SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS. 319 



as well as the body, become distinctly articulated ; the 

 integument becomes hard and opaque, and the, as yet, 

 harmless little insect crawls about, languidly at first, but 

 afterwards more briskly. The mother appears as atten- 

 tive to her offspring as an Earwig ; and as jealous of 

 their safety, as a hen over that of her chickens. 



There is a small Scolopendra, with equal-sized segments, 

 of a dull violet colour, found under stones in these islands, 

 and another small species perfectly black. 



The small Scorpion found in rotten wood, under bark, 

 and under stones, is of a delicate form, and is, I believe, a 

 species of Androctonus. There is another darker and 

 larger kind, found also, but more rarely, under stones, 

 that appears almost identical with the Scorpio Europam, 

 Although held in great abhorrence by the natives, neither 

 of these Scorpions possesses much venom, as I had the 

 misfortune to be stung by one species, and one of the 

 boat's crew by the other. 



The Spiders of the Me'ia-co-shimah Islands exhibit 

 some very remarkable forms. There is a curious Epeira, 

 with the dorsal surface of the abdomen furnished with a 

 radiated crown of hard pointed processes, and the epider- 

 mis richly painted with brown and gold. It spins a 

 large and regular web in every brake and bush. 



Another large and singular Spider, with long, slender 

 legs, and an elongated body, black, and marked with 

 yellow lunules and patches, crawls among the foliage of 

 the trees in the low woods that occur in some parts of 

 Pa-tchung-san. Another species of the same genus is 

 altogether black. I noticed this kind also in the Bashee 

 Islands. 



