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The Pholcus, in spite of its size, is a weak creature, possessing little venom to despatch its prey with, so that it makes a long and laborious task of killing a fly.
Spiders are specially liable to this danger, because their victims are noisy when caught. Hudson has described an ingenious device made use of by a species of Pholcus a quiet inoffensive Spider found in Buenos Ayres to escape this risk. This spider, though large, is a weak creature, and possesses little venom to despatch a fly quickly.
Now, I have repeatedly remarked that all spiders, when the shrill humming of an insect caught in a web is heard near them, become agitated, like the Pholcus, and will, in the same way, quit their own webs and hurry to the point the sound proceeds from.
"When a fly is captured the spider approaches it cautiously and spins a web round it, continually narrowing the circle it describes, until the victim is inclosed in a cocoon-like covering. This is a common method with spiders; but the intelligence for I can call it by no other word of the Pholcus has supplemented this instinctive procedure with a very curious and unique habit.
One of the most original spiders in Buenos Ayres mentally original, I mean is a species of Pholcus; a quiet, inoffensive creature found in houses, and so abundant that they literally swarm where they are not frequently swept away from ceilings and obscure corners.
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