Notes, Reviews and Comments. 151 



Entomology. 



A Butterfly-catching Spider. — Every one who is fond 

 of flowers must frequently have noticed the pretty yellow or 

 white spider with a red line down each side of the body which 

 frequently lurks inside open flowers to seize the unwary fly, 

 bee, or other insect, attracted by the nectar of the blossom. 

 This spider known as Misuniena vatia seems to have the power 

 of changing its colour to some extent, for when found in a whit'e 

 Trillium it is nearly always white, but when in an Er^'thronium, 

 the colour of the body is as yellow as that of the flower. It is 

 seldom that an insect larger than a honey-bee is found in the 

 fatal embrace of this insect ; but Dr. Ami sent me in September 

 two specimens of Argynnis Atlantis, a large, strong-winged 

 butterfly expanding two and a half inches, which he found in 

 the clutches o{ Misinnena vatia at Hopewell, Nova Scotia. It 

 is probable that these butterflies were in a somewhat weakened 

 condition owing to the lateness of the season. 



This interesting little spider belongs to the family of" Crab 

 Spiders, ( Thoim'sidce), so called on account of the short broad 

 form of the body and the curious fact that they can walk more 

 readily sideways or backward than forward. The Crab spiders 

 spin no webs, but lie in wait for their prey. They live chiefly 

 on plants and fences and in the winter hide in cracks and under 

 stones and bark • Most of the species are marked with gray and 

 brown like the bark upon which they live. Some conceal them- 

 selves in flowers where they lie in wait for their prey. One of 

 the best known members ot this family is the insect under con- 

 sideration, the female of Mismnena vatia (Comstock.) — J. F. 



Sph^RIDIUM ScaraB/EOIDES. — This rare beetle has 

 again been taken by me at Kingsmere, Que., this time in con- 

 siderable numbers. Last season, when I took it for the first 

 time, I sent a set to Dr. H. F. Wickham who is writing that 



