i88 THE WONDERS OF INSTINCT 



comes within reach. This being so, her poison would 

 have to possess unparalleled virulence to produce a 

 corpse-like inertia no matter which the point attacked. I 

 can scarcely believe in instantaneous death resulting from 

 the bite, especially in the case of insects, with their highly 

 resistant organisms. 



Besides, is it really a corpse that the Epeira wants, she 

 who feeds on blood much more than on flesh? It were 

 to her advantage to suck a live body, wherein the flow 

 of the liquids, set in movement by the pulsation of the 

 dorsal vessel, that rudimentary heart of insects, must act 

 more freely than in a lifeless body, with its stagnant 

 fluids. The game which the Spider means to suck dry 

 might very well not be dead. This is easily ascertained. 



I place some Locusts of different species on the webs 

 in my menagerie, one on this, another on that. The 

 Spider comes rushing up, binds the prey, nibbles at it 

 gently and withdraws, waiting for the bite to take effect. 

 I then take the insect and carefully strip it of its silken 

 shroud. The Locust is not dead ; far from it ; one would 

 even think that he had suffered no harm. I examine the 

 released prisoner through the lens in vain; I can see no 

 trace of a wound. 



Can he be unscathed, in spite of the sort of kiss which 

 I saw given to him just now? You would be ready to 

 say so, judging by the furious way in which he kicks in 

 my fingers. Nevertheless, when put on the ground, he 

 walks awkwardly, he seems reluctant to hop. Perhaps 

 it is a temporary trouble, caused by his terrible excite- 

 ment in the web. It looks as though it would soon pass. 



