The Black-Bellied Tarantula 



making the best of the bill of fare and taking 

 kindly to his captivity. 



I made the Tarantula bite him at the tip 

 of the snout. When replaced in his cage, the 

 Mole keeps on scratching his nose with his 

 broad paws. The thing seems to burn, to 

 itch. Henceforth, less and less of the pro- 

 vision of Cicadae is consumed; on the evening 

 of the following day, it is refused altogether. 

 About thirty-six hours after being bitten, the 

 Mole dies during the night and certainly not 

 from inanition, for there were still half a 

 dozen live Cicadae in the receptacle, as well 

 as a few Beetles. 



The bite of the Black-bellied Tarantula 

 is therefore dangerous to other animals than 

 insects: it is fatal to the Sparrow, it is fatal 

 to the Mole. Up to what point are we to 

 generalize? I do not know, because my en- 

 quiries extended no further. Nevertheless, 

 judging from the little that I saw, it appears 

 to me that the bite of this Spider is not an 

 accident which man can afford to treat lightly. 

 This is all that I have to say to the doctors. 



To the philosophical entomologists I have 

 something else to say: I have to call their 

 attention to the consummate knowledge of 



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