548 DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME NEW ARANEIDiE, 



them "aerial"' or "gossamer spiders" on account o£ their habit 

 of transferring themselves from one locality to another, a feat, 

 however, not solely confined to the representatives of this group. 

 Many species of Thomisidce frequent the summits of branches, 

 flowers, and high plants or shrubs, and often form connections 

 between objects widely separated from each other by means of 

 long, single threads of silk, while others conceal themselves 

 amongst herbage, the rugulosities of trees, or in cracks and 

 crevices of rocks or walls. The various species seem to be admir- 

 ably adapted to their natural haunts both by form and colouration, 

 and often assimilate inanimate objects, both for the capture of 

 prey and as a protection from predatory foes. 



The Thomisidce is an extensive family, and has a wide geo- 

 graphical range, but by far the greatest number of species and 

 individuals are found in tropical and subtropical regions. 

 Wagner includes in this family only three genQva.— Misumena, 

 Latr., Thomisus, Walck., and Xysticus, C. Koch.* Sparassus, 

 Wall., and Micrommata, Latr., are allotted to a separate family, 

 for which he proposes the name Sparassidce.f Simon, | on the 

 other hand, includes within the family no less than six sub- 

 families, with numerous genera. 



In writing upon the spiders of the Thomisidce, Wagner, in his 

 great and interesting work, says : — "None of the representatives 

 of these spiders make a retreat nor a construction for moulting. 

 The rejected teguments are found on the leaves without any 

 adaptation " [for mou]ting].§ In dealing with the question of the 

 architecture of the Araneidae, per se, Wagner is exceedingly 

 careful and accurate, and his expressions and opinions must 

 therefore be treated with respect. Indeed, speaking generally, 

 the statement just quoted is correct, but then this eminent author 

 was naturally unaware of the ingenious nest made by a spider (at 



* Loc. at. p. 49. 



t Observations sur les Araneina, pp. 119, 120. 



% Hist. Nat. cies Araignees, 2ik1 ¥A., Vol. i., pp. 953, 954. 



§ Loc. cit. p. 49. 



