io Poisonous Arthropods 



place, most of those experimented with were unable to pierce the skin 

 of the palm or the back of the hand, but had to be applied to the thin 

 skin between the fingers before they were able to draw blood. Unfor- 

 tunately, no special attempt was made to determine, at the time, the 

 species experimented with, but among them were Theridion tepi- 

 dariorum, Miranda aurantia (Argiopa) t Metargiope trifasciata, Marxia 

 stellata, Aranea trifolium, Misumena vatia, and Agelena n&via. In 

 no case was the bite more severe than a pin prick and though in some 

 cases the sensation seemed to last longer, it was probably due to the 

 fact that the mind was intent upon the experiment. 



Similar experiments were carried out by Blackwell (1855), who 

 believed that in the case of insects bitten, death did not result any 



6. An American tarantula (Eurypelma hentzii) . Natural size. After Comstock. 



more promptly than it would have from a purely mechanical injury of 

 equal extent. He was inclined to regard all accounts of serious 

 injury to man as baseless. The question cannot be so summarily 

 dismissed, and we shall now consider some of the groups which have 

 been more explicitly implicated. 



The Tarantulas. In popular usage, the term " tarantula " is 

 loosely applied to any one of a number of large spiders. The famous 

 tarantulas of southern Europe, whose bites were supposed to cause the 

 dancing mania, were Lycosidae, or wolf -spiders. Though various 

 species of this group were doubtless so designated, the one which 

 seems to have been most implicated was Lycosa tarantula (L.), 

 (fig. 4). On the other hand, in this country, though there are many 

 Lycosidae, the term "tarantula" has been applied to members of the 

 superfamily Avicularoidea (fig. 6), including the bird-spiders. 



Of the Old World Lycosidae there is no doubt that several species 

 were implicated as the supposed cause of the tarantism. In fact, as 

 we have already noted, the blame was sometimes attached to a scor- 



