296 



ZOOLOGY. 



[PART II. 



By day it remains concealed in its den, whence it 

 issues at night to feed on larvse and worms, devouring 

 cockroaches 1 and their pupse, and attacking the mille- 

 peds, gryllotalpge, and other fleshy insects. The Mygale 

 is found abundantly in the northern and eastern parts 

 of the island, and occasionally in dark unfrequented 

 apartments in the western province ; but its inclinations 

 are solitary, and it shuns the busy traffic of towns. 



Ticks. Ticks are to be classed among the intolerable 

 nuisances to the Ceylon traveller. They live in immense 

 numbers in the jungle 2 , and attaching themselves to 

 the plants by the two forelegs, lie in wait to catch at 

 unwary animals as they pass. A shower of these dimi- 



1 Mr. EDGAR L. LAYARD lias de- 

 scribed the encounter between a My- 

 gale and a cockroach, which he wit- 

 nessed in the madua of a temple at 

 Alittane, between Anarajapoora and 

 Dambool. When about a yard apart, 

 each discerned the other and stood 

 still, the spider with his legs slightly 

 bent and his body raised, the cock- 

 roach confronting him and directing 

 his antennae with a restless undu- 

 lation towards his enemy. The 

 spider, by stealthy movements, ap- 

 proached to within a few inches and 

 paused, both parties eyeing each other 

 intently : then suddenly a rush, a 

 scuffle, and both fell to "the ground, 

 when the blatta's wings closed, the 

 spider seized it under the throat 

 with his claws, and dragging it into 

 a corner, the action of his jaws was 

 distinctly audible. Next morning 

 Mr. Layard found the soft parts of 

 the body had been eaten, nothing but 

 the head, thorax, and elytra remain- 

 ing. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. May, 

 1853. 



2 Dr. HOOKER, in his Himalayan 

 Journal, vol. i. p. 279, in speaking of 

 the multitude of these creatures in 

 the mountains of Nepal, wonders 

 what they find to feed on, as in these 

 humid forests in which they literally 

 swarmed, there was neither pathway 

 nor animal life. In -Ceylon they 

 abound everywhere in the plains on 

 the low brushwood : and in the very 



driest seasons they are quite as nu- 

 merous as at other times. In the 

 mountain zone, which is more humid, 

 they are less prevalent. Dogs are 

 tormented by them ; and they display 

 something closely allied to cunning 

 in always fastening on an animal in 

 those parts where they cannot be 

 torn off by his paws ; on his eye- 

 brows, the tips of his ears, and the 

 back of his neck. With a corre- 

 sponding instinct I have always ob- 

 served in the gambols of the Pariah 

 dogs, that they invariably commence 

 their attentions by mutually gnawing 

 each other's ears and necks, as if in 

 pursuit of ticks from places from 

 which each is unable to expel them 

 for himself. Horses have a similar 

 instinct ; and when they meet, they 

 apply their teeth to the roots of the 

 ears of their companions, to the neck 

 and the crown of the head. The 

 buffaloes and oxen are relieved of 

 ticks by the crows which rest on 

 their backs as they browse, and free 

 them from these pests. In the low 

 country the. same acceptable office is 

 performed by the " cattle - keeper 

 heron " (Ardea bubulcus), which is 

 " sure to be found in attendance on 

 them while grazing; and the animals 

 seem to know their benefactors, and 

 stand quietly, while the birds peck 

 their tormentors from their flanks.'' 

 Mag. Nat. Hist. p. Ill, 1844. 



