these wafer-nests and the dwellings constructed by Lycosa narbonensis, a species belonging to the allied family of Lycosidæ, and which closely resembles the true tarantula[1] of Southern Italy.
I first made the acquaintance of Lycosa narbonensis near the glass-works west of Cannes, where this spider may not rarely be found living in tubular burrows in sandy clearings among the pine woods along the shore (Pinus pinea, the stone pine).
I have already (Ants and Spiders, p. 146), alluded to an account given by M. Léon Dufour of his observations on the nest and habits of the true tarantula (Lycosa tarentula), which he discovered in Spain.
The nests of L. narbonensis at Cannes resembled those described by M. Dufour, but the cylindrical, subterranean burrows were apparently shorter. It was extremely difficult to trace their course, on account of the loose sand which poured into the tubes and choked them up, and I only succeeded in doing so completely in one case, when I stuffed the tube with cotton-wool before proceeding to dig. Here the open tube, which was quite simple, and about 1 inch in diameter, descended vertically for 3-1/4 inches, and was then suddenly bent so as to become horizontal, terminating shortly afterwards in a triangular chamber, the floor of which measured 2 inches across at the widest part, and was strewed with the remains of beetles and other insects.
The nest was lined throughout with coarse silk,
- ↑ In the United States, and indeed in the New World generally, it seems to be the custom to call all the larger "ground spiders," and especially the trap-door spiders, Tarantulas, but these, in fact, form a distinct group by themselves, belonging to the family Lycosidæ.
