THE HOUSE-SPIDER. 479 



other by their fangs so fast that one of the two 

 must die before they are separated. — M. Leeuwen- 

 hoek says he saw one spider that was, however, 

 only wounded in the leg by his antagonist. A 

 drop of blood as large as a grain of sand issued from 

 the sore ; and, not being able to use this wounded 

 leg in running away from his enemy, he held it up, 

 and presently afterward the whole limb dropped 

 from his body. When spiders are wounded in the 

 breast or upper parts of their body, they always die*. 

 The spider, the ptinus, and many insects of the 

 beetle kind, exhibit an instinct of a very extraor- 

 dinary nature. When put in terror by a touch of 

 the finger, the spider runs off with great swiftness ; 

 but if he finds that, whatever direction he takes, he 

 is opposed by another finger, he then seems to de- 

 spair of being able to escape, contracts his limbs 

 and body, lies perfectly motionless, and counter- 

 feits every symptom of death. " In this situation," 

 says Mr. Smellie, " I have pierced spiders with pins, 

 and torn them to pieces, without their discovering 

 the smallest marks of pain. This simulation of 

 death has been ascribed to a strong convulsion, or 

 stupor, occasioned by terror. But this solution of 

 the phenomenon is erroneous. I have repeatedly 

 tried the experiment, and uniformly found that, if 

 the object of terror be removed, in a few seconds 

 the animal runs off with great rapid.:}'. Some 

 beetles, when counterfeiting death, will suffer them- 



* Phil. Tran. vol. xxii. p. 870. 



