660 



THE HUNTING SPIDERS, 



approached quite closely, its proceedings are easily watched. When it sees a fly or other 

 insect which it thinks suitable for food, it sidles quietly in the direction of its intended 

 victim, keeping a most careful watch, and ever drawing nearer to its prey. As the 

 fly moves, so moves the spider, until the two beings almost seem to be urged by a 

 common instinct. Surely and gradually it makes its way towards the unsuspecting fly, 

 and then, with a leap so quick that the eye can scarcely follow its movements, it springs 

 upon its prey, rolls perhaps over and over in a short struggle, and in a few moments 

 emerges victorious from the contest, its former antagonist dead or dying in its grasp. I 

 have witnessed such a scene hundreds of times, as the garden in which I passed many 

 years was furnished with long ranges of old walls full of crevices that were exactly 

 suited to the purposes of the Hunting Spider. 



Even on a perpendicular wall the spider will make these leaps. It is sure not to fall 

 to the ground, because it always draws a silken cord behind as it moves, and so, whenever 



A. Sdlticus Blackwdllii. B. 'Eresus cinndbarimu. 



T>. Myrmarachna melanoctphala. 



C. Sdlticus 

 E. Sdlticus /ormwdriiw. 



it leaps upon its prey, it is saved by its self- woven ladder, and reascends, bearing its dead 

 victim in its grasp. 



While engaged in its search, the Hunting Spider is all full of animation. It traverses 

 the wall with great speed and in a very jerky manner, first darting this way, then running 

 that way, then diving into a crevice, then running out and looking around. Sometimes, 

 when it wishes to extend its sphere of vision, it raises the whole front part of the body 

 by simply straightening the fore-legs, and it is surprising what a knowing look it assumes 

 when in that position. 



This is a handsome species to examine when under a low power of the microscope, 

 say about twenty-five diameters. Its colour is brown, banded obliquely with white. The 

 female does not carry her eggs with .her, but wraps them in either one or two cocoons, and 

 hides them in some secure spot, such as the crevices in rocks, and under the bark of trees. 

 Only fifteen or sixteen eggs are placed in each cocoon. 



Figs. A and E represent two more British examples of this interesting genus. The 

 former is a really large species, measuring one-third of an inch in length. Its colour is 

 greyish black, spotted with a darker hue, and sundry short bands of the same colour are 

 drawn diagonally over the cephalothorax and the edges of the abdomen. A band of dull 

 yellow is drawn along either side of the abdomen. The latter species is extremely rare, 

 and is remarkable for its ant-like shape. The great mandibles are rather dark brown, and 

 the front half of the cephalothorax is nearly of the same hue, but with more black. The 



