The Life of the Spider 



champions are in touch, nothing happens that 

 deserves attention. There is no duel to the 

 death in the narrow arena of the test-tube, 

 any more than in the wider lists afforded by 

 the bottle. Utterly timid once she is away 

 from home, the Spider obstinately refuses the 

 battle; nor will the Bumble-bee, giddy though 

 she be, think of striking the first blow. I 

 abandon experiments in my study. 



We must go direct to the spot and force 

 the duel upon the Tarantula, who is full of 

 pluck in her own stronghold. Only, instead 

 of the Bumble-bee, who enters the burrow 

 and conceals her death from our eyes, it is 

 necessary to substitute another adversary, less 

 inclined to penetrate underground. There 

 abounds in the garden, at this moment, on 

 the flowers of the common clary, one of the 

 largest and most powerful Bees that haunt my 

 district, the Carpenter-bee (Xylocopa viola- 

 cea), clad in black velvet, with wings of pur- 

 ple gauze. Her size, which is nearly an inch, 

 exceeds that of the Bumble-bee. Her sting is 

 excruciating and produces a swelling that long 

 continues painful. I have very exact memo- 

 ries on this subject, memories that have cost 

 me dear. Here indeed is an antagonist worthy 

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