86 Journal New York Entomological Society. [Vol. xm. 



found one the other day with a wasp ; the latter was not yet dead, 

 but it was tightly held by the throat by the spider. The next day 

 the wasp was found lying dead under the flower." Mr. Banks also 

 wrote me October 7, 1903, as follows : 



" I do not remember that there has ever been published any positive evidence 

 that Misumena vatin or the closely allied Runcinia aleatoria ever change their colors. 

 Of both species yellow and white specimens are found sometimes marked with red. 

 I think Miss Treat once published a note to the effect that Misumena when placed on 

 a different flower returned to its former flower. There is a case on record (Nature, 

 13 April, 1893, p. 558) where a Mr. Hell states that an African bluish spider when 

 captured turned brownish, and afterwards gradually recovered its bluish color, per- 

 haps from fright ! 



" Personally, I believe Misumena changes color, at least from white to yellow. 

 From old notes I take the following : Early in the spring where the principal large 

 flowers are white Trillium (wake-robin) I have found many white Misumena with a 

 red stripe ; later, when the Trilliums were faded, there were many Misumena on the 

 yellow dog-tooth violet; these were all yellow, with red stripe. On this area were 

 .no white flowers then, and no Misumenas to be seen except on the Erylhroniums. 



"This, of course, is no proof, but evidence. I don't see anything strange or 

 rather new if they did change color. For the young Misumena is neither white nor 

 yellow, and without red stripes. Vet from these almost hyaline young grow spiders, 

 some white, some yellow, some with red stripes. Therefore it would seem that their 

 color depends upon their surroundings. If these surroundings can develop a yellow 

 from hyaline, why not yellow from white? 



" I have seen Misumenas on flowers and plants with which their colors did not 

 iharmonize ; and there is variation in the shade of yellow and in size of red stripes 

 ;and, with Runcinia, in the number of these stripes." 



On the 1 8th of July, 1903, I detected a medium sized Misumena 

 vatia holding in its jaws a green fly (Lnci/ia casar). It had fastened 

 its jaws in between the head and thorax, and there remained motionless 

 several minutes until I touched the tip of the fly's wing, the fly being 

 dead, and disturbed the spider so that it let the fly drop to the ground. 



The flower of this fleabane is like an aster, /. e. , with a bright yellow 

 center and pale, whitish lilac petals. The abdomen of this spider was 

 yellowish and the head, thorax and legs pale whitish, but not snow- 

 white, and more livid than the petals of the flower when the spider 

 was resting directly on top, but when the legs were held obliquely so 

 that the light was oblique, the hue or effect was exactly like that of the 

 petals, so that it was a decided case of cryptic or protective mimicry. 



A couple of days after I found several more half grown spiders on 

 the same kind of flower, one had seized a small fly by the neck. One 

 was found on the ox-eye daisy or white weed ; it sat on one side of 



