858 Captain Thos. Hutton on Galeodes (Vorax.) [No. 129. 



My first observations on this species were made in 1832 at Mirza- 

 pore, where it is very abundant, and of large size. During the rainy 

 season, it was my constant habit on a fine evening, to spread a sheet 

 upon the ground near my house, upon which was placed a small lan- 

 tern to attract insects. 



In a very short time, two or three of these ravenous spiders would 

 make their appearance at the edge of the sheet, but at a respectful dis- 

 tance from each other, and no sooner did a moth, or a beetle, or a 

 cricket alight upon it, than it was snapped up and devoured before I 

 could lay hold of it. There seemed indeed to be no end to the appe- 

 tite of these creatures, for they continued to seize and devour every 

 thing indiscriminately, that came within their reach, even to large and 

 hard winged beetles, cutting them to pieces with their powerful jaws 

 with the greatest ease. Many were the deadly fights I witnessed 

 among these marauders, as they trespassed upon each other's beats to 

 get possession of some newly alighted prey, and often was I obliged to 

 kill them, in order that I too might in turn obtain some share of the 

 booty. This species is, strictly speaking, nocturnal, though I have 

 sometimes seen them active in the day time ; they live beneath stones 

 and in holes in the ground, and never construct a net or other trap 

 for their prey, seizing every thing by main force, as they roam about 

 in search of food. 



Again I fell in with this species abundantly at Neemuch, where they 

 were also sometimes of large size. One of these I kept for some time 

 in a vessel, the bottom of which was well supplied with earth, which 

 had been purposely hardened by pouring water on it and then allow- 

 ing it to dry. 



The Galeodes soon began to dig a hole, and in a very short time 

 succeeded in making itself a subterranean retreat, in which it usually 

 resided, seldom coming forth beyond the mouth of its den. It pro- 

 ceeded to dig out the earth at first with its strong jaws, cutting it 

 away in a circle, and having thus loosened the soil, it gathered it toge- 

 ther into a heap with its anterior palpi and threw it out behind, as a 

 dog does in scratching a hole. When it had by this means succeeded 

 in excavating a hole sufficiently large for it to enter, instead of throw- 

 ing out the loose earth as at first, it gathered a quantity together, and 

 surrounding or embracing it with the anterior palpi, shoved the load 



