Garden Spiders: Pairing and Hunting 



Spider stabs at random. The virulence of the 

 poison does the rest. 



There are, however, some very few cases in 

 which the bite is speedily mortal. IVIy notes 

 mention an Angular Epeira grappling with the 

 largest Dragon-fly in my district {^Eshaa 

 grandis, Lin. ) . I myself had entangled in the 

 web this head of big game, which is not often 

 captured by the Epeirae. The net shakes 

 violently, seems bound to break its moorings. 

 The Spider rushes Jfrom her leafy villa, runs 

 boldly up to the giantess, flings a single bundle 

 of ropes at her and, without further precau- 

 tions, grips her with her legs, tries to subdue 

 her and then digs her fangs into the Dragon- 

 fly's back. The bite is prolonged in such a 

 way as to astonish me. This is not the per- 

 functory kiss with which I am already 

 familiar; it is a deep, determined woimd. 

 After striking her blow, the Spider retires to 

 a certain distance and waits for her poison to 

 take effect. 



I at once remove the Dragon-fly. She is 

 dead, really and truly dead. Laid upon my 

 table and left alone for twenty-four hours, 

 she makes not the slightest movement. A 

 prick of which my lens cannot see the marks, 

 311 



