xi] THERAPHOSID SPIDERS 101 



irritants such as chlorine are employed, in the 

 perception of which it is perhaps unnecessary that 

 smell in the strict sense should take any part. 



They have eight eyes two of them round and 

 rather business-like in appearance, and the others 

 oval or pear-shaped and they are very sensitive to 

 light, retreating at once from the direct rays of the 

 sun or from a light flashed on them, but they do not 

 appear to see anything at all, recognising neither 

 friends nor enemies by sight, however close at hand. 

 Tt was far otherwise with a wolf-spider in the same 

 cage. Running towards the Dugesiella it was clearly 

 aware of it at a distance of several inches, and could 

 not be persuaded to approach nearer. But the 

 supremacy of the sense of touch is most striking 

 when the spiders are courting. When the male is 

 seeking the female he seems quite unaware of her 

 proximity unless he accidentally brushes up against 

 her. If he loses contact for a moment he is quite at 

 sea and wanders blindly about, turning, perhaps, to 

 the left when the least motion to the right would 

 bring them together again. This frequently happens 

 when he has accidentally touched the female with one 

 of the hind legs. He immediately turns about, and 

 if she is still there, all is well, but if she has chanced 

 to move out of reach, he is quite at a loss. Neither 

 sight nor sound nor smell guide him, but touch 

 only. The delicacy of this sense, however, is quite 



