MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 88? 



The appetite of the Galeodes seemed quite insatiable ; my specimen was 

 ever eager for a meal. The insects and others consumed consisted of a 

 number of moths," several small beetles, such as are attracted to the lamp in 

 the evenings, two spiders, an Asilid fly, a large locustid at least twice the 

 bulk of its captor, and a blister beetle. 



On the hard integument of one of the common light-brown cock-chafer 

 like beetles, she could make no impression, though she attacked it repeated- 

 ly with great vigour and wide extended jaws. 



Unfortunately, I did not see the locustid actually assailed as the Galeodes 

 seemed overawed at first. They were left together one night and only the 

 arachnid and some debris were to be seen in the morning. 



The blister beetle gave most trouble as might well be expected. It was 

 attacked at once on being inserted in the jar, but the Galeodes dropped it 

 at once on the first slight nip. The bite was not driven home and the 

 beetle curled itself up in the posture of object humility they are addicted 

 to on being molested and exceeded a drop of its acrid secretion. Galeodes 

 had evidently received a taste of it and found it unsavoury, for she backed 

 away and seemed to be scraping her chelicerse on the floor of the jar, gaping 

 the two pairs wide apart, for all the world as if she were about to vomit up 

 the nauseous draught. This manoeuvre was reiterated several times, but 

 evidently the jaws never really closed, for the beetle seemed little the 

 worse. 



At last the aggressor seemed to have come to the sour-grapes frame of 

 mind and desisted from further attempts. However, I left the uncongenial 

 morsel with her for the night and lo ! the morning revealed that the pangs 

 of hunger had overcome the hatefulness of the fare, for all that was left of 

 the beetle were scarcely recognisable mangled fragments. 



As before stated Galeodes do not eat their victims bodily, but suck out 

 their juices. The carcase of the prey is crushed and deftly manipulated 

 round and round by the mandibles going over each section again and again 

 till all the sap is expressed. The suctorial beak lies handy for being applied 

 to the battered framework the while. Within the beak there is a muscular 

 sucking chamber which draws in the fluids. 



C. E. C. FISCHER. 



Coimbatore, 3rd October 1910. 



No. XLIL— FURTHER NOTE ON THE SPIDER 

 NEPHILA MACULATA, Fabr. 



Two notes on the above-named spider were printed on pages 526-528 of 

 No. 2, Volume XX of the Journal. In the first I noted that the female was 

 in no way aggressive during pairing. I have recently observed another 

 incident where the female was not so complacent. 



