One of the most remarkable instances of the harmony of colour between the Araneæ and their usual haunts was noticed by Mr. Adams among dense thickets formed by the _Abrus precatoria_, where he found a spider with a black abdomen marked on each side with scarlet, thus resembling the colours of the seeds of the Abrus, so well known to children under the name of ‘black-a-moor beauties.’ An exception to the general rule is, however, found in those very large and powerful species which, if not rendered somewhat conspicuous to the sight of other insects, might do too much damage to the tribes which they keep in check. Most of these, therefore, have the thorax and abdomen margined with a light colour that contrasts strongly with that of their bodies, and, in many cases, gives timely warning of their approach. The European spiders have generally a very repulsive appearance, while many of the tropical species are most splendidly ornamented, or rather illuminated, many of them by the vividness of their colours resembling the gaudy missals painted by monks in the Middle Ages. Thus, among the Epeiras of the Philippine Islands, are found white figures on a red ground; red, yellow, and black, in alternate streaks; orange marbled with brown, light green with white occelli, yellow with light brown festoons, or ash-coloured and chestnut bodies with crescents, horse-shoes, Chinese characters, and grotesque hieroglyphics of every description. Unfortunately, these colours, lustrous and metallic as the feathers of the humming-bird, are, unlike the bright colours of the beetle, totally dependent on the life of the insect which they beautify, so that it is impossible to preserve them.