[Footnote 127: A subject already alluded to in _Ants and Spiders_, at p. 78.]
An imperfect specimen at the British Museum, from some English station (exact habitat not given), appears to have the proportions described by Mr. Brown; the length of the aërial portion of the tube being less than one-fourth of that of the subterranean; the upper end of the tube is however open, but I am doubtful whether this was originally so or not, for the silk is torn at this point, and the opening may be a rent caused by rough handling.
After a comparison of the above description, it appears to me that the following are the principal points which remain to be cleared up:
1. What is the precise structure of the nests of Atypus, and are they always uniform in character at all seasons of the year?
2. What is the use of the exposed aërial portion of the tube?
3. Do the two British species make similar nests?
4. What food, besides worms, does the female live upon, and how does she obtain it?
6. What becomes of these spiders and their nests in the winter, and how long do they live?
7. When do the young leave the nest; and do they, like their relatives in the South, construct nests like those of their parents in miniature?
I would commend all these points to any lover of Nature who may seek the southern coasts of England during the autumn and winter months, and I think it more than likely that a careful search in the sandy banks near St. Leonards, the slopes under the fir-woods of Bournemouth, and the deep lanes in the neighbourhood of Torquay, would be rewarded with success.
If the breeding season in England only commences in October, as appears to be the case in France, it would seem most probable that the spiders survive the winter. Very possibly these spiders and their nests might be transplanted and placed for observation in a garden; and if room were granted them in a greenhouse or Wardian case, or even in a large flower-pot in a living-room, it is not unlikely that the warmer temperature might waken them up to renewed activity.
It seems clear that _Atypus_ has to fear the insidious attacks of enemies; for not only is the external portion of the tube closed or almost closed at certain seasons, but it is covered outside with such materials as may serve to make it resemble the surrounding surface of the ground. Thus Mr. Brown's nests, lying on a sandy bank, were covered with particles of sand, while my specimen from Troyes has moss and fibres of plants woven into its upper extremity.