ntre of the net. If the test is to be applied to a species with a
daytime hiding-place amid the foliage, the dead Locust is laid on the
web, more or less near the centre, no matter how.

In both cases, nothing happens at first. The Epeira remains in her
motionless attitude, even when the morsel is at a short distance in
front of her. She is indifferent to the presence of the game, does not
seem to perceive it, so much so that she ends by wearing out my
patience. Then, with a long straw, which enables me to conceal myself
slightly, I set the dead insect trembling.

That is quite enough. The Banded Epeira and the Silky Epeira hasten to
the central floor; the others come down from the branch; all go to the
Locust, swathe him with tape, treat him, in short, as they would treat
a live prey captured under normal conditions. It took the shaking of
the web to decide them to attack.

Perhaps the grey colour of the Locust is not sufficiently conspicuous
to attract attention by itself. Then let us try red, the brightest
colour to our retina and probably also to the Spiders'. None of the
game hunted by the Epeirae being clad in scarlet, I make a small bundle
out of red wool, a bait of the size of a Locust. I glue it to the web.

My stratagem succeeds. As long as the parcel is stationary, the Spider
is not roused; but, the moment it trembles, stirred by my straw, she
runs up eagerly.

There are silly ones who just touch the thing with their legs and,
without further enquiries, swathe it in silk after the manner of the
usual game. They even go so far as to dig their fangs into the bait,
following the rule of the preliminary poisoning. Then and then only the
mistake is recognized and the tricked Spider retires and does not come
back, unless it be long afterwards, when she flings the lumbersome
object out of the web.

There are also clever ones. Like the others, these hasten to the
red-woollen lure, which my straw insidiously keeps moving; they come
from their tent among the leaves as readily as from the centre of the
web; they explore it with their palpi and their legs; but, soon
perceiving that the thing is valueless, they are careful not to spend
their silk on useless bonds. My quivering bait does not deceive them.
It is flung out after a brief inspection.

Still, the clever ones, like the silly ones, run even from a distance,
from their leafy ambush. How do they know? Certainly not by sight.
Before recognizing their mistake