158 ALTERA. 



Africa, and the hotter parts of America, are 

 alike subject to these hideous insects ; and the 

 negroes, whose occupation leads them into the 

 woods anc} uncultivated places, often suffer se- 

 verely from their bite. They sometimes insi- 

 nuate themselves into the houses ; and there 

 are districts where they are so common, that 

 the inhabitants are obliged to set the feet of 

 their beds into pans of water, to prevent the 

 Scolopendra from climbing the posts, and hiding 

 itself between the sheets. 



Of the European species, which are perfectly 

 harmless, there is one, the S. electrica, that, 

 when disturbed, emits a beautiful, greenish, 

 phosphoric light. Another, the S. subterranea, 

 although it inhabits the same damp places, and 

 is so alike in shape and make as to be some- 

 times mistaken for the same species, is totally 

 devoid of that beautiful lamp, which the former 

 can illuminate at pleasure. 



SPECIFICATION. 



Scolopendra coleoptrata. S. pedibus utrin- 

 qt\e quatuordecim, thorace coleoptrato. Linn. 



