838 SOME NEW ARANBIDiE OF N.S.W., 



in the bush around Sydney, as well as in the interior. If a piece 

 of loose bark be stripped off the trunk of a tree, or from a decay- 

 ing log, several of them may be seen scampering off with great 

 rapidity. Representatives of this and allied genera are also to 

 be found lurking under stones. These spiders have large, flat, 

 hairy bodies, and remai'kably long legs, and so are well adapted 

 to the situations in which they are found, while their general 

 dull colour harmonises to a nicety with their surroundings. 

 Although the superior surface of the abdomen of some of these 

 spiders is ornamented to a certain degree, their appearance never- 

 theless is hardly such as could be expected to inspire confidence. 

 Bushmen have a deep-seated horror of them, and state that the 

 results of their bite is not only painful, but exceedingly dangerous . 

 V. irmnanis, V. dolosa, and V. insignis, each of which is described 

 and figured by Koch in his admirable work, " Die Arachniden 

 des Australiens," are to be found in the bush, not only in the 

 vicinity of Sydney, but also at Brisbane and Rockhampton. In 

 a small collection forwarded to me by Dr. Roth, from Winton, 

 Central Queensland, there were specimens of V. iimunnis and V. 

 dolosa, which, he informs me, he captured in his house. 



The obnoxious odours and flavours of some insects, as in those 

 butterflies of the Heliconii and Danair/ce, render them safe from 

 the raids of natural enemies. Thus Mr. Belt, in his delightful 

 work,* states that when he tried to feed his pet monkey with 

 some of the former, though he (the monkey) would take them 

 when offered, and sometimes smell them, he would invariably roll 

 them up in- his hand, and drop them quietly again in a few 

 minutes; also, whenever he placed any of the Heliconii in the 

 web of a species of Nephila, the spider would drop them out, 

 although another species of Araneidce seemed fond of them. 



It has been observed by naturalists working in different parts 

 of the world that some species of Altidce are remarkable for their 



* " The Naturalist in Nicaragua," pp. 316, 317. 



