THE INSTINCT OF SPIDERS 147 



was in the habit of devouring it at the site of capture, 

 but, if the insect was large, it used first to bind it in a 

 few coils of silk, and then, carrying it away to the 

 centre, used to eat it at its leisure. On approaching 

 the large fly soaked in quinine, the spider first seized 

 the insect but instantly drew back as though it had 

 discovered something distasteful. It then commenced 

 to coil round the fly a thick mass of silk and to shake 

 the web in the endeavour to cast out the bitter morsel. 

 When the fly was thoroughly concealed in the covering 

 of silk the spider returned to the centre but left the 

 fly behind. It appeared agitated and unhappy ; it 

 continually brushed its mouth and jaws with its fore 

 limbs as though to remove something irritating or 

 offensive, and at intervals forcibly vibrated the snare 

 in the hope of dislodging the distasteful insect. On 

 another occasion I soaked a much smaller fly in the 

 quinine solution. The spider behaved in a similar 

 manner, immediately rejecting the insect after first 

 tasting it. 



I am confident that in these experiments the cause 

 of the rejection of the insects was the unpleasant 

 flavour of the quinine. This substance has no odour 

 and causes no irritation. The species of fly was one 

 that the spider always eagerly devoured, and the spider 

 did not reject these flies when soaked in other taste- 

 less fluids. Consequently I felt satisfied that the 

 geometrical spiders possess the sense of taste. 



Camphor is a useful substance for testing the sense 

 of smell. I placed flies in a solution of camphor and 

 then laid them carefully on the snare. The spider came 

 forward to examine them. It did not appear to notice 

 any sign of an unnatural odour, but immediately 



