POISONOUS ANIMALS 221 



legs. Notwithstanding that popular opinion has 

 credited the bird-eating spiders with subsisting 

 entirely, or for the greater part, upon birds, yet 

 this belief is quite erroneous, for the bulk of their 

 food consists of various insects. Nevertheless, 

 it is a fact that they do occasionally catch and eat 

 small birds, and several instances have been 

 recorded of such prey being seen in their clutches ; 

 while, moreover, those kept in captivity have 

 been known to kiU mice, smaU lizards, and frogs. 

 They do not snare their prey in webs, but rely upon 

 their agUity to run and pounce upon any unsus- 

 pecting victim which happens to pass near to their 

 hiding-places, and, when once within their grasp, 

 give it a nip with their powerful fangs, and inject 

 a dose of venom into its body. Even the hairs 

 which cover the body and legs of these spiders 

 are capable of piercing the flesh of those who come 

 ia contact with them, and, in the case of a human 

 being handling one, to set up an irritation which is 

 almost unbearable. Then, again, the tarantula 

 spiders are held in great dread by the peasants of 

 Southern Europe, who believe that their bite causes 

 a malady akin to epilepsy. From an old account, 

 given by Hermann Griibe, we are told : — ' Those 

 who are stung by the tarantula are, some of them, 

 seize" with laughter, others with weeping, others 

 with continued wakefulness, others with stupor, 

 others with nausea and vomiting. . . . Music causes 

 victims to dance and perspire so freely that the 

 poison leaves the system.' Needless to sa , the 

 above statement is a vivid stretch of imagination, 



