102 FALSE- SCORPIONS 



Hooke (1664) drew a picture possibly of the same species in his 

 famous book Micrographia. 



General behaviour 



All false scorpions are of small size, seldom exceeding 7 or 8 mm 

 in length. The giant Garypus beauvoisi of Corsica and the Medi- 

 terranean is only a quarter of an inch in length, and the largest 

 British species, the handsome Dendrochernes cyrneus, is only 3-6 

 mm long. Because they are so small and have shy, retiring habits, 

 pseudoscorpions are little known and seldom found unless specially 

 sought. This is a pity, for they are interesting creatures and many 

 aspects of their biology would provide suitable subjects for study 

 by both amateur and professional zoologists. 



Most pseudoscorpions are markedly photo-negative and do not 

 often venture into the open. They may be collected by hand from 

 rotting leaves and from under the bark of trees, but this method 

 tends to be laborious for they are by no means plentiful. The most 

 effective method entails the use of the Berlese Funnel, but a simpler 

 way is to scatter fallen leaves, moss and other vegetable debris onto 

 a sheet of newspaper or a white table top. Despite their small size, 

 the creatures can then be easily recognised by their squarish shape: 

 they generally crouch motionless, their legs and chelae drawn in 

 until they are touched, when they at once proclaim their nature by 

 running backwards. False-scorpions walk slowly with an air of im- 

 pressive dignity and calm deliberation which distinguishes them 

 from most of the other small arthropods that inhabit the same type 

 of locality, their enormous pedipalps spread out in front of them 

 like the antennae of an insect. If, as they proceed, they happen to 

 touch some other animal with the long setae on their extended 

 palps, they dart sideways or backwards with surprising speed, 

 looking rather like a startled crayfish. This sudden retreat is highly 

 characteristic for not many animals can go backwards as easily as 

 forwards, and very few more rapidly. 



It has been pointed out that a few species inhabit a compara- 

 tively dry environment, but the majority are extremely susceptible 

 to desiccation and must be provided with moisture if kept in 

 captivity. Some species are light-shy, but in Chelifer cancroides no 

 negative phototaxis has been observed although the animals tend 



