SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS. 97 



Wingless Insects. Passing on to other orders of 

 insects, the hemiptera, dragon-flies, and true flies hardly 

 call for special remark. Among them are to be found a 

 fair proportion of large and handsome species, but they 

 require much searching after in their special haunts, and 

 seldom attract so much attention as the groups of insects 

 already referred to. More prominent are the wingless 

 tribes, such as spiders, scorpions, and centipedes. The 

 wanderer in the forests often finds the path closed by 

 large webs almost as strong as silk, inhabited by gorgeous 

 spiders with bodies nearly two inches long and legs 

 expanding six inches. Others are remarkable for their 

 hard flat bodies, terminating in horned processes which 

 are sometimes long, slender, and curved like a pair of 

 miniature cow's horns. Hairy terrestrial species of 

 large size are often met with, the largest belonging to 

 the South American genus Mygale, which sometimes 

 actually kill birds, a fact which had been stated by 

 Madame Merian and others, but was discredited till Mr. 

 Bates succeeded in catching one in the act. The small 

 jumping spiders are also noticeable from their immense 

 numbers, variety, and beauty. They frequent foliage 

 and flowers, running about actively in pursuit of small 

 insects; and many of them are so exquisitely coloured 

 as to resemble jewels rather than spiders. Scorpions 

 and centipedes make their presence known to every 

 traveller. In the forests of the Malay islands are huge 

 scorpions of a greenish colour and eight or ten inches 

 long ; while in huts and houses smaller species lurk under 

 boxes and boards, or secrete themselves in almost every 

 article not daily examined. Centipedes of immense size 

 and deadly venom harbour in the thatch of houses and 



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