ANIMALS THAT HUNT. 569 



has known too long- that by this stratagem his pre}' could escape, and 

 he forces him to remain on the wing by trying- to strike him from 

 beneath." " 



The beautiful ))ird that is known to all as the bee eater proceeds 

 like those hunters who, on the shores of the Mediterranean, watch for 

 game on its retui-n from Africa. He posts himself near a nest of 

 wasps or bees and snaps up these little stiletto bearers as they come 

 out or return home. 



The baudroie prefers to catch by deco3\ This rather large tish 

 buries himself in the mud and lets only a sort of small flag appear, 

 which is fastened to his nose by the medium of a long tilament which 

 floats as the water moves it. The little fishes in his neighborhood 

 hurry toward this flag, thinking they have to do with an easy prey. 

 When they are gathered in goodly number, disputing over this sweet 

 morsel, the baudroie opens his huge mouth and swallows them down 

 without further ceremony. 



Other animals are more refined and, in the hunt by decoy, prefer to 

 use traps. It might be supposed that this method of hunting, which 

 demands a certain intelligence, would be practiced by creatures of 

 rather high organization. This is not so, since the humble insects 

 employ it. The larva of the ant-lion digs on the surface of the sand 

 a large funnel, at the bottom of which he crouches; every insect 

 which tries to pass roils down into the funnel and reaches the bottom, 

 where at once it is snatched up by the larva. This is pit hunting. 

 Moreover, if the victim seems likely to escape, he shovels at him 

 quantities of sand which makes him fall still more quickl}'. The larva 

 of cicindela acts ditt'erently, but with equal craft, in order to obtain 

 the little insects necessary for his nourishment. He digs in the earth 

 a vertical hole, in which he props himself like a chimney sweep climl) 

 ing up a chimne}^ in. such fashion that his head, flattened and slightly 

 hollowed, exactly stops up the orifice of the opening on a level with 

 the ground. When a little creature is about to pass over this veri- 

 table living trap the larva sinks down, at the same time dragging 

 with him his victim, which he hastens to seize between his claws and 

 to devour. 



Hunting with the aid of nets is, as we know, practiced with great 

 ability by spiders, who stretch their webs, which are sometimes irreg- 

 ular, sometimes of marvellous regularity, in our gardens and houses. 

 Some await their prey, keeping to the middle of the web. Others, 

 more prudent, hide in a little silken cell well concealed in a hole of 

 the wall. Most of them trust to the strength of their threads and to 

 the glutinous substance with which these are moistei)ed. When a 

 victim is taken, the spider often prevents it from struggling by 

 enveloping it with delicate threads. If it is small, however, he con- 

 tents himself with killing it and sucking it up on the spot or after 



