December, 1906 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



38. 



•by- 

 Rene Bache 



IECENT investigations appear to show that 

 it has been a mistake to suppose that the 

 venom of the cobra was the most deadly 

 animal-poison known. It now seems that 

 there are multitudes of existing creatures 

 much more toxic in proportion to their size. 

 It is fortunate, indeed, that they are so small; for certain 

 species of the warrior-ants of the tropics, for example, if 

 greatly magnified in size, would be among the most danger- 

 ous of living things, because of their extreme ferocity, the 

 severity of their bite, and the extraordinary intensity of the 

 poison with which they are armed. 



It is only of late that the poisons carried by insects have 

 been studied, and thus it happens that all existing knowledge 

 on the subject is extremely new. But, when the matter is 

 investigated, it is surprising to find how extensively venom 

 is utilized by animals of this class all over the world. Natur- 

 ally, it is the large and conspicuous forms whose possession 

 of this weapon chiefly attracts attention; and its formidable 

 character may well excite notice when observation is directed, 

 for instance, to such a creature as the tarantula-killer (a 



species well known all over the southwestern part of the 

 United States), which by its sting is able to paralyze the 

 largest spider as quickly and completely as though an electric 

 shock were administered. 



In speaking of the "largest spider," one should realize 

 that these arachnids — commonly called tarantulas in the 

 Southwest, when referring to the great "trapdoor" species — 

 occasionally attain a weight of three-quarters of a pound. A 

 specimen of such size would easily cover the largest dinner- 

 plate without stretching its legs unduly. There is at least 

 one species in the tropics that catches and devours small 

 birds. And yet the tarantula — which spins no web, but 

 occupies a house built of mud, with a door set on a spring 

 in such a way as to close automatically, showing no sign of 

 the opening — has comparatively little venom. 



All spiders are more or less venomous, and one species 

 quite familiar in this country is extremely dangerous. It is 

 commonly known as the black widow, and is occasionally 

 found in outhouses, though ordinarily it lurks under logs 

 and boards. In color it is jet-black, with a red spot on the 

 under side of the abdomen. Though its body is hardly 



A Scorpion (one-half natural size) 

 Also a Curious Bug of Prey (beetle) from Java 



Bulldog Ant, Male Leaf-cutting Ant, Bad-smelling Ant, Driver Ant, 

 Female Leaf-cutting Ant — all venomous 



