The patterns on the abdomen and cephalothorax of the spiders are seen very distinctly when the spiders are immersed in spirits of wine, and these frequently afford characters which aid in determining the species.
M. Thorell, in the introduction to his work On European Spiders,[100] gives a detailed account of a method by which specimens may be prepared for mounting in cabinets, by drying them within a glass tube held over a flame, but it would appear that, for purposes of study, specimens preserved in spirit of wine are far preferable.
[100] Thorell (T.), On European Spiders, in Nova Acta Regiæ Societ. Scientiar. Upsaliensis, ser. 3, vol. viii. fasc. I. et II. (Upsala, 1871).
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 condition.
E.
The Nest of the Tarantula (Lycosa Tarentula).
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 résumé of M. Dufour's observations:[101]—
[101] Quoted by M. Lucas, in his Histoire Nat. des Animaux Crustacés et Arachnides, p. 357.