464 



HISTORY OF INSECTS. 



carried on the back of the female, and soon is 

 seen floating in the water round her. Its ap- 

 pearance at first is that of a very small whitish 

 insect, endued with a very nimble motion. 

 Except in colour, it suffers no change, only 

 continuing to grow larger and redder as it 

 grows old. They sometimes remain several 

 days on the surface of the water ; and some- 

 times are seen at the bottom only ; but they 

 are never at rest. They change their skin, 

 like most other insects ; and the cast skin re- 

 sembles the insect itself so exactly, that one 

 might mistake the mask for the animal. 



CHAP. IX. 



OF THE SCORPION AND ITS VARIETIES. 1 



THERE is scarcely an insect without wings 

 that is not obnoxious to man: the smallest 

 have the power of annoying him, either by 

 biting or stinging him ; and though each is in 

 itself contemptible, they become formidable 

 from their numbers. But of all this class, 

 there is none so terrible as the Scorpion, whose 

 shape is hideous, whose size among the insect 

 tribe is enormous, and whose sting is generally 

 fatal. Happy for England, the scorpion is en- 

 tirely a stranger among us ! In several parts 

 of the continent of Europe it is but too well 

 known, though it seldom grows above four 

 inches long: but in the warm tropical cli- 

 mates it is seen a foot in length, and in every 

 respect as large as a lobster. 



The scorpion is one of the largest of the in- 

 sect tribe, and not less terrible from its size 

 than its malignity. It resembles a lobster 

 somewhat in shape, but is infinitely more hi- 

 deous. There have been enumerated nine 

 different kinds of this dangerous insect, chiefly 

 distinguished by their colour, there being scor- 

 pions yellow, brown, and ash coloured; others 

 that are the colour of rusty iron, green, pale 

 yellow, black, claret-colour, white, and gray. 



There are four principal parts distinguish- 

 able in this animal ; the head, the breast, the 

 belly, and the tail. The scorpion's head 

 seems, as it were, jointed to the breast ; in the 

 middle of which are seen two eyes ; and a little 

 more forward, two eyes more, placed in the 

 fore-part of the head : these eyes are so small, 

 that they are scarcely perceivable ; and it is 

 probable the animal has but little occasion for 

 seeing. The mouth is furnished with two 

 jaws ; the undermost is divided into two, and 

 the parts notched into each other, which serve 

 the animal as teeth, and with which it breaks 

 its food, and thrusts it into its mouth : these 



1 The Scorpion is placed by naturalists among the 

 Arachnites or Spiders. 



the scorpion can at pleasure pull back into its 

 mouth, so that no part of them can be seen. 

 On each side of the head are two arms, each 

 composed of four joints ; the last of which is 

 large, with strong muscles, and made in the 

 manner of a lobster's claw. Below the breast 

 are eight articulated legs, each divided into 

 six joints ; the two hindmost of which are each 

 provided with two crooked claws, and here and 

 there covered with hair. The belly is divided 

 into seven little rings ; from the lowest of which 

 is continued a tail composed of six joints, 

 which are bristly, and formed like little globes, 

 the last being armed with a crooked sting. 

 This is that fatal instrument which renders 

 this insect so formidable: it is long, pointed, 

 hard, and hollow ; it is pierced near the base 

 by two small holes, through which, when the 

 animal stings, it ejects a drop of poison, which 

 is white, caustic, and fatal. The reservoir in 

 which this poison is kept, is in a small blad 

 der near the tail, into which the venom is dis- 

 tilled by a peculiar apparatus. If this blad- 

 der be gently pressed, the venom will be seen 

 issuing out through the two holes above-men- 

 tioned ; so that it appears, that when the ani- 

 mal stings, the bladder is pressed, and the ve- 

 nom issues through the two apertures into the 

 wound. 



There are few animals more formidable, or 

 more truly mischievous, than the scorpion. As 

 it takes refuge in a small place, and is gene- 

 rally found sheltering in houses, so it cannot 

 be otherwise than that it must frequently sting 

 those among whom it resides. In some of the 

 towns of Italy, and in France, in the province 

 of Languedoc, it is one of the greatest pests 

 that torment mankind : but its malignity in 

 Europe is trifling, when compared to what the 

 natives of Africa and the East are known to 

 experience. In Batavia, where they grow 

 twelve inches long, there is no removing any 

 piece of furniture, without the utmost danger 

 of being stung by them. Bosman assures us, 

 that, along the Gold Coast, they are often 

 found larger than a lobster ; and that their 

 sting is inevitably fatal. In Europe, how- 

 ever, they are by no means so large, so veno- 

 mous, or so plentiful. The general size of 

 this animal does not exceed two or three inch- 

 es ; and its sting is very seldom found to be 

 fatal. Maupertuis, who made several experi- 

 ments on the scorpion of Languedoc, found it 

 by no means so invariably dangerous as had 

 till then been represented. He provoked one 

 of them to sting a dog, in three places of the 

 belly, where the animal was without hair : in 

 about an hour after, the poor animal seemed 

 greatly swollen, and became very sick; he 

 then cast up whatever he had in his bowels ; 

 and for about three hours continued vomiting 

 a whitish liquid. The belly was always 



