NATURAL HISTORY NOTES 
99 
Humming-Bird Hawk-Moth. — This interesting insect ha-s been much 
en evidence lately, paying assiduous attention to the geraniums. I was much 
interested to-day, as he flew into my bedroom and plunged his long proboscis 
into the centre of a pink pelargonium which was in a vase by my side. I have 
always noticed their preference for geraniums. It struck me as interesting that 
the moth should have detected a solitary geranium in an upper room. It paid no 
attention to the other flowers in the vase. 
Foxton, Combs., September 8. A. M. G. 
[We have received similar intimations from several different districts, and 
have ourselves seen a good many examples of this beautiful insect on spur 
valerian at Vire, Calvados. Its abundance is probably due to the dry hot 
summer. Many years ago we observed it in scores on a bed of petunias. — 
Ed. A^.W.] 
White Spider. — As I see my query anent a white spider has been inserted 
in Nature Notes, I conclude it is a rarity, and that possibly .something more of 
the history of mine may interest your readers. After I had “ him ” a little time, 
I one morning found he had suddenly collapsed, and he looked so shrivelled and 
wretched that, as he had shown no eagerness for the food I had managed to catch 
for him, I thought he was starved and going to die, or, that a little tangle of 
web between two honeysuckle leaves (pinks were over) which he, or perhaps 
rather “she,” persistently kept near, was the solution of the mystery. She lived 
for six weeks, and plumped up again somewhat, but three days ago she died, and 
this morning the mystery is solved by a swarm of wee greenish-grey spiders in 
the tumbler where I still kept the webby tangle. I shall tr)- to rear my orphans 
on aphis or such like small deer. 
Kent, August 12. E. K- Hitchcock. 
It is a common occurrence for very jjale-coloured spiders to take up their 
station in the bosom of attractive flowers, and seize any unsuspecting fly which 
comes to sip the nectar. They may frequently be seen in the blossom of the 
bramble. The proboscis of the fly is the part generally seized by the spider, 
which is often very considerably smaller than its victim. The spider described is 
no doubt common enough, but I may remark that a spider is not an insect. 
Fy field, near Abingdon. W. H. Warner. 
In answer to the query relating to white spiders, I have seen many of different 
sizes from time to time. They may readily be obtained by placing an inverted 
umbrella beneath a hawthorn hedge, and beating the hedge with a stick. They 
are not albinos, but the normal colouration of many species includes patches of 
white. Thus on August 3 of this year, at Dunham Massey, Cheshire, I 
obseiA-ed a small spider, abdomen white faintly tinged with green, legs and 
cephalo-thorax greenish brown. 
Sale, Manchester. Graham Renshaw. 
Water Melon. — A few days ago I bought a water melon. It was to all 
appearance sound, but on cutting it open I found the seeds bad begun to 
germinate. Some of the cotyledons had escaped from the testa. The hypocotyls 
were in some instances an inch and a half long. Both cotyledons and hypocotyls 
were pale green. The radicles were well developed and embedded in the endo- 
carp. The flesh of the fruit was of the usual colour and texture except that it was 
very dry. 
Is it usual for melon seeds to begin to grow while still within the fruit ? Does 
the pericarp form a kind of hot-bed in which they are kept moist and warm and 
w’ell fed until the young plants can support themselves? It seems possible that 
in their natural dry habitat the water collected by the parent fruit may be of great 
service to the young plants. 
27, Nassington Road, London, N. IV. L. E. Roberts. 
[“ As a geneial rule, seeds do not germinate until they are separated from 
their parents ; but in some cases, and more especially w'hen invested by pulp, as 
in the gourds, melon, cucumber, papaw, &c., they do so before they are detached.” 
— Bentley, “ Manual of Botany,” 2nd edition (1870), p. 790. This “viviparous 
germination,” as it has been called, which is normal in the mangroves, frequently 
occurs in lemons. Your explanation is plausible. — E d. W.zV.] 
