SPIDERS J] 



sufficient to crawl into a thick tuft of grass. The wasp soon 

 returned, and seemed surprised at not immediately finding its 

 victim. It then commenced as regular a hunt as ever hound did 

 after fox; making short semicircular casts, and all the time rapidly 

 vibrating its wings and antennae. The spider, though well con- 

 cealed, was soon discovered ; and the wasp, evidently still afraid 

 of its adversary's jaws, after much manoeuvring, inflicted two 

 stings on the under side of its thorax. At last, carefully ex- 

 amining with its antennae the now motionless spider, it proceeded 

 to drag away the body. But I stopped both tyrant and prey.^ 

 The number of spiders, in proportion to other insects, is 

 here compared with England very much larger ; perhaps more 

 so than with any other division of the articulate animals. 

 The variety of species among the jumping spiders appears 

 almost infinite. The genus, or rather family of Epeira, is here 

 characterised by many singular forms ; some species have 

 pointed coriaceous shells, others enlarged and spiny tibiae. 

 Every path in the forest is barricaded with the strong yellow 

 web of a species, belonging to the same division with the 

 Epeira clavipes of Fabricius, which was formerly said by Sloane 

 to make, in the West Indies, webs so strong as to catch birds. 

 A smiall and pretty kind of spider, with veryiqng fore-legs, and 

 which appears to belong to an undescribed genus, lives as a 

 parasite on almost every one of these webs. I suppose it is 

 too insignificant to be noticed by the great Epeira, and is there- 

 fore allowed to prey on the minute insects, which, adhering to 

 the lines, would otherwise be wasted. When frightened, this 

 little spider either feigns death by extending its front legs, or 

 suddenly drops from the web. A large Epeira of the same 

 division with Epeira tuberculata and conica is extremely 

 common, especially in dry situations. Its web, which is 

 generally placed among the great leaves of the common 

 agave, is sometimes strengthened near the centre by a 

 pair or even four zigzag ribbons, which connect two adjoining 

 rays. When any large insect, as a grasshopper or wasp, is 

 caught, the spider, by a dexterous movement, makes it revolve 



1 Don Felix Azara (vol. i. p. 175), mentioning a hymenopterous insect, probably 

 of the same genus, says he saw it dragging a dead spider through tall grass, in a 

 straight line to its nest, which was one hundred and sixty-three paces distant. He 

 adds that the wasp, in order to find the road, every now and then made " demi-tours 

 d'environ trois palmes." 



