Quail. — A Fly and a Spider. 257 



of the sturnp ; immediate paralysis ensued, and a few hours 

 afterwards the crayfish was dead. 



Naturalists are divided in opinion as to whether the fly 

 purposely paralyses its captive without killing in order that the 

 meat shall remain fresh until the eggs deposited in the same 

 nest have hatched, or whether paralysis is a fortuitous result. 



When collecting other insects I have not unfrequently 

 noticed the Pompilidce foraging for spiders ; but a recent case 

 was particularly striking in the remarkable disparity in size 

 between the fly and its captive. 



At a place where the bank at the side of a road had fallen 

 I noticed, when driving by, what appeared to be a large black 

 insect fluttering down, now stopping on a small ledge, now 

 descending until it nearly reached the bottom. Investigation 

 showed that a fly (Salius monachus)* had captured a great 

 hairy spider (Porrhothele antipodiana) ,'•• whose weight was so 

 great as to drag the fly down the steep bank. When I 

 reached them the fly was some distance away, apparently 

 searching for a suitable hole in which to bury the spider. It 

 soon returned, and, taking firm hold with its fore feet, com- 

 menced to drag the body along wdth comparative ease, the fly 

 walking backwards. A comparison can be made by imagining 

 a man, single-handed, dragging the body of a large full-grown 

 dray-horse. The fly would not leave its captive, and I had no 

 difficulty in getting both into one of my boxes. 



At home I examined the spider, and unhesitatingly de- 

 clared it to be dead. The legs were limp, and so expanded as 

 to look as though it had attempted to run when attacked. 

 The pair of posterior appendages were also relaxed, and ex- 

 tended horizontallv. There was no alteration in the condition 

 of the spider for twenty-four hours, but after that interval the 

 spider showed evidence of life in having drawn its legs into a 

 crouching posture, and the anal appendages were elevated 

 vertically. In a day or two the spider, if irritated, would 

 move its legs slightly ; but the anal appendages at all times 

 showed more sensitiveness. Exactly seven days after the 

 date of its capture the legs and anal appendages were agair- 

 relaxed, and it was dead indeed. 



Against this fly the spider could have no chance, the whole 

 of the former presenting a smooth, hard surface. It is, in- 

 deed, a regular Ned Kelly of the insect world, and quite with- 

 out vulnerable spots. Had the fly not been interfered with it 

 would certainly have buried the spider, which would have re- 

 vived, and most probably, before it died, would have had the 

 young of its captor gnawing at its vital parts, it being mean- 

 while unable to resist — a fearful fate indeed. 



* Identified by Captain F. W. Hutton, F.R.S. 

 17 



