96 RIO DE JANEIRO. [CHAP. n. 



sion, this line of march was entirely given up. By going an inch 

 round, the file might have avoided the stone, and this doubtless 

 would have happened, if it had been originally there ; but having 

 been attacked, the lion-hearted little warriors scorned the idea of 

 yielding. 



Certain wasp-like insects, which construct in the corners of the 

 verandahs clay cells for their larvae, are very numerous in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Rio. These cells they stuff full of half-dead spiders and 

 caterpillars, which they seem wonderfully to know how to sting to that 

 degree as to leave them paralysed but alive, until their eggs are hatched ; 

 and the larvae feed on the horrid mass of powerless, half-killed victims 

 a sight which has been described by an enthusiastic naturalist * as 

 curious and pleasing ! I was much interested one day by watching a 

 deadly contest between a Pepsis and a large spider of the genus Lycosa. 

 The wasp made a sudden dash at its prey, and then flew away : the 

 spider was evidently wounded, for, trying to escape, it rolled down a 

 little slope, but had still strength sufficient to crawl into a thick tuft of 

 grass. The wasp soon returned, and seemed surprised at not imme- 

 diately finding its victim. It then commenced as regular a hunt as 

 ever hound did after fox ; making short semicircular casts, and all the 

 time rapidly vibrating its wings and antennae. The spider, though well 

 concealed, was soon discovered ; and the wasp, evidently still afraid 

 of its adversary's jaws, after much manoeuvring, inflicted two stings on 

 the under side of its thorax At last, carefully examining with its 

 antennae the now motionless spider, it proceeded to drag away the 

 body. But I stopped both tyrant and prey.f 



The number of spiders, in proportion to other insects, is here, com- 

 pared with England, very much larger ; perhaps more so than with any 

 other division of the articulate animals. The variety of species among 

 the jumping spiders appears almost infinite. The genus, or rather 

 family of Epeira, is here characterized by many singular forms ; some 

 species have pointed coriaceous shells, others enlarged and spiny tibiae. 

 Every path in the forest is barricaded with the strong yellow web of a 

 species, belonging to the same division with the Epeira clavipes of 

 Fabricius, which was formerly said by Sloane to make, in the West 

 Indies, webs so strong as to catch birds. A small and pretty kind of 

 spider, with very long fore-legs, and which appears to belong to an 

 undescribed genus, lives as a parasite on almost every one of these 

 webs. I suppose it is too insignificant to be noticed by the great 

 Epeira, and is therefore allowed to prey on the minute insects, which, 



* In a MS. in the British Museum by Mr. Abbott, who made his observa- 

 tions in Georgia; see Mr. A. White's paper in the "Annals of Nat. Hist.," 

 vol. vii., p. 472. Lieut. Hutton has described a sphex with similar habits in 

 India, in the "Journal of the Asiatic Society," vol. i., p. 555. 



t Don Felix Azara (vol. i., p. 175), mentioning a hymenopterous insect, 

 probably of the same genus, says, he saw it dragging a dead spider through 

 tall grass, in a straight line to its nest, which was one hundred and sixty- 

 three paces distant. He adds that the wasp, in order to find the road, every 

 now and then made " demi-tours d'enviroa trois palmes/' 



