xv HARVEST-SPIDERS 441 
Members of this group vary considerably in habit. The best 
known forms are exceedingly active, and trust to their speed in 
endeavouring to escape from danger, at the same time emitting 
an odorous fluid from two apertures situated just above the coxae 
of the first pair of legs. These active Harvestmen are only 
found in the mature \ 
state at certain seasons 
of the year, and are 
believed, therefore, to 
live only for a single 
season. Slow-moving 
forms, likethe Nemasto- 
matidae and the Trogu- 
lidae, which live amidst 
grass and herbage, have 
a much longer duration 
of life. In danger they 
remain perfectly still, 
and trust to their 
earthy appearance to 
escape observation. 
They are stated to 
be extremely thirsty / 
animals, and have been 
observed drinking from 
the dewdrops on her- 
bage. It is probably j 
tener 
. 
on this account that } ‘ 
f 
they are sometimes seen 
attacking juicy vege- 
table matter, for with- 
out doubt they are essentially carnivorous. The larvae of 
insects, young spiders, mites, and myriapods are their customary 
food. It is not requisite that the prey should be alive, but they 
will not touch anything mouldy. 
Notwithstanding their apparently weak mouth-parts, they do 
not merely suck the juices of their victims, but masticate and 
swallow solid particles. Cannibalism is frequently observed 
Fic. 229.—Oligolophus spinosus. (After 
Pickard-Cambridge. ) 
among them. 
The males fight fiercely with one another at the breeding 
