The Mantis: her Hunting 



domen, the thorax, anywhere. This ex- 

 plains why my observations in the open air 

 showed me the Thomisus with her fangs 

 fixed now in the neck, now in some other 

 part of the Bee. In the first case, the cap- 

 ture was a recent one and the murderess 

 still retained her original posture; in the 

 second case, it had been made some time 

 before; and the Spider had forsaken the 

 wound in the head, now sucked dry, to bite 

 into some other juicy part, no matter which. 



Thus shifting her fangs, a trifle this way 

 or that, as she drains her prey, the little 

 ogress gorges on her victim's blood with 

 voluptuous deliberation. I have seen the 

 meal last for seven consecutive hours; and 

 even then the prey was let go only because 

 of the shock given to its devourer by my 

 indiscreet examination. The abandoned 

 corpse, a carcass of no value to the Spider, 

 is not dismembered in any way. There is 

 not a trace of bitten flesh, not a wound that 

 shows. The Bee is drained of her blood; 

 and that is all. 



My friend Bull, when he was alive, used 

 to catch an enemy whose teeth threatened 

 danger by the skin of the neck. His method 

 is in general use throughout the canine race. 



133 



