876 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



No. XXXIII.— HAWK-MOTH AND SPIDER. 



I have this moment witnessed the following occurrence in my garden. 

 Probably it is a common one but on the chance of it being worth recording, 

 I describe it. I was watching a bee-hawk moth, with clear wings, darting 

 about over a bed of zinnias. As it hung over one flower it suddenly was 

 caught as if in a trap, and beat its wings violently. I took it by one wing, 

 put it in the palm of my hand, where, in a moment or two, it died. I then 

 looked at the zinnia, and found squatting on it a lemon-coloured spider 

 with a triangular body and long yellow legs. I lowered the dead moth 

 near it when the spider caught at it with its fore" legs, pulled it down, 

 buried its face in the moth's chest, and doubtless started sucking the 

 moth's juices. The amazing thing was the strength of the spider in com- 

 parison to its small size. 



It had a smaller brownish spider on its back. Everyone knows what 

 a vigorous creature the hawk-moth is. This was a very fine specimen, yet 

 in under 15 seconds it was moribund. 



The spider was on one of those virulent mauve zinnias and there was no 

 effect whatever of any protective coloration. 



C. G. C. TRENCH, i.c.s. 



Damoh, C.P., 30th July 1910. 



No. XXXIV.— THE FOOD OF DRAGON-FLIES. 



I have on many occasions seen, in New Zealand, dragon-flies catch 

 cicadas. The cicadas were generally caught when on the wing though 

 sometimes when on the trees. These insects (cicadas) are very common 

 in the ti-tree scrub and especially so near water. They are one to one and 

 a half inches in length. 



The dragon-flies appeared to hold the cicadas between the two front 

 pairs of legs, and were able to continue their flight with the cicadas though 

 the latter appeared to be a great deal heavier than the dragon-flies. 



On 12th October 1910 while shooting in the Lissoo Nallah, Naoboog 

 District, Kashmir, I watched with interest a dragon-fly try to catch what 

 appeared to be a small may-fly about § inch long. I got a good view as 

 the sun was setting, the insects almost between me and the sun with 

 a dark back ground of cedars. 



The dragon-fly swooped down like a king crow on a moth, missed, turned 

 and tried again. 



This was done five or six times and every time at the same may-fly 

 though three may-flies were within three or four inches of each other. 



The dragon-fly eventually gave up the chase. 



Dehba Dun, H. FULTON, Major, 



3rd November 1910. 2nd k.e.o., Goobkhas. 



