WHIP-SCORPIONS AND OTHERS 119 



before taking it up in their chelae. Live insects are rarely caught 

 and they do not attempt to interfere with beetles and grasshoppers 

 larger than themselves. On the other hand a moth will be devoured 

 almost completely and a dragonfly eaten all but the wings. Besides 

 insects, they will eat small pieces of over-ripe banana (Flower, 

 1901). Marx (1892) found that very young M. giganteus would not 

 eat flies but fed on small cockroaches. 



The anterior legs of Thelyphonida serve as feelers: they are 

 sensitive not only to touch, but also to chemicals and moisture. 

 The delicacy of their response can be illustrated by breathing 

 on them when they are at rest — even this slight stimulus in the case 

 of Mastigoproctus is enough to send them into restless activity. If 

 an animal which is aimlessly wandering about should happen to 

 get the tip of one of these limbs into a dish of water, it will im- 

 mediately swing about, thrust its other feeler into the water, clam- 

 ber half into the dish and begin greedily to scoop water into its 

 mouth with its chelicerae. If very dilute hydrochloric acid is sub- 

 stituted for water, a clear-cut avoidance reaction is obtained 

 (Patten, 1917). 



Although it is believed that none of the Tedipalps' is poisonous, 

 and no poison glands have been found in any of these orders, M. 

 giganteus is greatly feared in some of the southern United States on 

 account of its supposedly venomous powers. It is given the local 

 name of 'grampus' and can inflict wounds in the human skin with 

 the sharp spines on its pedipalps. Thelyphonida protect themselves 

 when disturbed by discharging from the anal region a dust-like 

 cloud having a strong odour of acetic acid in species such as Thely- 

 phonus caudatus, T. sepiaris and Hypoctonus oatesi^ while the odour 

 of the repugnatorial fluid from T. linganus is said to resemble that 

 of chlorine gas. If a whip-scorpion be molested with a finger bear- 

 ing a cut or raw scratch, this cut or scratch will probably begin to 

 smart violently from acid ejected from near the base of the tail, but 

 this is the worst they can do. 



The name Vinegarone' by which Thelyphonida are known in 

 parts of the southern United States was originally bestowed on 

 them by settlers from the French West Indies, and arose from the 

 vinegar-like, acid secretion they exude when approached. A black- 

 smith in 1877 is reported to have crushed one to his upper left 



