NEAR RELATIVES OF INSECTS. 



2 33 



they are southern centipeds. In the North, one may 

 look for them under stones, logs, and bark. One species 

 is often found running about over the house walls. It 

 is a very swift runner, has 

 very long legs, and only fifteen 

 pairs of them . These legs drop 

 off easily if the centiped is 

 touched, and remain sensitive 

 for some time. This centiped 

 is sometimes called the cock- 

 roach tiger, and it has never 

 been known to bite a human 

 being. Its scientific name is 

 Cermatia forceps. 



It has remarkably long 

 antennae, longer than the body, 

 and these seem to be ex- 

 tremely sensitive. They are 

 carried forward when the 

 animal is exploring things, 

 and are waved gently up and 

 down when the animal stops 

 after having been disturbed. 

 A Cermatia recently experi- 

 mented upon, had a wet leaf 

 thrust in its path so that the 

 leaf touched the tip of one of 

 its antennas. It stopped ab- 

 ruptly, threw the 



FIG. 96. A centiped, Scolopendra 

 antenna heros - About two-thirds the maxi- 

 mum length. (Folsom.) 



which had been touched in a 



long loop backward and upward, remaining in this position 

 for some time with the antenna which had not been touched 

 straight out in front of the head and quivering slightly. 



