. Circular. Insects. 3 its prey, inclosing and caging it with its many legs. In its habit of springing after its prey this centipede is similar to spiders, which it also resembles in its rapacious habits. It would therefore seem to be a very efficient enemy of many of our house pests. The common idea that it probably feeds on household goods and woolens or other clothing has no basis in fact. The popular belief is that this centipede is extremely poisonous, and, as it belongs with the poisonous group of centipedes, it can not be questioned but that the bite of the creature is probably somewhat
. Circular. Insects. 3 its prey, inclosing and caging it with its many legs. In its habit of springing after its prey this centipede is similar to spiders, which it also resembles in its rapacious habits. It would therefore seem to be a very efficient enemy of many of our house pests. The common idea that it probably feeds on household goods and woolens or other clothing has no basis in fact. The popular belief is that this centipede is extremely poisonous, and, as it belongs with the poisonous group of centipedes, it can not be questioned but that the bite of the creature is probably somewhat poisonous as well as painful, though the seriousness of the results will be dependent, as in all similar cases, on the susceptibility of the patient. The poison injected in the act of biting is probably merely. Fig. 2.—Scutigera forceps: a, newly-hatched individual; b, one of legs of same; c, terminal segment of hody showing undeveloped legs coiled up within—all enlarged (original). to assist in numbing and quieting its victim, and in spite of its abundance in houses in the North, and for many years its much greater abundance in the South, very few cases are recorded of its having bitten any human being, and it is very questionable whether it would ever, unprovoked, attack any large animal. If pressed with the bare foot or hand, or if caught between sheets in beds, this, like almost any other insect, will unquestionably bite in self- defense, and the few such cases on record indicate that severe swelling and pain may result from the poison injected. Prompt dressing of the wound with ammonia will greatly alleviate the dis- agreeable Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original United States. Bureau of Entomology. Washington, Govt. print. off.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublishe, booksubjectinsects
