32 The Life of a Spider 



then placed in a large bottle that leaves its 

 movements free, the insect seems, at first, to 

 have suffered no serious injury. It flutters 

 about and buzzes. But half an hour has not 

 elapsed before death is imminent. The insect 

 lies motionless upon its back or side. At most, 

 a few movements of the legs, a slight pulsation 

 of the belly, continuing till the morrow, proclaim 

 that life has not yet entirely departed. Then 

 everything ceases : the Carpenter-bee is a corpse. 

 The importance of this experiment compels 

 our attention. When stung in the neck, the 

 powerful Bee dies on the spot ; and the Spider 

 has not to fear the dangers of a desperate 

 struggle. Stung elsewhere, in the abdomen, 

 the insect is capable, for nearly half an hour, 

 of making use of its dart, its mandibles, its 

 legs ; and woe to the Lycosa whom the stiletto 

 reaches. I have seen some who, stabbed in 

 the mouth while biting close to the sting, 

 died of the wound within the twenty-four 

 hours. That dangerous prey, therefore, requires 

 instantaneous death, produced by the injury 

 to the nerve-centres of the neck ; otherwise, 

 the hunter's life would often be in jeopardy. 



