256 MK. It. I. POCOCK — MIMICEY IN SPIDERS. 



Mimicry in Spiders. By R. I. Pocock, F.L.S., F.Z.S., Superintendent 

 o£ the Zoological Society's Gardens. 



(Plate 32.) 



[Eead 3rd December, 1908.] 



Introductory Remarks. 



Although mimicry in Insects has received much attention during the past 

 forty years, mimicry in Spiders has been comparatively speaking neglected. 

 Isolated notices of particular cases, and general statements of the occurrence of 

 the phenomenon in this order of Arachnida, are to be found here and there in 

 zoological Hterature ; but in very few cases are details given, and as a rule 

 no suggestion is made even as to the family to which the mimetic spider 

 belongs. I have thought it useful, therefore, to collect together such 

 records as are known to me and to make them the subject-matter of a special 

 paper. 



It is now nearly twenty years since Mrs. Peckham gave a most useful 

 summary of previously published views and facts connected with this question 

 and recorded some original observations of the highest interest upon two 

 species of mimetic Salticidse found in North America. But very con- 

 siderable additions to our knowledge have been made since that time, notably 

 by the publication of Mons. E. Simon's great work, ' Histoire Naturelle des 

 Araignees,' Paris, 1892-1903. Although this work is mainly systematic 

 and deals with the families and genera of Spiders, it also contains brief 

 accounts of their habits ; and amongst the latter are to be found numerous 

 records of ant-mimicry, giving in some cases the name of the model as well 

 as of the mimic. These were based upon the author's own observations 

 during his collecting trips to the tropics of both the Eastern and Western 

 hemispheres. I have borrowed from this volume of Simon's most of the 

 cases of ant-mimicry mentioned in the following pages. My acknowledgment 

 of this fact in this place will save the repetition of references to his work in 

 the text. 



Contents of the paper : — 



Mimicry of Snails and Beetles by Spiders p. 257 



Mimicry of Ants and Mutillas by Spiders p 



Explanation of Ant-Mimicry in Spiders p 



258. 

 264. 



Doubtful Cases of Mimicrv in Spiders p. 268. 



