54 CENTIPEDES 



other unpleasant things under the influence of reUgious excitement. 

 In Siam centipedes are roasted and given to children suff"ering 

 from 'thinness and swollen belly' (malaria or hookworm): and 

 roasted centipedes powdered and soaked in alcohol and the juice of 

 borapet are used medicinally as a stimulant. 



Few temperate species are big enough to be able to penetrate 

 the human skin with their poison-claws. Lithobius forficatus 

 causes a sharp pain that is noticeable for some time, but signs 

 of injury are insignificant. The long-legged Scutigera forceps 

 has been recorded as giving a bite that is followed by intense 

 local pain. 



On the whole, although Buffon, in a contemporary English 

 translation, wrote: 'Of these hideous and angry insects we know 

 little except the figure and the noxious qualities', centipedes are 

 for the most part comparatively innocuous members of the com- 

 munity of animals. Even the large Scolopendras do not bite unless 

 molested and will always try to escape rather than fight. 



Many of the Geophilomorpha, including the common British 

 Geophilus electricus^ G. carpophagus, Necrophlaeophagus longicornis 

 and Scolioplanes crassipes, exude a phosphorescent fluid when dis- 

 turbed. The phosphorescence may be excited at any time of year 

 by mechanical stimulation and by immersion in water: it also 

 occurs when the centipedes are attacked by ants and similar 

 enemies. In autumn, at the time of sexual maturity, centipedes 

 tend to leave their burrows and for this reason an abundance of 

 luminous specimens is found at that time of year. The lumines- 

 cence is simply a protective reaction and is not related to sexual 

 behaviour as has sometimes been suggested, for these animals are 

 eyeless. 



In southern California the large greenish Scolopendra heros is 

 greatly feared, not only on account of its poisonous bite but because 

 it also produces a reddish streak where it has crawled upon the 

 body. Like many other tropical and subtropical Scolopendro- 

 morpha, it makes tiny incisions with its numerous feet. In themselves 

 these are trifling, but when alarmed the centipede drops into each 

 incision some kind of venom that causes intense irritation so that 

 the affected part becomes inflamed and the two rows of punctures 

 show white against the flesh. No doubt the poisonous and phos- 



