82 HALF IIOUES AVITII II^SECTS. [PACKAiiD. 



sionally fatal and certainly very painful and distressing." 

 This spider belongs to the genns Latrodectus, and AValck- 

 onaer, says the same journal, writing of the Latrodectus 

 malmignatics, an allied species common in Sardinia and Cor- 

 sica and parts of Italy, remarks : — "This spider is certainly 

 poisonous ; its bite, they sa}', causes in man pain, lethargy 

 and sometimes fever." A species of the same genus which 

 lives in Georgia is said by Ilentz (and not Abbot as "ISi'ature" 

 says) to have an " undoubtedly venomous " bite. 



As regards the bite and habits of the scorpion, the testi- 

 mony of Anderssen, the African traveller, may be cited as 

 the common experience of inhabitants in the tropics, lie 

 says "Tlie instant the scorpion feels himself in contact with 

 any part of tlic body of a man or beast, he lifts his tail, and, 

 with his horny sting, inflicts a wound which, though rarely- 

 fatal, is still of a painful nature. Like the snake, the scori>ion 

 is fond of warmth ; and it is not uncommon, on awakening in 

 the morning, to find one or two of these horrid creatures 

 snugly ensconced in the folds of the blanket, or under the 

 pillow. On one occasion I killed a scorpion, measuring 

 nearly seven and a half inches in length, that had thus un- 

 ceremoniousl}' introduced itself into my bed." 



The poison gland of the scorpion, as everybody knows, is 

 lodged in the tail. The scorpion is a timorous creature and 

 only uses its sting when alarmed. 



Dr. Lincecum has published in the " American Naturalist" 

 an interesting account of the scorpion of Texas, a figure of 

 which we reproduce (Fig. G3). He says that it dwells under 

 old logs, rocks, in old stumps, under the bark of dead trees, 

 under old fences, Itetween the shingles on house-tops and par- 

 ticularly about the jambs and hearths of fire-places, "In tem- 

 per they are hasty and will employ their weapons on slight 

 occasions. The pain caused by their venom, when injected 

 into one's flesh, is very quickly felt and quite severe, giving 

 the idea of a burning-hot fluid thrown into the system. It 



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