18 



Dr. A. G. Bourne. 



[Jan. 13, 



" never saw the phenomenon so graphically delineated by Byron." 

 A wonld-be humorous anonymous correspondent writing at the same 

 time summed up the subject thus : " Can a man pummel his own 

 back ? Can a horse kick its own belly ? But the feat attributed to 

 the scorpion, apart from its moral obliquity, is physically even more 

 triumphant." Mr. Lloyd Morgan* tried a great many methods of 

 tormenting scorpions with the view of inducing them to commit 

 suicide, but in no single case did they attempt to do so. 



Lastly, Bay Lankesterf noticed when killing a scorpion (Androctonus 

 f anestus) with chloroform vapour in a glass box that it made " repeated 

 blows with its sting in a straight- forward direction above its head," 

 and at last one blow was so ill- directed as to cause the sting to catch 

 under the free projecting margin of the posterior region of the cephalic 

 shield. There was no laceration in this case, but it was evident there 

 might have been. Lankester states that it is important to note the 

 species observed in connexion with this question. Suicide may occur 

 in some species, but not in others. He also suggested to me that I 

 should ascertain whether the scorpion is ' immune ' in regard to its 

 own poison, as Fayrer states to be the case with certain poisonous 

 snakes. 



At least three species of scorpion occur here — a large black 

 one, which is probably JButhus Kocliii, a smaller lighter-coloured one, 

 and a very small red one. I hope to determine these accurately 

 later on. In the meantime I have tried a very large and varied 

 series of experiments upon their stinging powers with the following- 

 results : — 



1. There can be no doubt that it is physically possible for a scorpion 

 to sting itself in a vulnerable place. 



2. When a scorpion is placed in very unpleasant circumstances it 

 not unfrequently lashes its tail about and causes actual penetration of 

 the sting, as in the case observed by Dr. Bidie. 



3. The poison of a scorpion is quite powerless to kill the same 

 individual or another individual of the same or even of another 

 species. 



4. The poison is very rapidly fatal to a Thelyphoniis, less rapidly so 

 to a spider, and much less rapidly so to an insect. 



5. Two scorpions when fighting repeatedly sting one another with 

 little if any effect, the stronger kills the weaker by actually pulling 

 it to pieces with its chelicera3. 



6. Scorpions cannot stand even a dry temperature much above 

 •50° C, but fall into a sort of "heat coma," and soon die if the 

 temperature is raised. 



* ' Nature,' vol. 27. 



f 1 Linn. Soc. Journ., Zool.,' vol. 16. 



