98 



A. S. PEARSE 



in the field. An elongated space twenty-eight centimeters wide 

 was cleared in the shadow of a tree trunk. On each side of this 

 space at its middle a row" (13 cm. high and 30 cm. long) of flowers 

 was placed, the flowers on the right being yellow {Solidago sp?), 

 those on the left, white (Eupatorium perfnliatum) . The observer 

 sat against the tree at one end of the cleared space, and there- 

 fore his movements did not cause the spiders to move toward 

 one bunch of flowers or the other. The spiders were allowed 

 to hang from a thread, and were then placed half way between 

 the two rows of blossoms. Their reactions are summarized in 

 Table IX ; there is no evidence that the spiders went oftener 

 toward flowers colored like themselves. 



TABLE IX 

 Reactions of Yellow and White Spiders to Colored Flowers in the Field 



Experiment 5. The behavior of Misumenas placed on yellow 

 and white flowers was observed with some care in the field. 

 It was thought that white spiders might be less active on white 

 than on yellow flowers, and that yellow spiders might show a 

 similar response on yellow flowers; i. e. that there might be some 

 evidence that yellow or white spiders were less restless when 

 surrounded by a background colored like themselves. 



On September 16 and 17, 1910, forty Misumenas were placed 

 on goldenrod and buckwheat; half these were yellow and half 

 white, and equal numbers of each color were placed on each 

 kind of flower. Furthermore, every flower used was a part of 

 a large field of the same kind. The behavior of each spider was 

 carefully observed for two hours or until it had moved beyond 

 the writer's field of observation. Both the days chosen for 

 these experiments were clear with bright sunshine. 



The behavior of the spiders varied greatly; some individuals 

 at once hid themselves beneath a spray of the flower, others 

 chose a conspicuous place in an exposed situation; some re- 



