THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



51 



Tixas and New Mexico it is called the 

 ' \iiiegar-bug," or " Vinagrio," especially 

 1 1\ t he Spaniards and their descendants. In 

 SI iiutiflc parlance it is the Theli/phmius excu- 

 I'itiir of Girard, and by that name it is known 

 all over the scientific world. 



These animals belong to a group in the 

 class Arachnida (including the si)iders and 

 their allies), called Pedipalpi, because their 

 palpi, or feelers, are developed^ into large ap- 

 parent feet, armed with claws similar to tlmae 

 of scorpions, crabs and lobsters — most like 

 the last named — except that some of the 

 genera have but a single claw. 



The body of this arachnid is fully two 

 inches long, and is of a deep chestnut brown 

 in color, (reddish brown beneath) ; it has 

 eight articulated feet, the interior pair of 

 which are very long and slender ; its pedijxtliji 

 are stout and apparently powerful, armed 

 with claws, one of which is movable, like 

 those of a lobster. The indications are that 

 it is reptorial in its feeding habits, and that 

 the excessively developed palpi is for the pur- 

 pose of seizing and retaining its prey until its 

 appetite is gratified. 



The abdomen is terminated by an abrupt 

 articulated stump, from the apex of which ex- 

 tends a long tapering tail, something like the 

 lash of a whip— indeed, taking the stump and 

 the lash together, they are not much unlike a 

 common short-hanJled whip in miniature. 

 from which is derived the common name of 

 "whip tail." Scientific authors have record- 

 ed very little about the history and habits of 

 this animal, but there seems to be a general 

 dread of it among the common people where 

 it is found, and many of them would rather 

 encounter a rattle-snake than one of them, 

 although there does not .seem to be a well at- 

 tested record of their poisonous qualities. 

 Some years ago. Lieutenant Frazer, of the 

 U. S. Army, sent us a specimen, from New 

 Mexico, we think, and he also stated this 

 dread the people have of it. He also stated 

 that when excited it voided a pungent fluid 

 that had the odor of sharp vinegar, and from 

 this comes the common name "vinagrio." A 

 species in the island of Martinique is by the 

 French called "Vinaigrier," probably from 

 the same cause. The largest species ( T. iji 

 ganteus) is found in old Mexico, and is two 

 and a-half inches long. Mr. Snably represents 

 that in Florida they are usually found under 

 old log.s, or lumber, and they are apt to domi- 

 cilate themselves in lumber yards. When dis- 

 covered they make no attempt to escape, and 

 only snap with their palpigerous claws, when 

 goaded by a stick. 



Of course, those who reside in their habitat 

 ought to know best whether their bite is pois- 

 onous or not, and also the effect it has upon 

 the object that is bitten. Judging from the 

 organic structure we should regard them 

 about as venomous as the Tarantula, the 

 Scorpion, or the Centipede, and the injury 

 sustained from their bite would largely de- 

 pend upon the physical condition of the system 

 of the man oranimal at the time they are bit- 

 ten, as well as upon subsequent contingencies. 

 The very \sirge jxdipalpi of scorpions and whip- 

 tails is given them for a purpose, and that pur- 

 pose is to seize and hold their prey while they 

 are devouring it. It does not follow, if one of 

 these animals is found in a bed, that it is there 



with vicious intent towards the human occu- 

 pant of the bed. Most likely it may be there 

 for the purpose of catching " Bed-bugs," Heas 

 and other vermin. Therefore, if their ser- 

 vices are not wanted for this purpose, let beds 

 and houses be kept clean, as a simple remedy. 

 It is said that scorpions visit houses for the 

 purpose of preying upon the cockroaches, tfcc, 

 which certainly is a great virtue in them. If 

 persons are bitten or stung by them it is only 

 because they have been the aggressors. There 

 are many animals that only sting or bite in 

 self-defense. At the same time, we would 

 not recommend a reckless or too inquisitive 

 course towards them. We have frequently 

 been bitten or stung by our local spiders, cen- 

 tipedes and bugs, but have not experienced 

 any ill effects from them, although sometimes 

 accompanied by temporary pain. 



INSECT LARV.ffi. 



Mr. F. A. Heatcs, near Willow Street, 

 Lancaster county, has taken quite a number 

 of insect larvie, which he found alive and 

 active during the first week in February. 

 Our readers will remember that the same gen- 

 tleman took a number of living larvse in .Janu- 

 ary—about the beginning of the month— an 

 account of which was published on page four 

 of the January number of the Fakmek, 

 under the caiition of "An Entomological 

 Phenomenou," but his last "take" were of 

 different species from the first take, and were 

 thirteen in number, five being Lepidopterous, 

 six Coleopterous and two Hemipterous ; but, 

 as they all are more or less discolored by the 

 liquid in which they were immersed, it is 

 difficult to identify them specifically. The 

 largest three appear to lie common " cut 

 worms," and are over one inch in length and 

 half an inch in circumlerence. Being nearly 

 black in color all distinguishing lineationsavd 

 other marks are obliterated. The six pectoral 

 legs and the ten prolegs indicate that they are 

 Lepidoptera, and belong to the Noctuida;, 

 which is a family of the worst destructives. 



Three others of the same natural order, are 

 from ^ to f of an inch in length, light brown 

 in color, and have faint lateral liueations. 

 These may be immature individuals of the 

 same species, or of allied speiies — perhaps 

 Gortyna— but, as all the larv.-B of this order 

 are more or less noxious, the farmer cannot 

 go wrong in destroying them. 



Five are Coleopterous larvas, and are from 

 S to ^of an inch in length, and have the seg- 

 mental divisions of the body very prominent 

 and distinct. These are the larviE of one of 

 the "Soldier beetles," doubtless of the Chau- 

 liogiiatlius Pennsylvanicus, and known to be 

 carnivorous in its habits, feeding voraciou.sly 

 on other insects under ground, and therefore 

 they are classed among the farmers's insect 

 friends. The mature beetles are usually 

 found in abundance on the bloom of the 

 "golden-rod" (solidago) in late summer and 

 early autumn. Then is their nuptial season, 

 after which they disappear and are not seen 

 again until the following summer, when the 

 elderberry and the golden-rod are in bloom. 



One specimen is the larva of a rove beetle 

 (Pliilontlms) completes the list of larvie. This 

 last species is usually found in decayed ani- 

 mal and vegetable matter ; and, if not alto- 

 gether iuuoxious, it is nevertheless not con- 



sidered noxious. Some of the larger species 

 of the f .mily to which it belongs (Staphilinidffi) 

 are frequently found in carrion, and also in 

 animal excretions which is sutliciently illus- 

 trative of its gastronomical character. Two 

 specimens of Capsus or Phytocoris— sapsuck- 

 ing Ilemiptera— (truebugs) complete the col- 

 lectiim. These latter are enemies to vegeta- 

 tion when they occur in great numbers, and 

 much prejudice exists against them ill-locali- 

 ties that have suffered from their attjicks 

 upon the buds of young nursery stock in early 

 spring. As soon, however, as vegetation has 

 sufficiently advanced to afford tliem a greater 

 supply of succulent food, they prefer that to 

 woody plants. 



The past winter months have been border- 

 ing on the "severe"— at least it cannot be 

 said that we have had an " open winter"— 

 hence it seems not a little surprising that 

 these insects and insect larvaj .should have 

 been found in an active or even in a vital 

 state, on the snow, in the beginning of Feb- 

 ruary of the present year. Did they appear 

 in defiance of the ground hog's warning ? 



All this goes to show that in spite of the 

 doctrine promulgated by some sanguine theo- 

 rists, cold winters do not "freeze out" the in- 

 sect world "worth a cent," and that cold 

 winters may have even a less injurious effect 

 upon them than unusually hot sumraeis. In 

 contemplating the details of collections made 

 in zoology by scientists who have accompanied 

 the various Polar expeditions, we find that 

 they always, or nearly always, report collec- 

 tions in entomology. We might very naturally 

 sup, ose that in those icy regions the tempera- 

 ture would be too low for insects to pass 

 through their developmental transformations, 

 but it seems to be otherwise. There are, per- 

 haps, a less proportionate number of " winter 

 killed " insects in the polar regions than there 

 are in the temperate zones. On one occasion 

 we noticed thousands of Perlidic (shad flies) 

 coining up through -'rotten ice," on the Sus- 

 quehanna river, that was fully ten inches or a 

 foot in thickness. The ice was in that condi- 

 tion that when submitted to concussions it 

 would fall into hundreds of "iiiiiestems." 



Such observations made on insect larvaj or 

 " worms," if the farmers only pays some at- 

 tention to specific details, may eventually en- 

 able him to discriminate between noxious and 

 innoxious species. For instance, where he 

 finds larvw. in the ground, on the ground, or 

 elsewhere, that have three pair of feet on the 

 liist three segments of its body, then one or 

 two segments without feet, followed by four 

 pair of fleshy prolegs, then another segment 

 or two without feet, and one pair of fleshy 

 feet on the terminal segment, he may be 

 liretty sure that he has before him the larva; 

 of a h pidi^ptermis insect, whatever its size or 

 color may be ; and, as all of this order are de- 

 structive, the best thing he can do is to ex- 

 termiuate it at once. True, some of this 

 Older have a less numlier of feet than sixteen, 

 but none have more. All the larva- known as 

 "span-worms" or "loopers," have aless num- 

 ber and among these are the "canker worm," 

 the larviB of the "currant moth" and many 

 others, noted for their destructive habits. 



On the other hand, when he finds larva; 

 that only have three pair of feet, and these on 

 the first three segments, he may have before 



