224 ANIMAL INTELLiaENCE. 



the house, and their being secreted among the bedclothes, in 

 shoes, and other articles of dress. It thns became necessary to 

 be constantly on the watch for these troublesome creatures, and 

 to take means for their removal and destruction. Having been 

 informed by the natives of the place that the scorpion would 

 destroy itself if exposed to a sudden light, my informant and 

 her friends soon became adepts in catching the scorpions and 

 disposing of them in the manner suggested. This consisted in 

 <5onfining the animal under an inverted drinking-glass or tumbler, 

 below which a card was inserted when the capture was made, and 

 then, waiting till dark, suddenly bringing the light of a candle 

 near to the glass in which the animal was confined. No 

 sooner was this done than the scorpion invariably showed signs 

 of great excitement, running round and round the interior of 

 the tumbler with reckless velocity for a number of times. This 

 state having lasted for a minute or more, the animal suddenly 

 became quiet, and turning its tail on the hinder part of its 

 body over its back, brought its recurved sting down upon the 

 middle of the head, and piercing it forcibly, in a few seconds 

 became quite motionless, and in fact quite dead. This observa- 

 tion was repeated very frequently ; in truth, it was adopted as 

 the best plan of getting rid of the animals. The young people 

 were in the habit of handling the scorpions with impunity im- 

 mediately after they were so killed, and of preserving many of 

 them as curiosities. 



In this narrative the following circumstances are worthy of 

 attention : — 



(1) The effect of light in producing the excitement amount- 

 ing to despair, which causes the animal to commit self-destruc- 

 tion ; 



(2) The suddenness of the operation of the poison, which 

 is probably inserted by the puncture of the head into the upper 

 cerebral ganglion; and 



(3) The completeness of the fatal symptoms at once in- 

 duced. 



I am aware that the phenomena now described have been 

 observed by others, and they appear to have been familiarly 

 known to the inhabitants of the district in which the animals 

 are found. Sufficient confirmation of the facts is also to be 

 found in the narratives of * G. Biddie ' and ' M. L.' contained 

 in * Nature,' vol. ix., pp. 29-47, and it will be observed that the 

 circumstances leading the animal to self-destruction in these in- 

 stances were somewhat similar to those narrated by my inform- 

 ant. It is abundantly clear, therefore, that the view taken 



