278 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 



retaliate upon its puny assailant, but commenced to pull with all its force 

 to liberate the imprisoned limb. This was accomplished after a few sec- 

 onds, when it hurried to its corner and began to work at the 

 Volun- wounded limb with its palpi, falces, and labium. At first he had 

 ary m- ^^^^ impression that it was trying to suck the poison from the 

 wound, but was surprised to see the spider pull the wounded 

 limb out of its socket and cast it away. On picking up the discarded leg, 

 a small globule of what seemed to be poison was seen glistening on the 

 place where the spider had fastened. This case of voluntary amj)utation 

 may have been caused by consciousness of the effect of the poison, but 

 just as likely by the hurt of the puncture and crushing alone. 



Mr. Blackwall directed his attention to the effects of the poison of spi- 

 ders upon their own order. The following examples will show the unvary- 

 ing result of his investigations. A female Epeira diademata, in 

 Spider ^ violent struggle with a female Coelotes saxatilus, pierced her 

 enom abdomen in the medial line of the dorsal region, about one- 

 Spiders third of its length from the spinnerets. The wounded spider 

 did not exhibit any marked symptoms of distress, and speedily 

 resumed its accustomed habits. Two female Diadematas were engaged in 

 a severe contest, when one of tliem was seized Ijy the fangs of her antag- 

 onist near the middle of the right side of the abdomen. A brown fluid 

 flowed from the punctures and soon coagulated. But the spider ap2)eared 

 to be only slightly and very briefly affected by the injury. Another female 

 Diademata in a highly excited state bit itself near the middle of the fe- 

 mur of the left anterior leg. A transparent fluid flowed copiously from 

 the wounded part. Coagulation, however, quickly ensued, after which the 

 spider manifested no unfavorable symptom whatever. 



A male Tegenaria civilis, in a violent struggle with a female of the 

 same species, deeply inserted his fangs near the middle of the dorsal region 

 of her abdomen, and retained his hold for several seconds. 

 Teg-enaria p,.Qj-,^ the punctures thus made a brown fluid issued copiously, 

 and in a few minutes coagulated. The injured spider appeared 

 to suffer very little from the severe wounds it had received, as 

 it speedilj' constructed a small web in a phial in which it was confined, and 

 continued for more than a year to feed freely on the flies introduced to it. 

 A female Ciniflo atrox was bitten by an exasperated female Lycosa 

 agretica near the middle of the cephalothorax. The Lycosa retained its 

 liold for many seconds, and, on quitting it voluntarily, a transparent fluid 

 flowed from the punctures and coagulated. The wounded spider, appar- 

 ently regardless of the injury it had received, spun a web with which it 

 long continued to ensnare its victims. It thus appeared that the injuries 

 inflicted by spiders, in a number of genera and species, seem to exercise 

 no greater degree of influence upon other spiders than upon the human 

 species. 



