BY ^y. J. RAixBow. 341 



more reasonal)le to assume that the disguise is solely for the pur- 

 pose of shielding them from the attacks of insectivorous foes and 

 enabling them to stalk their prey. So far as these spiders are 

 concerned (the ant-like Attidce), the ants have little to fear from 

 them; and, although I have watched closely on numerous 

 occasions, I never yet saw an ant attacked by a spider. Indeed, 

 their natural ferocity, hardness of body, and faculty of combining 

 to withstand assault, would tend to show that spiders were more 

 likely to be attacked by ants than that the ants would be 

 attacked by spiders. This view was held by Mr. Belt, who 

 observed : — " The use that the deceptive resemblance is to them 

 has been explained to be the facility it affords them for approach- 

 ing ants on which they prey. I am convinced that this explanation 

 is incorrect so far as tlie Central American species are concerned. 

 Ants, and especially the stinging species, are, so far as my 

 experience goes, not preyed upon l)y any other insects. No 

 disguise need be adopted to approach them, as they are so bold 

 that they are more likely to attack a spider than a spider them. 

 Their real use is, I doubt not, the protection the disguise 

 affords against insectivorous birds. I have found the crops of 

 some humming birds full of small soft-bodied spiders, and many 

 other birds feed on them. Stinging ants, like bees and wasps, 

 are closely resembled by a host of other insects; indeed, whenever 

 I found an}' insect provided with any special means of defence, I 

 looked for imitative forms, and was never disappointed in finding 

 them."* Among the Australian Altidce that mimick ants are 

 Synenio>iynn bipata, Koch, recorded from Port ' Macka}', Leptor- 

 chestes ^tricUipes, Koch, and L. cognatiis, Koch. These two latter 

 species occur in the vicinity of Sydney. I have in my possession, 

 from various parts of New South Wales, several undetermined 

 species of Atti'he. that mimick ants, and which will hereafter 

 provide material for description. 



The late Mr. F. A. A. Skuse informed me of a remarkable 

 example of the mimicry of a dipterous insect by a spider 

 (undetermined, but probably an Attid) that came under his notice 



* " Naturalist in Nicaragua," pp. 314, 315. 



