The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-03-27
s1owAwAYs ON FRUIT SHIPS.
Where Nstaralists May Find Specime
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Where Nstaralists May Find Specimens
of Tropical Insects
Throughout the year. but particular
" at this season, when the city is de-
pendent upon the tropics for its fruit
supply, almost every steamer entering
this port brings number of many
footed stowaways The steamers which
bring the most of these stowaways are
those that come from the West Indies
and Central America, loaded with ban
anas, and a naturalist will always be
rewarded by visit to any of the piers
where these vessels unload. As bunch
after bunch of bananas is handed out
from the hold to be packed away in
large open vans, a lizard s<ten drops
out and can De easily captured These
are of every color. many of them very
beautiful, and all perfectly harmless.
Sometimes a small tropical moth fiut-
tiers out, and careful observer will
find many sorts of ants, from great
black fellows that have . savage bite
TO the tiniest of the species
Very unwelcome visitors are cent?
pedes and scorpions, that frequently
find shelter in the large green
punches, and many of the men who
handle the fruit have been stung
by those noxious insects The
sting of the scorpion seems instantly
to paralyze the limb struck, and
causes most acute pain and much
swelling. The centipede, whose every
leg is armed with a sting that leaves
it's poison behind as it hurries over the
human skin. leaves a trail of pain be-
hind it which is quite as acute as that
caused by the scorpion. The best rem
edy for these stings is strong spirits Of
ammonia, which should be 81 once
rubbed into the skin vigorously. Now
and then small snake makes his ap-
pearance from among the fruit aad
always causes panic among the peo-
pie near by. These are Away of the
tree variety. and are generally harm
less. but they receive no favor and are
soon battered into jelly. Spiders are
among the most common of these trop-
zeal immigrants, and among these the
hairy-legged tarantula is, very right
ly, the most dreaded. One that was cap
tured recently covered nearly as much
ground as a mans hand. The ugly
customer lived for several weeks in
confinement 1t was fed on raw meat,
but was particularly fond of cock
reaches. The other spiders that come
on the fruit ships are harmless, and al
most all of them are beautifully marked
and are priced by naturalists
Various species of beetles can be oft.
en- found on these ships. from the giant
elephant to some not much larger than
q pins head. Among this class OF in
find a rare species that viii repay him
for many hours spent on the windy
piers Not uncommon visitors are the
tree-frogs, little green and brown fell
lows that copld give Mark Twain's
jumping frogipoints and then beat him
out of sight So nimble are these lit
tie batrachians that it is hard work to
catch them. If caught they should be
let loose in a greenhouse. where they
do wonderfully well, and do much good
in killing parasites. For its size, the
tree-frog can croak louder than any
other member of the loud voiced fam
lily,
Timber-laden vessels from the tropics
are always worth visit. Scorpions
and centipedes are common upon them,
and generally the visitor is rewarded
by finding many beetles, and sometimes
the chrysalis of some tropical butterfly
or moth may be met with, which. il
kept in a warm place, will hatch and
give the collector perfect specimen Of
an insect he little dreamed of ever pos
sessing. Among the wood, too. may
often be found the nests Of the mason.
wasp. If these are broken open and
the grub is not full grown. one is sure
to find several kinds of small spiders
that the mother wasp had stung into
Insensibility and placed in the cell 70,
food for her progeny. Y. Times