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38 NOTES ON MILLIPEDES. 



Young- : — Specimens of about 8 mm. in length have the 

 cephalothorax and abdomen of the usual dark brown colour, but 

 have pale yellowish red chela 1 . 



Size, of three typical Bangkok specimens, in 

 Total length of cephalothorax and abdomen. 

 Length of cephalothorax, 



„ ,, abdomen, including terminal joints. 

 „ ,, the narrow tail, 

 ,,. ,, five terminal joints of cheloe, in articulation, 

 ,, ,, first leg, excluding the coxal joint, 

 ,, ,, second leg, 

 Width of cephalothorax, 



Habits. Strictly nocturnal ; hiding- by 

 stones, etc. and at night roaming about for food. They are 

 chiefly to be seen during the rainy season from April to August. 

 In January and December I have sometimes noticed a very faint 

 and peculiar smell given off by these creatures, but have not 

 been able to detect it at other times of year. 



To collect — when found they can easily be picked up by a 

 pair of forceps, the points placed on either side of the hard 

 cephalothorax, and they quickly die in a cyanide of potassium 

 " insect killing bottle." When placed on their back on a sheet 

 of glass or other flat surface these Thelyphoni seem very helpless 

 and unable to right themselves. 



Food. In captivity they feed readily on dead insects ; they 

 first carefully and slowly examine the object, then take it up in 

 their cheloe, and in the case of a moth almost completely devour 

 it, or if a dragon fly eat all but the wings : very rarely I have 

 seen a Thelyphonus catch a live insect in its cheloe and eat it : 

 they do not attempt to interfere with beetles or grasshoppers 

 larger than themselves. Besides insects they will eat very small 

 bits of over-ripe bananas. 



One that I caught with a broken tail lived 24 days, during 

 this time there was no sign of a reproduced tail growing. 



Effects of Sting. These animals are usually supposed to be 

 harmless to man, but in Bang-kok on the 30th April 18 ( J7 I had 

 a curious experience with one. Seeing" a Thelyphonus, of this 

 species, running on the ground I picked it up by the cephalo- 

 thorax between the first fing-er and thumb of my left hand ; it 



