionicum, Saunders. Ionia.

C. lapidarium, Luc. Crete.

* Beitriige zur Kenntniss der Arachniden-Familie der TerritelariEe, in
k. k. zool.-bot. Gesellschaft in Wien (1871), vol. xxi. pp. 117-224.

144 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

Cyrtauchenius Walckenaerii, Luc. Algiers.

C. Doleschallii, Auss. Sicily.

C. shnilis, L. Koch. Saragossa.

C. obscurus, Auss. Sicily.

Nemesia ccementaria, Latr. S. France, Spain, Sardinia,
Corsica, Sicily, Algiers.

N. ccementaria, var. germanica, Auss. Wippach, near Gorz
in Trieste.

[iV. ineridionalis, Costa. Naples, Ischia, Sestri near Genoa,
Mentone, and Cannes.]

\N. Eleanova. Mentone and Cannes.]

N. cellicola, Sav. et Aud. Rome, Sicily, and Egypt.

N. maculatij^es, Doleschall. Sardinia.

N. badia. Auss. Corsica.

N. TnanderstjerncB, L. Koch. Nice.

N. hispanica, L. Koch. Madrid.

N. viacrocephala, Auss. Palermo.

Brachyfhele icterhia, C. Koch. Greece.

B. incerta, Auss. Brussa.

Macrothele calpetana, Walck. Southern Spain.

M. luctuosa, Luc. Southern Spain.

Leptopelma transalpina, Doleschall. Friuh.

Ischnocolos trianguUfer, Doleschall. Sicily.

I. holosericeus, L, Koch. Spain.

I. gracilis, Auss. Cyprus.

7. syriacus, Auss. Syria.

Chcetopelma wgyptiaca, Dol. Egypt.

D.

Hints 071 Collecting Spiders,

It is very important to collect adult specimens of males
and females, but the former, from their roaming habits, are
often extremely difficult to find.

At night they may sometimes be taken by lamplight near
the nests of the females, and certain kinds are said to

APPENDIX. 145

live with the female during the months of September and
October. The females may usually be found in their nests
during the daytime (always in Europe ?).

Large spiders should be killed, or at least stupefied with
chloroform, before being put into spirit of wine. It is con-
venient to place the specimens in glass test-tubes closed with
corks, and filled with pure spirit of wine, as they may then
be examined through the glass.

When specimens of more than one species are placed in
the same tube or bottle, it is well to distinguish each by a
number written in pencil on a small strip of card fastened
round the body with a slip-noose of thread.

The patterns on the abdomen and cephalo-thorax of the
spiders are seen very distinctly when the spiders are immersed
in sj)irits of wine, and these frequently afford characters which
aid in determining the species.

M. Thorell, in the introduction to his work On Fu7'opean
Spiders* gives a detailed account of a method by which
specimens may be prepared for mounting in cabinets, by dry-
ing them within a glass tube held over a fiame, but it would
appear that, for purposes of study, specimens preserved in
spirit of wine are far preferable.

It is very desirable to obtain characteristic portions of, or if
possible entire nests, but where the tubes are long, this is
extremely difficult to do satisfactorily.

Some nests, preserved in the British Museum, have been
coated with thin glue, and this appears to be of some use in
binding the parts together. I find that by stuffing the tube
full of cotton-wool, before attempting to remove the earth,
the nest may sometimes be obtained in tolerably good con-
dition.

* Thorell (T.), On European Spiders, in Nova Acta Eegiee Societ. Scientiar.
Tpsaliensis, ser. 3, vol. viii. fasc. I. et II. (Uj)sala, 1871).

146 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

E.

The Nest of the Tarantula {Lycosa Tarentuld).

As it is of some interest to compare the burrow of the
Tarantula with the nest of its near allies the trap-door spiders,
I give the following resurae oi M. Dufour's observations :* —

" Lycosa Taoxntula forms a cylindrical burrow in the earth,
often more than a foot long, and about one inch in diameter.
At about four or five inches below the surface the perpen-
dicular tube is bent horizontally, and it is at this angle that
the Tarantula watches for the approach of enemies or prey.

"The external orifice of the burrow of the Tarantula is
ordinarily surmounted by a separately constructed tube, and
which authors have not hitherto mentioned ; this tube, a true
piece of architecture, rises to about an inch above the surface
of the ground, and is sometimes as much as two inches in dia-
meter, being thus larger than the burrow itself. This tube
is principally composed of fragments of wood fastened
together with clayey earth, and so artistically disposed one
above the other that they form a scaffolding having the shape
of an upright column, of which the interior is a hollow
cylinder."

M. Dufour observes, however, that the exterior tube was
not found in all the nests. In every case the tube was lined
with silk throughout its whole length.

F.

The following description is that given by Prof. Ausserer
in his monograph of Territelarice,f of a male trap-door spider
which was found at Nice, and named by Herr L. Koch

* Quoted by M. Lucas, ia his Histoire Nat. des Animaux Crustacea et
Arachnides, p. 357.

+ Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Arachniden-Familie der Territelariae, in
Verhand. der k. k. zool.-bot. Gesellschaft in Wieu (1871), vol. xxi. p. 170.

APPENDIX. 147

N'emesia ManderstjerncE. It is just possible, I think, that
this male may in reality belong to N. meridionalis [Costa-
Cambr.], of which the female alone is at present known. "^ If
this is the case, then the name Manderstjernce will have to be
suppressed in favour of that of meridionalis. If not, we
have yet to discover the female spider and nest of another
species of Nemesla !

5. Nemesia Mandersfjeryiee, L. Koch.

$ Die genaue Beschreibung dieser hilbschen Art ihrem
Autor, Herrn Dr. L. Koch iiberlassend, fiihreu wir hier nur
jene wesentlichen Unterscheidungsmerkmale an, welche diese
Species von den verwandten auszeichnen. — Cephalothorax
schon gerundet mit schmalem, massig hohem Kopfe. — Augen-
hiigel hoch, nach vorn und hinten steil abfallend. — Die vor-
dere und hiutere Augenreihe bilden 2 nahezu parallele
Curven, mit der Concavitat nach vorn. Vordere Mittelaugen
stehen so hoch, dass eine Gerade von ihrer Basis zu den
Seitenaugen gezogen etwas liber denselben zu stehen kame,
zugleich sind sie von einander urn ihren Radius und kaura
welter von den vorderen Seitenaugen entfernt. Augen der
vorderen Reibe fast doppelt so gross als die der hinteren. —
Zahne des Rechens lang und spitz. — Palpen massig lang,
letztes und vorletztes Glied ahnlich bewaffnet wie bei N. cel-
licola.f — Bulbus birnformig, mit etwas kurzer, diinner Spitze.
— Alle Tarsen der Beine, ebenso Metatarsus I und II mit
diinner Scopula, zugleich sind die Tarsen wehrlos. — Tibia I
keilformig verdickt, unten an der Spitze ein starker nach
oben und innen gebogener, spitzer Zahn, vor demselben ein
oben gerade abgestutzter Hocker. — Schenkel oben und innen
mit dunkelm Langsstreifen. — Cephalothorax G'o™"^.
Nizza.

* Mr. Pickard-Cambridge regards this suggestion (tliat N. Manderstjernce
may be the male of N. meridionalis) not improbable.

t Description of palpi of N. cellicola, p. 168: "Palpen kurz, stark.
Femuralglied oben l^estachelt ; vorletztes Glied oben an der Spitze mit
4 stai-keu, etwas kurzen Stachcln, audi das Endglied nach ol>eu mit sehr
kleinen Stachelu bewaflfnet. Bulbus kurz Ijirnformig, in eine fcine, massig-
lange, fadendimne (vorn nicbt gespaltene) Spitze auslaufend. "

148 TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

Of this description the following is, I hope, a tolerably
correct translation : — ■

Nemesia Manderstjemrp^ L. Koch.

$ Passing over the precise description of this pretty species
by its author, Herr Dr. L. Koch, let us note here some of the
essential characters which distinguish this species from its
relations. Cephalothorax fairly (schuu) rounded, with small,
moderately prominent head. Eye eminence (Augenhiigel)
prominent, steeply inclined in front and behind. The front
and rear row of eyes form two nearly parallel curves with the
concavity in front. The foremost central eyes stand so high
that a line (eine Gerade) drawn from their base to the lateral
eyes would pass just above them, although they are not
separated from the lateral eyes by a distance greater than
that of their own radius. Eyes of front row almost twice as
large as those of hind row. Teeth of rake (Rechens) long and
sharp. Palpi moderately long, the last and penultimate
joint armed as in N. cellicola* Bulb pear-shaped, with a
rather shorter, more slender point. All the tarsi of the legs,
and even the metatarsi I and II, with a slender scopula,
although the tarsi are unarmed. Tibia I enlarged into a
wedge-shape, (having) beneath the apex a stout pointed tooth
bent upwards and inwards, in front of which (is) a truncated
prominence (ein oben gerade abgestutzter Hocker). Femur
(Schenkel) (having) dusky longitudinal stripes above within. —
Cephalothorax 6-5''''^.
Nice.

G.

Od Nemesia meridionalis and N. Eleanora, Capiive
in Company with their Young.

I have tried the experiment of keeping specimens of
Nemesia inieridionalis and N. Eleanora captive iu flower-

* Description of palpi of N. cellicola : — Palpi, short, strong. Femoral joint
furnislied with spines above; iienultimate joint armed with four stout rather
short spines above the apex, the terminal joint also having some very small
spines. Bull) shortly pear-slia])ed, running out into a fine, moderately long
point, which is slender as a thread, and not split in front.

APPENDIX. 149

potS; partly filled with earth and covered with gauze, but I
have never been able to detect the least inclination on the
part of either of these spiders to excavate a burrow in the
earth.

Thinking that I might have better success if I were to
place the mother spiders, together with their young, in
captivity, I captured a female N. Dieridionalis and N.
Eleanora, each with its brood, and placed them on moist
earth in flower-pots under gauze. The result, however, was
tliat the young spiders concealed themselves in the crevices
of the soil, while the mother spiders remained exposed.

The adult N. meridionalis lived thus for twenty days
(from the 7th to the 27th of November), capturing and
killing flies with which I supplied her, but she then suddenly
died.

After seventeen days' captivity the other species (N.
Eleanora) began to cover a small surface of the gauze with
a semi-transparent substance (which resembled varnish rather
than silk), secreted from its spinners, and four days later it
began to weave a cell ; this cell took twelve days to complete,
and finally assumed the shape of a rudely-formed figure of 8,
with a circular aperture at either end, each of which was kept
open during the construction of the cell, and then closed.
The gauze itself, covered with silk, formed the ceiling of the
cell, while the floor was made of silk attached to the earth,
and the sides of strong and rather opaque silk.

This cell bore no resemblance to any portion of any trap-
door nest that I have ever seen, and it is difficult to conceive
how the idea of such a structure presented itself to the spider.
Its outline indeed had some likeness to the general outline of
the spider herself, one loop of the figure 8 being rather smaller
than the other. The distance between the floor and the
ceiling of this impromptu cell was a little over half an inch,
its width varying from one inch in the broadest to eight lines
in the narrowest part, while its length was an inch and a
quarter.

It would appear that the object which the spider had in view
was to construct a warm and secure retreat for the winter, and
accordingly alter having completed this chamber, she no longer

150

TRA P-DOOR SPIDERS.

made excursions to catch the flies with which I supplied her,
but remained self-immured in her cell.^

It would be interesting to dit'cover whether any of the
spiders of this group (but which do not construct trap-door
nests) pass the winter in similar structures.

H.

On the Structure of Cork Doors.

In order to test my theory to the effect that the trap-door
nests are enlarged from time to time, and that the numbers
of layers of silk in an undisturbed cork door should represent
the number of enlargements which the nest has undergone, I
examined the doors of twenty-eight nests of the cork type (all
I believe of N. ccementaria), in order to prove whether as a
rule the larger cork doors do contain more layers of silk than
the small ones, as they should on this hypothesis.

This is, I think, fairly established by the following table : —

Comparative Table.

Oue

cork door measuring 1 line

across contained

1

layer of silk

Four

)3

doors

„ H lines

3

layers

One

»>

door

li

2

One

5>

door

If

4

One

55

door

2

5

Two

>»

doors

n

6

One

>»

door

n

5

One

5)

door

3

8

Two

n

doors

H

5

One

5>

door

H

7

One

)>

door

4

7

Two

> J

doors

4J

8

Oue

»>

door

H

7

Two

5>

doors

5

9

One

J>

door

5

5

One

)J

door

5

6

One

>>

door

5

13

One

}>

door

H

9

One

door

54

10

Oue

J>

door

54

14

Oue

J»

door

6

12

* My observations on the captive spider were still in progress at the time
of going to print, so that the above notes must be considered as incomplete.

APPENDIX. 151

The apparent exceptions to this rule, in which the larger
doors have fewer layers than some of the smaller ones, may
probably be accounted for in the following manner.

During the heavy rains and in times of drought flakes of
earth often become detached from the sloping banks, and
carry away the doors of such nests as are found in them.

This happens frequently, and the spiders hasten to repair
the damage and spin new doors.

But I have found, on examining eight of these new doors,
that, even in large nests,* they do not then contain more than
three layers of silk ; so that each time a nest of any size loses
its door, the number of layers is greatly reduced.

In the case of six of these nests I had myself acted the
part of the landslip and removed the existing door. These
original and apparently undisturbed doors measured 3^, 4, 5,
5, 5, and 5 lines across, and contained respectively 5, 7, 8, 13,
9 and 5 layers of silk ; while of the equally large doors which
replaced them five contained three layers of silk only, and the
remaining nest but a single layer.

* Of the eight doors in question the smallest measured 3 4 lines across, and
the largest 7 lines.

INDEX.

PART I.— HARVESTING ANTS.

^lian on harvesting ants, 7-9.

Aldrovandus, radicle of seed gnawed by ants, 9.

Algiers, harvesters observed in, 52.

Aphides and cocci not sought by harvesting ants, 48.

Atta barhara, 15, &c. ; barhara var., 16, 31, 63 ; barbata, 12 ;
cephalotes, 13; diffusa, 12 (note), 65; megacepliala, 16, woi'king
at night, 49 ; providens, 12 (note), 65; rufa, 12 (note), 64; structor,
16, 29, 63, working at night, 49.

Battles of ants between different colonies of the same species, 37, 40 ;

with caterpillar, 41.

Capri, harvesting ants at, Q?:

Captive ants, 42-49.

Crematogaster scutellaris, 62 ; sordidulus, 63.

Dispersal of seeds by means of ants, 4, 21, 53, 55.
Distribution of harvesting ants, 52, 57, 59.

Enemies of the ants, 56.

Formica cruentata, 37, 61 ; cursor, 62 ; emarginata, 61, working at
night, 49 ; erratica, 37, 62 ; fusca, 51, 61 ; marginata, 62 ; nigra
6 (note) ; nigerrima, 52 ; viatica, 52.

Galls found in ants' nests, 36.

Germination of seeds arrested by ants, 20, 25, 26, 40 ; this fact men-
tioned by Aldrovandus, 9.

Granaries, structure of, 22, 23, 31, 32, 49, 54; position of, 31;
contents of, 27 ; time required to construct, 45.

Insects inhabiting ants' nests, 35, 36, 56.

Jerdriu (Dr.) on harvesting ants in India, 12, 64, 65.

M

154 INDEX.

Kirby and Speuce, assertion that ants do not harvest in Europe, 10.

Mistakes made "by ants, 19, 37.
Mouth organs of ants, 48.
Mykmica ccespitum, 37, 61, 63.

Occasional harvesters, 51 .

CEcoDOMA cephalotes, 13; difusa, 12 (note), 65; providens, 12 (note),

65.
'Piii.i'DOLE megacejjhala, 16,50,63, working at night, 49; fallidula,

51, 63.
PsEUDOMYKMA rufo-7iigra, 67.

Radicle of germinating seeds gnawed off by ants, 20, 25, 26 ; this fact

mentioned by Aldrovandus, 9.
Rock nest, sandstone mined by ants, 32-35.
Rubbish heaps, materials which compose, 21, 22, 55.

Sandstone mined by ants, the rock nests, 31-35.

Seeds, dispersal of, by means of ants, 4, 21, 53, 55 ; tendency to

germinate arrested, 24, 50 ; eaten by ants, 46-48, 54.
Seed stores of ants used as food by natives of India, 67.
Spherical chamber found in ant's nest, 35.
Sykes (Lieut. -Col.) and Jerdon (Dr.) on harvesting ants in India,

12, 64, 65.

Winged males and females of Apii. Stnidor and Barhara, 41.

PART II.— TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.

Atypus Blachivallii, 78.

Atyfv s piceus, 77 ; nest of, 78.

Ausserer (A.), description of Nemesia manderstjernce, 145.

Australia, trap-door spiders in, 114, 130.

Blackwall, on nests of Atypus ficeus, 78 (note).

Black wall, on the tarsi of certain spiders being furnished with £

viscotis secretion, 87.
British representative of the sub-order Territelaki.e, 77.
Browne (Patrick), on the trap-door spider of Jamaica, 73.

Cambridge (Rev. O. Pickard), description of Cteniza fodiens, 89
of Nemesia camenfaria, 92 ; of N. msridionaUs, 101 ; of N.
El('<inora, 108.

INDEX. 155

Captive trap-door spiders, 118. 122, 14-3.

Claws, compared in difterent trap-door spiders, 86; retractile, 87 (note).
Construction of trap-door nests, 118, 122, 123, 149.
Cork nests, 80, 88, 94, 97, 116, 124, 131, 132, 141.
Costa (0. G.), on Mygale (Xemesia) meridionalis, 105, 137.
Ctexiza ariana, 115,135. 141; cedi/icatorius, So ; fodiens, 89 ; ionica,
91 ; nidulans. 81.

Double-door branched nest, 80, 98, 103-106, 131,
Double-door unbranched nest, 80, 98, 106, 111, 131.
Dufour (Leon), on tbe nest of Ltcosa tarentula, 146.

Enemies of spiders, 101, 134.

EPEiRA/ascmfa, cocoon of, 76.

Erber, on the nocturnal habits of Cxeniza ariana, 115, 135, 141.

Geographical range of species of trap-door spiders, 131, 132, 133, 143.
Gosse (P. H.), on the single-door wafer nest in Jamaica, 80-83.

Instinct (?) of nest building in veiy yoting spiders, 123, 126, 128.

Lucas (H.), on spiders having retractile claws, 87.
Lycosa tarentula, M. Dufour on the nest of, 146.

Male of i^EiiESiA Eleanora, 109, 115.
Mtgalidj:, name changed to Territelari^, 75.

Nemesia ccB'inentaria, 73, 92, 97, resisting when the door is touched,
94-96; celUcola, Ul,U7,U8; Eleanora, 98,106, 108, 112; Man-
derstjernce, 147 ; meridionalis, 98, 101, 137.

Nest of Lycosa tarentula^, 146.

Nocturnal habits of trap-door spiders, 115, 116.

Olivier, on cork nests at Hj^eres, 115.

Rossi (P.), on CiExizA/ofZi'ens, 73.

Resistance of spiders when doors are touched, 94-96, 100, 112.

Saunders (S. S.), on Cteniza {Mygale) ionica, 91, 122.
Sauvages (Abbe), on Nemesia ccementaria, 73.
Selection of materials for trap-doors, 119, 120.
Sells (W.), on the nest of Cteniza nidulans, 83.
Single-door wafer nests, 80, 131.

Tarsi of spiders furnished with a viscous secretion, enabling them to

traverse perpendicular polished surfaces, 87.
Territelari.k a sub-order of Arane^, formerly called Mygalid.e, 75.

156 INDEX.

Tekeitelaki.e, species of, inhabiting the Mediterranean region, 130,

131,133,143.
Theridion, cocoon of, 77.
Trap-door nests enlarged not abandoned, 123, 127, 150.

Walckenaer (C. A. de) on habits of trap-door spiders, 114, 117 ; on

structure of cork doors, 125 (note).
Wallace (A. E.) on the philosophy of birds' nests, 129.
West Indian nests of the single door wafer type, 80.
Westwood (Prof.) on the nest of Cteniza cedificatoritis, 85.

Young spiders fonnd in nests of Nemesia meridionalis and N,
Elennora, 112.