20 Scientific Society of San Antonio. 



large water spiders would run or jump over the water surface 

 from one end of the bath house to the other. 



Our prairies abound with most diverse species of spiders of 

 different types and colors. At this time of the year, in fall, 

 hunters and lovers of nature often come across some very beau- 

 tifully striped prairie spiders, and perhaps meet some large 

 spider webs suspended several feet apart from one branch or 

 bush to the other, in the midst of which a beautiful yellowish- 

 black striped spider from three to five inches long can be no- 

 ticed. 



Insects falling prey to spiders are quickly entangled in this 

 web and later on are carried into the deep-seated spider houses, 

 usually situated at the bottom part of a tree, in holes in the 

 ground or between loose bark and rotten wood, in forest bot- 

 toms. The complex eye-lens of spiders, and in particular of 

 the jumping variety, is exceedingly acute ; they will trace a fly 

 or other insect many feet off, sneak slowly toward the object, 

 and, with a sudden jump, many inches off, they grab the insect, 

 inoculate it and draw their nourishment from its body. Some 

 spider species, and the speckled jumping or privy spider in par- 

 ticular, are venomous, and the medical fraternity could cite nu- 

 merous grave instances of spider venom inoculation, even in- 

 stances of death from such. 



The centipede shown on this chart is of a very poisonous 

 variety. It was a young specimen about one-third the size 

 shown in the photo reproduction. Like so many other Texas 

 insects of a similar venomous nature, centipedes now-a-days are 

 becoming exceedingly rare, whilst formerly, when San Antonio 

 was a mere frontier town, they were encountered very numer- 

 ously, especially in crevices of old adobe houses, under cedar 

 posts, rotten wood and lumber, etc. Why they are called "cen- 

 tipedes" is rather a puzzle, and certainly it is a misnomer, as 

 they have instead of a hundred only forty-four legs, besides the 

 large curved tail-end fangs and the fangs of the head part 

 Similar to other poisonous insects, the centipede conceals sep- 

 arate glandular poison canals near each claw, and in particular 

 in its large tail-end fangs, from which, during the stinging act, 

 a poisonous fluid, of the nature of hydrocyanic or Prussic acid, 

 is secreted and inoculated into the tissues lacerated. During 

 the lifetime of this particular centipede seen on the photo col- 



