The Life of the Spider 



the insect-killers, which vies with that of the 

 paralyzers. I speak of insect-killers in the 

 plural, for the Tarantula must share her 

 deadly art with a host of other Spiders, 

 especially with those who hunt without nets. 

 These insect-killers, who live on their prey, 

 strike the game dead instantaneously by 

 stinging the nerve-centres of the neck; the 

 paralyzers, on the other hand, who wish to 

 keep the food fresh for their larvae, destroy 

 the power of movement by stinging the game 

 in the other nerve-centres. Both of them at- 

 tack the nervous chain, but they select the 

 point according to the object to be attained. 

 If death be desired, sudden death, free from 

 danger to the huntress, the insect is attacked 

 in the neck; if mere paralysis be required, 

 the neck is respected and the lower segments 

 — sometimes one alone, sometimes three, 

 sometimes all or nearly all, according to the 

 special organization of the victim — ^receive 

 the dagger-thrust. 



Even the paralyzers, at least some of them, 

 are acquainted with the immense vital im- 

 portance of the nerve-centres of the neck. 

 We have seen the Hairy Ammophila munch- 

 ing the caterpillar's brain, the Languedocian 

 76 



