The Strand Magazine, Vol. 17, February 1899, No. 98. — John Shaqi
The Strand Magazine, Vol. 17, February 1899, No. 98.Various
General
The Strand Magazine, Vol. 17, February 1899, No. 98.
Various
English literature -- Periodicals; Short stories, English -- Periodicals
If the defenders are so cunning, however, the attackers can sometimes
turn the tables upon them. Animals that hunt often disguise themselves,
in order to avoid the notice of the prey, and so steal unobserved upon
their victims. Such tactics are like those of the Kaffirs, who cut bits
of bush, and then creep up slowly, slowly behind them, under cover of
the branches, upon the gnus or antelopes which they wish to slaughter.
In No. 10 we have one example of this method of hunting or stalking, as
pursued by the intelligent English grass-spider. All spiders, of course,
have eight legs, four on each side; but in most of the class, the
various pairs of legs are evenly distributed, so as to lie about the
body in a rough circle or something like it. The grass-spider, however,
has his own views on this important matter. His form and attitude are
quite peculiar. He lies in wait for his prey on the open, crouched
against a stem of grass, with his two front pairs of legs extended
before him, and his back pair behind, in an arrangement which is rather
linear than circular. This position makes him almost invisible--much
more invisible in real life, indeed, than you see him in the drawing;
for if he were represented as inconspicuous as he looks you would say
there was no spider there at all, only a naked grass-stem. The delusion
is heightened by his lines and colours: he is mostly green or greenish,
with narrow black or brown stripes which run more or less up and down
his body, instead of cross-wise as usual, so that they harmonize
beautifully with the up-and-down lines of the blades and stem in the
tuft which he inhabits. When he is pressed close against a bent of
grass, on the look-out for flies, it is almost impossible for the
quickest eye to distinguish him. Flies come near, never suspecting the
presence of their hereditary foe; as soon as they are close to him, the
grass-spider rushes out with a dash and secures them. His jaws are among
the most terrible in all his terrible race: they are large and
wide-spreading, with two rows of teeth on either side, and a pair of
long fangs of truly formidable proportions.
[Illustration: 10.--GRASS-SPIDER, IN AMBUSH FOR FLIES.]
In other ways, also, this particular spider is a clever fellow, for he
lives near water; but when the rains are heavy and there is likely to be
a flood, he shifts his quarters higher up the ground, and so escapes
impending inundation.
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