Society's Gardens, where, as I understand from Mr. Arthur Thomson, in whose care they are placed, the whole family are in a very active and thriving state. The nest is of considerable size, and filled a box of two feet long by nine inches wide and five deep. Above this nest I hear that the Spiders have now spun lines up to the top of the case in which they have been placed, as though for the ensnaring of flies, &c.; but as their work is entirely nocturnal no observations have yet been practicable in respect to the most interesting part of a Spider's economy. They appear to devour cockroaches and crickets, tearing them to pieces, and each carrying off his share of the prey, like a pack of hounds breaking up a Fox." As observed by Mons. E. Simon in Colombo—for the species is found both on the East Coast of Africa and in India—several hundred individuals spin on a bush an immense nest which has the form of an irregular sack, of which the interior is divided by partitions and traversed by passages.[1] The nest, which I have here figured, natural size, is seen to be very much smaller than those thus described, while the dead leaves which are incorporated tend to render it inconspicuous at a distance. Some of the Pretoria nests were larger and much more foliaceous, but unfortunately this part of my collection was lost in transit, and the nest figured is the only one I now possess. Fortunately, however, its identity is beyond question, as the Spiders recognized by Mr. Pocock as Stegodyphus gregarius were captured after emerging from this very nest. I once placed a similarly-sized nest in a cardboard box about one foot square, and for the time forgot all about it. When I did look again, numbers of Spiders had emerged from it and spun all over the box, the contents of which then appeared like one huge nest. It is probable in such a case that the box prompted the enlargement of the nest, or it may be provided a domicile suitable for the construction of the inner arrangements. Hence such a nest might be considered of an artificial or non-natural size, and may possibly explain the dimensions of the one sent home from Natal, and described by Mr. Cambridge, as previously quoted. I neither affirm nor suggest that such large nests are not constructed in the open; I can only assert that I have never seen such, but have met with quantities of the size figured.
- ↑ Hist. Nat. des Araignées, tome i. p. 251.
