The Pompili 



reach. More often than not, the Spider 

 holds fast; sometimes she is dragged out of 

 the tube, to a distance of a few inches, but 

 immediately returns, no doubt with the aid 

 of her unbroken life-line. 



The Pompilus' intention is plain: she 

 wants to eject the Spider from her fortress 

 and fling her some distance away. So much 

 perseverance leads to success. This time all 

 goes well: with a vigorous and well-timed 

 tug the Wasp has pulled the Segestria out 

 and at once lets her drop to the ground. 

 Bewildered by her fall and even more de- 

 moralized by being wrested from her am- 

 bush, the Spider is no longer the bold ad- 

 versary that she was. She draws her legs 

 together and cowers into a depression in the 

 soil. The huntress is there on the instant 

 to operate on the evicted animal. I have 

 barely time to draw near to watch the 

 tragedy when the victim is paralysed by a 

 thrust of the sting in the thorax. 



Here at last, in all its Machiavellian cun- 

 ning, is the shrewd method of the Pompilus. 

 She would be risking her life if she attacked 

 the Segestria in her home; the Wasp is so 

 convinced of it that she takes good care not 

 to commit this imprudence; but she knows 

 also that, once dislodged from her dwelling, 

 19 



