166 DIFFERENT SPECIES OF SPIDERS 



spiders. Here is one which may be seen by hundreds, filling 

 up the space between the sharp-pointed leaves of the aloes. At 

 first sight it appears only a tangled mass of web, but on closer 

 examination we see that the groundwork is a geometrical web 

 in the centre, but as it is stretched horizontally, and not verti- 

 cally, it is cup-shaped. But from it, above and below, stretches 

 a labyrinth of lines, like the crossing and recrossing of the 

 lianas in the forest. In the centre of this maze of lines the 

 owner of the structure lies in wait, a small spider, handsomely 

 marked with black and white. Not far off a grey silken bag is 

 hung, which contains the eggs, from which a swarm of little 

 spiders will eventually proceed, not bigger than small ants. 



A word or two may be added about a very common house 

 spider which is abundant in Imerina. This is a rather large 

 species, light brown in colour, but its peculiarity is that it is 

 extremely thin and flat a case almost of extension without 

 thickness, as it is hardly thicker than a piece of stout paper ; 

 and so it is enabled to wait for its prey hidden in narrow and 

 almost imperceptible cracks. It is emphatically a hunting 

 spider and makes apparently no nest or web, and it is amusing 

 to see the adroit way in which it will cautiously approach the 

 edge of a crack in a board and sweep off an unwary fly. 



One more curious spider may be noticed here ; this has a very 

 small body, hardly larger than a big pin's head, but it has 

 extraordinarily long thread-like legs, covering a very wide area 

 when compared with its minute body. 



There must be still a large number of these Arachnidae yet 

 unknown to science, for they are very numerous in species in 

 some localities. I remember spending an afternoon, many 

 years ago, on a hill a few miles south of the capital, together 

 with two or three friends, hunting spiders. We caught at least 

 thirty different species among the bushes on the hill-top and 

 slopes. Doubtless some of these are described and figured in 

 one of the volumes of M. Grandidier's great work on Madagascar, 

 still in progress. But there are probably a much larger number 

 of these creatures still awaiting the careful observations of any- 

 one who will note their interesting habits and homes, and their 

 very varied appearance and structure. 



I fancy my readers will now say, you have told us a good deal 

 about the insects, and something about the reptiles and birds 



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