The illustration given herewith will give a better idea than any mere description can of the strange shapes of many Madagascar spiders. The largest figure shows an _Epeira_ of extraordinary shape; it will be seen that the abdomen is like a set of three cones, fixed into one another and terminated by a sharpish point. A still more bizarre figure is presented by _Epeira mitralis_, as it crouches, fixed close to a branch or twig; whether viewed from the back or front or side, it is equally “uncanny” in its appearance. Then, again, the two _Gastera-canthæ_, with their bodies much broader than they are long, are very unlike our ordinary idea of a spider, while the formidable spikes with which they are armed would appear a very efficient protection from any insect-eating bird or beast. The rather diabolical-looking _Thomisus foka_, with its crab-like pincers, is much dreaded by the Malagasy, as giving a fatal bite, if speedy remedies are not applied. Happily, it is not very common. [Sidenote: DIFFERENT SPECIES OF SPIDERS] There is a considerable variety in the webs of Malagasy 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 vertically, 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 Imèrina. 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.