VII. 



AN EIGHT-LEGGED ISHMAELITE. 



'"PHE spider is a sadly neglected animal. While dozens 

 of eminent men have written in praise of ants, bees, 

 and wasps, scarcely one has deigned to notice the spider. 

 The arachnids have been passed over unremarked by those 

 who have lauded the virtues and exaggerated the intelli- 

 gence of the hymenoptera. Yet the spider is an animal far 

 more interesting than any social insect. In intelligence 

 and valour the spider is immeasurably superior to ant, bee 

 or wasp. Then, again, with a few exceptions spiders are 

 harmless to man, and they wage unceasing war against 

 mosquitos, flies, black-beetles, and other insect pests. 

 Bees certainly give us honey, but as a set-off they have 

 nasty stings, while ants and wasps are unmitigated 

 nuisances. 



Let us, therefore, give the spider his innings. When 

 studying the character of an animal we should contemplate 

 him in two aspects in his relations to other members of 

 his own species, and in his dealings with the rest of the 

 animal world. In other words, we have to consider both 

 his home and foreign policy. Thus studied, the spider 

 stands forth as the Ishmaelite of the insect world. His 

 hand is against all insects and their hand is against him. 

 This latter fact is often, lost sight of; for most people are of 

 opinion that spiders have matters all their own way. 

 They look on a spider as a savage and immoral beast of 

 prey ; they regard him as a terror to all good and well- 

 behaved insects, as a monster who is afraid of nothing. 

 This is not so. Spiders are hunted quite as much as they 



