G04 



ARTICULATA. 



l>aso (if this origan, ami tluir ducts run to its point, so that when the creature strikes with its 

 weapon, a small portion of the venom is instilled into the wound. Whether this venom is ever 

 fatal to human life appears still to be a matter of dispute; but the effects of the scorpion's sting 

 are doubtless very tlisai^^rocablo. The female scorpion exhibits the greatest care for her young, 

 carrvitig them upon her back for some days after they are hatched, and attending to them closely 

 for about a month, after which they are able to take care of themselves. Scorpions generally live 

 on the ground under stones and in dark jilaccs, coming out at night in search of prey ; but they 

 frequently tind their way into the interior of houses. 



The animals forminii; the second fiimily, the Thelyphonida;, present an appearance in some 

 decree intermediate between the scorpions and the true spiders. Many of them are of large 

 size and a somewhat forbidding appearance, and, like the scorpions, can run in every direction. 

 They arc almost contincd to tropical countries, inhabiting principally the hottest parts of Asia 

 and America. 



ORDER 3. ADELARTHROSOMATA. 



This order, deriving its title from the Greek adelos, hidden, arthi-os, an articulation, and mmata, 

 bodies, includes several families, among which are the rhalangidce : of these are the Harvest- 

 Men or Harvest-Spiders, having stilt-like limbs, with which they stalk about among plants in 

 search of insects, on which they feed. The Cheliferidce resemble Httle scorpions that have lost 

 their tails ; they frequent houses and get among old books, seeking for their minute prey. The 

 Solpu;/idcv include several spider-like animals, among which is the Galeodes aratieoides, attaining 

 the length of two inches. It is found in the hot parts of Asia and Africa, and is a great torment 

 to camels. It is a fierce creature and its bite is venomous. 



ORDER 4. MONOMEROSOMATA. 



This order derives its name from the Greek monos, one, ineros, a joint, and somata, bodies ; it 

 is sometimes called Acarina, from the Greek akari, a mite. It includes the Linf/uatulidce, curious 

 worm-like animals, found in the frontal sinuses and lungs of various mammalia : 

 the Simoneidce, minute, soft creatures, furnished with four pairs of legs, which fi'e- 

 (piently take up their abode in the follicles of the human skin, and hence are 

 called Maggots in the Skin : and the MacrobiotidcB, called Sloth or Bear Animalcules, 

 microscopic creatures often found in the sandy dust of house-roof gutters. To 



CHEESE-MITE , ^ ^ ^ a ■ i ir- " r> i • n ^ i-i i 



MAGNIFIED. thcsc WO must add the Acarida;, or Mites, some ot which are active, like the 

 CiiEESE-MiTE, Acarus domesticus, and others are parasitic upon or beneath the skin 

 of man and other animals. One species of these is the Itch-Mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, producing 

 a well-known disease among people of filthy habits. The Ixodidce live upon various kinds of 

 animals: some upon dogs, others upon serpents, others upon reptiles, and others upon dung- 

 beetles. 



Beside these there belong to this order the Hydrachnidce or Water-Mites, attaching them- 

 selves to water insects ; the Oribatidce, living chiefly upon mosses ; the Bdellidce, living among 

 damp moss, and the Trombidiidce, of which the little Scarlet-Mite, seen in gardens, is an example. 



ORDER 5. PODOSOMATA. 



These animals form two families of marine, spider-like creatures — the Pycnogonida;, which 

 are parasitic in their habits, and have the palpi obsolete ; and the Nymphonidoe, which crawl 

 about slowly among the stones and weeds of their aquatic home, and are furnished with distinct 

 palpL 



