Aranhas

There are 99 species of spiders known in the Madeira archipelago, the largest of which is the Lycosa (Trochosa) ingens, which inhabits the Desertas. The large black spider of Madeira is the Lycosa (Trochosa) Blackwallii, and that of Porto Santo is the L. tarentuloides maderiana. The Epeira aurelia (Madeiran tarantula) lives on tabaibeiras and other plants, where it spins its webs, and the locals say it writes the name by which it is known. It is not known that the sting of the Epeira causes notable swelling or inflammation; the sting of the Lycosas, spiders that prefer to live in dark places and in the holes and crevices of rocks, may be more dangerous. The Cyrtophora citricola, recently introduced to Madeira by an English lady, is now found on trees, telephone wires, etc. The spiders of the Madeira archipelago were noted or described in a work published by Mr. Kulczynski of Carcovia in 1899. See Kulczynski, Fauvel, and Schmitz.