INSECTS. 10$ 



from the abdomen. Some are marine (Fig. 124). The 

 lowest forms are parasitic in the lungs and liver of man, 

 and in the horse and sheep. 



Order II. Scorpions (Pedipalpi}. In the scorpions 

 the body is plainly segmented and large, the tail long and 

 slender, ending in a curved sting (Fig. 125) that con- 

 tains two poison-glands. They have crab-like claws, and 

 breathe by lungs as well as tracheae. In Ceylon they at- 

 tain a length of twelve inches, in Flonda four. In striding, 

 the tail is raised over the back and then struck down,* 



FIG. 125. Scorpion with cricket in its claws, s, carapace ; m <r, mouth- 

 claws ; p, mouth ; d y poison-sting. 



* The young are born alive, and cling to the mother. 

 False or book scorpions (Chelifer) occur in books, under 

 stones, and in the bark of trees. They have no poison- 

 gland, and cast their skins in a delicate web, in which they 



* At Loggerhead Key, the extremity of the Florida reef, it is inter- 

 esting to note that the scorpions have obtained a foothold and are very 

 common, living in board-piles, coming out at night, frequently being 

 found and killed in the house, the effect of the sting resembling that 

 of the wasp. The so-termed suicide of the scorpion is similar to the 

 action of a man tearing his hair or biting his tongue in agony, and 

 self-destruction is an accidental result. 



