288 POISONOUS INSECTS 



Spiders. — It should be stated that spiders are not true insects, 

 as very many people think they are. They really are an order by 

 themselves, but we shall speak of them here. They have eight legs, 

 for instance, whereas no insect possesses more than six legs. Then, 

 their bodies are divided only into tw^o parts, wdiereas those of the 

 insects are divided into three. And, even more important, they are 

 perfect when they emerge from the cg^, instead of first passing through 

 any distinct stages of growth or development. 



All the spiders are creatures of prey. Their legs are furnished 

 with strong curved claws ; the jaws very much resemble the fangs of 

 a venomous serpent. Each of these jaws is hollow, and communicates 

 at the base with a gland, in which a very poisonous fluid is stored up. 

 This poison is so potent that even a large insect succumbs almost 

 instantly to its effects. There have been many cases indeed, in which 

 even our common spiders have bitten human beings, and injured them 

 so severely as to cause great pain and sw-elling. 



All spiders, however, do not capture their prey in like manner, 

 for some are very swift of foot, and overtake their victims by means 

 of their own activity, while others spin the curious nets which we call 

 webs, and lie in wait in readiness to pounce upon any insect which is 

 unfortunate to fly into them. 



The Water Spider.— Many spiders, also, carry their eggs about 

 with them in a silken bag; but there is one which forms a far more 

 singular home for its young, and that is the well-known water spider, 

 which is so common in weedy ponds of the country. 



The principal requirements of the water spider are rather singular. 

 Although it breathes air, it is yet intended to live chiefly beneath the 

 surface of the water; and there, also, its eggs are to be laid and its 

 young ones brought up. It possesses means of breathing during its 

 long dives, and also of enal)ling its young to do the same until they 

 are old enough to leave the protecting nest. 



Scorpions.— Belonging to the •same group as the spiders is the 

 curious animal known as the scorpion, which is very common in the 

 warmer countries of almost all parts of the world. Like the spider, the 

 scorpion is venomous, but in quite a different manner, its poison- 

 bearing weapon lying at the end of the tail, and not in the mouth. 



