612 THE TROPICAL WORLD. 



antagonist by this appearance. One species, wl)ich knew it was being watched, placed 

 itself upon a diseased leaf, where it remained quite stationary until after the departure 

 of the naturalist, who, had he not seen the sidelong movement of the cunnintr little 

 creature in the first instance, would not have been able to distinguish its body from 

 the surface of the leaf. While, in this case, dulness of color served as a defence, the 

 vividly-colored spiders that live among the foliage and flowers no doubt attract many 

 flies and insects by reason of their gaudily-tinted bodies. An exception to the general 

 rule is, however, found in those very large and powerful species, which, if not rendered 

 somewhat conspicuous to the sight of other insects, might do too much damage to the 

 tribes which they keep in check. Most of these, therefore, have the thorax and abdo- 

 men margined with a light color that contrasts strongly with that of their bodies, and, 

 in many cases, gives timely warning of their approach. 



The spiders of temperate zones have generally a very repulsive appearance, while 

 many of the tropical species are most splendidly ornamented, or rather illuminateil, many 

 of them by the vividness of their colors resembling the gaudy missals painted by monks 

 in the Middle Ages. Thus, among the epeiras of the Phili2)pian isles, are found white 

 figures on a red ground; red, yellow, and black, in alternate streaks; orange marbled 

 with brown, light green with white ocelli, yellow with light brown festoons, or ash colored 

 and chestnut bodies with crescents, horse-shoes, Chinese characters, and grotesque hiero- 

 glyphics of every description. Unfortunately, these colors, lustrous and metallic as the 

 feathers of the humming bird, are, unlike the bright colors of the beetle, totally dependent 

 on the life of the insect which they beautify, so that it is impossible to preserve them. 



While most spiders obtain their food either by patiently waiting in ambush or by 

 catching it with a bound, the enormous mygales, or trap-door spiders, run about with 

 great speed, in and out, behind and around every object, searching for what they may 

 devour, and from their size and rapid motions exciting the horror of every stranger. 

 Their body, which sometimes attains a length of three inches, while their legs embrace 

 a circle of half a foot in diameter, is covered all over with brown, reddish brown, or 

 black hair, which gives them a funereal appearance, while their long feelers armed 

 with sharp hooks proclaim at once what formidable antagonists they must be to every 

 insect that comes within their reach. Though some species are found in Southern 

 Europe, in Chili, or at the Cape, yet they are chiefly inhabitants of the torrid zone, 

 both in the Old and the New World. Some of them weave cells between the leaves, in 

 the hollows of trees or rocks, while others dig deep tubular holes in the earth, which 

 they cover over with a lid, or rather with a door formed of particles of earth cemented 

 by silken fibres, and closely resembling the surrounding ground. This door or valve 

 is united by a silken hinge to the entrance at its upper side, and is so balanced that, 

 when pushed up, it shuts again by its own weight; nay, what is still more admirable, 

 on the interior side opposite to the hinge a series of little holes may be perceived, into 

 which the mygale introduces its claws to keep it shut, should any enemy endeavor to 

 open it by force. The interior of the nest, which is sometimes nine inches deep, is 

 lined with a double coat of tapestry, the one nearest the wall, which is of a coarser 

 tissue, being covered with a pure white silken substance like paper. 



All species of spiders are gifted with the same maternal instinct, and resort to 

 various methods for the purpose of securing their cocoons. The Theridion, when a 

 seizure of the precious burden is threatened, tumbles together with it to the ground. 



