94 USEFUL PLANTS OF QUAM. 
Among the Hemiptera besides lice there are plant lice of several 
kinds, large water bugs (Belostoma) in stagnant pools, and swarms of 
Ploteres, which skip over the surface of the water. Several varieties 
of roses have been introduced into Guam, but happily the rose aphis 
(Siphonophora) has not reached the island. 
Among the Neuroptera are several handsome dragon flies, one of 
which is bright red. Termites, or ‘*‘ white ants,” called ‘tanai” by the 
natives, are pests. They do great injury to books and furniture and 
to the woodwork of houses, often building covered galleries of mud 
along the walls of a room. In construction wood must be chosen 
which will resist the attacks of these insects. It is not an uncommon 
occurrence for a chair or table to collapse, and to find that it has been 
honeycombed by termites. Sometimes they form continuous galleries 
through a whole shelf of books ora pile of manuscript. These insects 
do not confine their attacks to dead wood; they attack living trees and 
are among the insects injurious to the cacao.” 
Among the Coleoptera may be mentioned the weevils, which destroy 
great quantities of corn, rice, and other farinaceous food. Grain must 
be thoroughly dried in the sun and then stowed in earthen jars for 
protection against these pests. 
The Orthoptera are represented by several species of grasshoppers, 
which furnish excellent food for chickens and turkeys, and which do 
not seem to cause much injury to the crops of the island. Mole crickets 
(Gryllotalpae) are very common. 
SCORPIONS, SPIDERS, AND CENTIPEDES. 
A small scorpion is common in Guam. Its sting is painful, but not 
dangerous. Among the spiders one of the most interesting is a large 
dark brown species, probably belonging to the Epeiridae, which car- 
ries about with it a white disk-shaped membranous case filled with 
egos. There are no tarantulas nor other dangerous spiders. Wood 
ticks (Acarina) are great pests and sometimes infest cattle to such an 
extent as to cause them to sicken and die. 
Centipedes, called ‘‘saligao” by the natives, are common. They 
inflict a very painful but not dangerous bite. They are usually found 
in damp places under stones or rotten wood, the mother often sur- 
rounded by a brood of brightly colored young, similar to her in form. 
Like spiders and crustaceans they cast their skins in growing. The 
jaws are modifications of a pair of legs. They are sharp, prehensile, 
and fang-like, and are perforated at the tip so as to inject thesr venom 
into the wound inflicted by them. Their body is flattened, so that they 
can force their way into small cracks, under stones and beneath the 
“See Banks, Report of the Philippine Commission, 1908, Pt. 2, p. 605, figs. 166 
to 169, 
