The Black-Bellied Tarantula 35 



of those insects, such as Weevils, Buprestes,^ and 

 Dung-beetles, whose compact nervous system 

 assists this physiological operation. I showed 

 myself a ready pupil to my masters' teaching 

 and used to paralyze a Buprestis or a Weevil 

 almost as well as a Cerceris ^ could have done. 

 Why should I not to-day imitate that expert 

 butcher, the Tarantula ? With the point of a 

 fine needle, I inject a tiny drop of ammonia 

 at the base of the skull of a Carpenter-bee or a 

 Grasshopper. The insect succumbs then and 

 there, without any other movement than wild 

 convulsions. When attacked by the acrid fluid, 

 the cervical ganglia cease to do their work ; 

 and death ensues. Nevertheless, this death is 

 not immediate ; the throes last for some time. 

 The experiment is not wholly satisfactory as 

 regards suddenness. Why ? Because the 

 liquid which I employ, ammonia, cannot be 

 compared, for deadly efficacy, with the Lycosa's 

 poison, a pretty formidable poison, as we shall see. 

 I make a Tarantula bite the leg of a young, 

 well-fledged Sparrow, ready to leave the nest. 



^ A genus of Beetles. — Translator^ s Note. 



^ A species of Digger-wasp, — Translator's Note. 



