1 8 ANIMALS OF NO IMPORTANCE. 



devours hundreds of unfortunate insects. But we cannot 

 afford to sympathise with the insects, for each one killed 

 means one tormentor the less. Cold, timid, little reptile, 

 what a debt of gratitude we Anglo-Indians owe you ! But 

 for your efforts who can tell what our torments would be ? 



There are in my bungalow other beasts of prey, fierce 

 and more voracious than any of the denizens of the jungle. 

 One of these lives on the under side of a wicker table. 

 There the spider spins her web. No one can have failed 

 to notice the large abdomen of the spider : this contains 

 the u silk " glands which open on the " spinnerets " situated 

 at the posterior end of the animal. These glands secrete 

 a sticky fluid, which assumes a thread-like shape as it 

 passes through the ducts. Exposure to the atmosphere 

 instantly converts this viscid fluid into a silk-like thread, 

 so that the spider seems to really "spin " her web. 



Having selected a suitable site for her snare, the spider 

 secretes a short thread and fastens the free end to what 

 will be the upper limit of the web. She then allows herself 

 to drop, secreting a silken thread as she goes, until she 

 reaches what will be the lower boundary of her net. Here 

 she fixes the other end of the strand. Thus the foundation 

 of her web is laid. The industrious creature allows herself 

 no rest until she has completed her snare, secreting strand 

 upon strand, and interweaving them most skilfully. She 

 has now laid a perfect trap for the unwary fly. A spider's 

 web is made up of two kinds of threads ; a few thicker 

 ones, which form the highways for the spider, and a great 

 number of very fine strands which act as the snare. 

 Having completed operations the spider retires to a dark 

 corner and awaits events. If fortune favours her it will 

 not be long before a fly or other insect finds his way into 

 the " parlour." The amount of violence with which the 

 web is shaken by the struggles of the victim at once 

 informs the spider whether it is a large creature, such 

 as a wasp, or a small oue, such as a fly. Her mode of 

 procedure varies accordingly. If a fly be caught the 



