978 LÖNNBERG, ON GALEODES AND BUTHUS. 



much swolleti and painful» for four days. This seeras however 

 hardly to prove anything. The same author (Pocock) has 1898 

 published a paper on »The Nature and Habits of Pliny's Sol- 

 puga» in »Nature» (Vol. 57, p. 618 — 620). In this very valuable 

 information is obtained about several species belonging to difFe- 

 rent genera of this group and inhabiting different countries. Mr. 

 Pocock declares (p. 619): »There is no doabt, however, that in 

 the strict sense of the word they are not venomous at all.» To 

 prove this he also raentions instances when English gentlemen, 

 as well in India as in South Afri»a, have allowed Solpugas to 

 bite thera» without suffering anything worse than a passing pain 

 from the wound.» When I visited the Caspiau countries last 

 spring, I had not yet seen this last paper by Mr. Pocock and 

 I heard everywhere in Transcaucasia that these animals, called 

 »Falanga» ^) by the Russians, »Bö» or »Bob» by the Tatars, were 

 regarded as very poisonous and snbsequently much dreaded. As 

 an antidote was used the body of a »Falanga» preserved in 

 olive oil! Therefore, in every place, where these animals were 

 common, a Falanga merged in oil was kept in a bottle for fu- 

 ture use if needed. But not only Galeodes was turned into 

 medicine this way. x^gainst the stings of scorpions a Buthus 

 in oil was used and against the bites of spiders a great spider 

 in oil, yes, even GryllotaLpa was kept in the same way in a 

 bottle with oil! I must confess however that I believed Galeodes 

 to be just as little dangerous as Gryllotalpa and I wanted to 

 make some experiments to prove or disprove my opinion. The 

 first question was then to procure some living speciraens of 

 Galeodes araneoides Pallas, the species found in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Baku. But the spring was late this year," and 

 although it already seemed to me to be very hot, the »Falanga» 

 had not yet appeared even so late as after the 20*^ of May. 

 A young Swedish engineer in Villa Petrolea, Mr. WiDERSTRÖM, 

 was however kind enough to assist me and sent out some Tatars 

 who finally procured 4 specimens. But the Tatars did not under- 

 ') A name derived from tlie old Greet name of these animals. 



