692 



THE CENTIPEDE. 



indifference on a great centipede, some eight or ten inches long, running up the wall 

 close to their heads, or traversing the floor within a short distance of their feet. Among 

 military men the monotony of camp life is sometimes agreeably diversified by a cen- 

 tipede hunt, the creature being chased as eagerly as if it were a fox or a wolf, and neatly 

 captured in a split bamboo, or between two sticks. 



So extremely poisonous are the fangs of these myriapods, that they will even kill 

 poultry without much difficulty, while the smaller creatures on which they prey die. 

 almost immediately under the bite. The force with which they can grasp is really 

 terrible, the two hooked claws being driven into the flesh until they meet, and holding 

 their position so firmly that the centipede will rather be torn asunder than loosen its 

 grasp. The best way to assure oneself of the force and general structure of these fangs 

 is to procure a specimen that has been preserved in spirits and dissect it, when the 

 powerful muscles that work the poison-feet, the glands which supply the venom, and the 

 perforated passage through which it is discharged into the wound, are easily made out. 



Scolopendra aogulata. (Lower figure). 



Scolopeadra variegata. (Upper figure.) 



The color of the Giant Centipede is bright rusty red, with a deep green head and 

 antennas, and blackish or olive-colored feet. A closely allied species of similar dimen- 

 sions is found in Jamaica. 



In the lower left-hand corner of the same illustration is seen a rounded object with 

 an aperture on one side. This is the nest of one of these myriapods, and was found by 

 Mr. Foxcroft while he was digging for beetles and other insects at Sierra Leone. The 

 nest, if it may so be called, is formed in a reddish kind of earth, and many of these 

 habitations were discovered in the same locality. In some of them the animal was 

 resident when the nest was brought to light. 



Two more examples of this large genus are given in the above illustration. The 

 beautiful species which is placed uppermost in the drawing is a native of Demerara, 

 and is generally about five inches in length when adult. Its color is rather rich and 

 striking. The general hue of the upper surface is deep chestnut, and the front edge 

 of the head segment, the hinder edge of the dorsal segments, and the lower surface 

 are light orange. The antennae are olive-green, and the feet are orange banded with olive. 



