Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-03-06
Weatherford, Tex.

MeaLler1OrQ, lex.
The Ideally centipede," so called, is not
quite so harmless an animal as is I'VE devils
riding horse" yet there is no rubbing out
the fact that it has been most egregiously
slandered. We use the word ''animal" for
the reason that it is not an insect at all, but
Myriapod of science,
There are several species of Myriapods
or centipedes in Texas, but only one species
that will bite. None of the species are
capable of singing for the very good rea-
son that none have stings, and none of them
would produce more effect, were they to
merely crawl over you than would grass
hopper or a cocl6roach.
The biting species of the centipede fam
lily is known to science as Seolopendria
heros, name applied to it by Girard. 1t is
q venomous creature, and is therefore not
to be recommended as a household pet, but
really it is not near so bad as popular
opinion is ever ready to make it out. Nine
tenths of the fearful stories told about it
are simply untrue. 1t will bite, as already
intimated, and its bite is more or less
poisonous, but you must press or confne it
in some way to make it bite.
Being strictly nocturnal in its
habits, and abhoring light, one seldom
sees it unless he happens to turn it up
from beneath some close covering where it
is lying in concealment. The greatest dan
ger is ito men handling rails or pieces of
wood that have lain upon the ground for
long time, particularly in a damp place, for
it abhors dry localities about as much as
! it abhors light, On this last account 1t
never comes into the house unless brought
in on wood or by some other means en-
tirely against is will. Then, it is not at
all numerous in any section OF Texas.
One may often handle old rails or wood
regularly through an entire season with
out seeing single centipede.
The same centipede (Scolopendria heros),
exists in all the lower Southern states, even
as far up as Tennessee-see American
Entomologist, Vol II, page 23S. We have
as often found it in the coast country of
Mississippi and Alabama as we have in
Texas. 1t is small there and so attracts no
particular attention, but here in Texas it,
like all our weIl-fed things, grows to large
size, hence our people see it, and, as the
negroes say, are ''skeered Of it." and, as a
result, Texas gets the name of being the
exclusive home Of ''thc deadly centipede."
This biting species of centipede is snuff
colored animal from three inches long, and
one fourth of an inch wide east of the
Mississippi river to six inches long and half
an inch wide in Texas. It IS something put
up on the plan Of creature that everybody
knows by the popular name Of Thousand
legged worm" The body Of the animal IS
divided into twenty-oue joints or segments,
exclusive of the head, each joint bearing a
leg on either side, giving it forty-two legs.
The legs have Are joints each, and taper
rapidly from the body to the extremities,
finishing up in kind Of claw. The legs on
the posterior joint or segment do not run
square out from the body as DO the others,
but range back and turn in slightly at the
ends, forming hooks. Upon its mead il has
a pair of long, slender feelers, each divided
into twenty-five joints, and also pair Of
keen little forcsps or pinchers, which com 9