The Life of the Spider 



takes hours to achieve that for which the 

 Tarantula does not require a second. We 

 must, therefore, look for an explanation of 

 this sudden death to the vital importance of 

 the point attacked by the Spider, rather than 

 to the virulence of the poison. 



What is this point? It is impossible to 

 recognize it on the Bumble-bees. They enter 

 the burrow; and the murder is committed far 

 from sight. Nor does the lens discover any 

 wound upon the corpse, so delicate are the 

 weapons that produce it. One would have 

 to see the two adversaries engage in a direct 

 contest. I have often tried to place a Taran- 

 tula and a Bumble-bee face to face in the 

 same bottle. The two animals mutually 

 flee each other, each being as much upset as 

 the other at its captivity. I have kept them 

 together for twenty-four hours, without ag- 

 gressive display on either side. Thinking 

 more of their prison than of attacking each 

 other, they temporize, as though indifferent. 

 The experiment has always been fruitless. I 

 have succeeded with Bees and Wasps, but the 

 murder has been committed at night and has 

 taught me nothing. I would find both 

 insects, next morning, reduced to a jelly un- 



62 



