Urquhakt, — On the Protective Resemblances of the Araneidea. 175 



grey and black, and when crouching in the ascil of a bleached branch, it 

 takes close observation to detect them, there being, in some instances, not 

 only no perceptible difference in the shades of colour, but owing to the 

 peculiar mottling and little irregular limbs on the abdomen, the rugose bark 

 itself is closely imitated. 



The generality of spiders found amongst burnt manuka, before it 

 has become bleached, have the brownish-black colour of their environ- 

 ment, which causes them to be almost imperceptible at a very short 

 distance. 



On green manuka a greater variety of spiders are to be seen ; the 

 majority are of various shades of grey or brownish-grey, the legs marked 

 with reddish-brown ; green are occasionally met with ; brown or greenish- 

 brown spiders are not uncommon ; variously marked with white, buff, 

 purple, yellow, or reddish tints ; colours which are all reproduced in the 

 bark, young wood, fading leaves, and lichens. I recently met with a spider 

 of special interest ; it had an unusual purple tinge, and was covered with 

 soft white hairs, which made it closely resemble the silky purple shoots of 

 the Leptospermum on which I found it. Occasionally a spider of consider- 

 able interest will be met with amongst the capsules of the Leptospermum — 

 which is a favourite resort — the abdomen has a rough uneven surface ; the 

 furrows formed by the peculiar arrangement of the impressed spots give it 

 the appearance of being valvate ; a dark grey penetrative tint appears 

 beneath the outer and lighter one, which causes the abdomen to resemble 

 a bloom-covered capsule. Although the spider only possesses four not very 

 clearly-defined pseudo-valves, the deception is still very striking, and affords 

 an interesting example how some of the wonderful cases of protective re- 

 semblance or mimicry may have arisen. 



On the Cordyline australis small spiders are to be met with which not 

 only assume the colour of the trunk, but, owing to their flat sometimes 

 angular figures, and largely-developed tubercles, imitate the muricate bark. 

 These spiders are difficult to detect when resting in the interstices of the 

 bark. 



If quite different plants are examined — rushes, for example — they will also 

 be found to be frequented by specially-adapted forms ; the most numerous 

 is a species (Theraphosides) with a narrow cylindrical brownish-yellow abdo- 

 men, and long slender legs, which it extends in a manner that renders it 

 hardly perceptible. 



Many of our geometrical spiders frequent the furze (Ulex europmis), 

 where they mostly take the tints of the decaying vegetation — which, owing 

 to their habit of concealing themselves amongst the fading leaves and 

 flowers, must be advantageous to them. The light brownish-yellow and 



