38 The Life of a Spider 



animal was put into a large receptacle from 

 which it could not get out and fed on a varied 

 diet of insects — Beetles, Grasshoppers, especially 

 Cicadse^^ — which it crunched up with an excel- 

 lent appetite. Twenty-four hours of this regi- 

 men convinced me that the Mole was making 

 the best of the bill of fare and taking kindly to 

 his captivity. 



I make the Tarantula bite him at the tip of 

 the snout. When replaced in his cage, the 

 Mole keeps on scratching his nose with his 

 broad paws. The thing seems to burn, to itch. 

 Henceforth, less and less of the provision of 

 Cicadae is consumed ; on the evening of the 

 following day, it is refused altogether. About 

 thirty-six hours after being bitten, the Mole 

 dies during the night and certainly not from 

 inanition, for there are still half a dozen live 

 Cicadae in the receptacle, as well as a few 

 Beetles. 



The bite of the Black-bellied Tarantula is 

 therefore dangerous to other animals than 

 insects : it is fatal to the Sparrow, it is fatal 



» The Cicada is the Cigale, an insect akin to the Grasshopper 

 and found more particularly in the South of Yxa.nc&.— Translator's 

 Note. 



