. The American entomologist. Entomology. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Ill it'=' We have lately re- ceived several speci- mens of this large Ground Spider from some of our subscrib- ersin ]\Iissouri, and wt therefore present hcrc- with (Fig. 91) a lif. si/p portrait of i^ Large and formidable as it appears, it yet ha*, a deadly enemy iu a large species of Dig- ger-wasp {Pumpilus 1'ormosus. Say), which ftingsand paralyzes it \Ve quote from the American XaturalUt of May, 1867, the fol- lowing interesting ob- Kcrvations on this wa which were made b\ Dr. G. Lincecum: "This large and con spieuous
. The American entomologist. Entomology. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Ill it'=' We have lately re- ceived several speci- mens of this large Ground Spider from some of our subscrib- ersin ]\Iissouri, and wt therefore present hcrc- with (Fig. 91) a lif. si/p portrait of i^ Large and formidable as it appears, it yet ha*, a deadly enemy iu a large species of Dig- ger-wasp {Pumpilus 1'ormosus. Say), which ftingsand paralyzes it \Ve quote from the American XaturalUt of May, 1867, the fol- lowing interesting ob- Kcrvations on this wa which were made b\ Dr. G. Lincecum: "This large and con spieuous insect i* eve rywhere iu Texas call cd the Tarantula K Icr, and is over tv.( inches in length; ihf head, thorax, abdo men, and long spiny (\,\m- li'gs arc all black, while the wings arc sometimes of a bright brown, with black spots at the tips. It is armed witli a formi- dable sting, which it invariably uses in tak- ing its prey. * * * It takes its prey by stinging, thus instantly paralyzing every limb of its victim. The effect of the introduc- tion of its venom is as sudden as the snap of the electric spark. The wasp then drags it, going , to some suitable place, exca- vates a hole five inches deep in the earth, places its great spider in it, deposits an egg under one of its legs, near the body, and then covers the liole very securely. A young Tarantula Killer will be produced from this egg, if no accident befalls it, about the first of .Tune of the ensuing year. * * * '• The Tarantula Killers have severe fights with each other. It occasionally happens, when one of them succeeds in capturing a Tarantula, I hat another one, or more, flying around in that vicinity, and smelling the odor that arises from the Tarantula Killer when she uses her sting, which resembles the odor of the paper-making wasp (Vespa), only much stronger, takes the THE TAU.\XTULA OP TE.\AS. I My 111' Ihnt-U Giraul). scent like a dog, tracks the Tarantula, follow- ing it up clo^eh , and mak(s a M
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectentomology, bookyear1
