THE STORY-BOOK OF SCIENCE 



any point of the web, and it waits, completely mo- 

 tionless. 



The dragon-flies continue their evolutions. Not 

 one is caught: the recent alarm has rendered them 

 circumspect; they fly around the web to pass be- 

 yond it. Oh! oh! what is that coming so giddily 

 and striking its head against the network? It is a 

 little bumble-bee, all velvety and black, with a red 

 stomach. It is caught. The epeira runs. But the 

 captive is vigorous and formidable; perhaps it has 

 a sting. The spider mistrusts it. It draws a 

 thread from its spinneret and passes it quickly over 

 the bee. A second silk string, a third, a fourth, soon 

 subdue the captive's desperate efforts. Here is the 

 bee strangled but still full of life, and menacing. To 

 seize it in that state would be great imprudence : the 

 epeira 's life would be at stake. What must be done 

 so as to leave nothing to fear from this dangerous 

 prey? The spider possesses, folded under its head, 

 two sharp-pointed fangs, which let flow a little drop 

 of poison through a hole in their extremities. That 

 is its hunting weapon. The epeira approaches cau- 

 tiously, opens its fangs, stings the bee, and imme- 

 diately moves aside. In the twinkling of an eye 

 it is all over. The poison acts instantly: the bee 

 trembles, its legs stiffen, it is dead. The spider 

 carries it off to its silken chamber to suck it at leis- 

 ure. When nothing but the skin is left, the spider 

 will throw the remains of the bee far from its domi- 

 cile, so as not to soil its web with a corpse that might 

 frighten other game. 



"It was done so quickly, " complained Jules, "I 



