The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-02-23
HABITS OF SCORPIONS.
Alleged Ferocity Questioned by Careful
OhserYer.

AAege0 Eeroc1ty Questioned by Careful
Observer.
Of all the carnivorous and venomous
creatures scorpions have perhaps the
worst reputation. Among the vices
which they are accused of are general
ferocity, cannibalism, infanticide and
suicide. But they have found a de.
fender in gentleman who kept sew
eral of them for months as pets and
observed them carefully. AS to their
ferocity, he writes: 81 never saw them
use their destructive weapons except
in procuring food and as a means Of
defense when attacked. Naturally
they do not like to be handl d, but
when one let's them run over the hand
they do not try to sting; they hurry
away, seeming to want to get on a
more congenial surface than the human
skin.
SIT has been said that in captivity
they become cannibals and kill and eat
each other I saw them live together
cheerfully. and apparently understand
ing each other very well Only once
did l see a large one eating a little
one, and then, I think, the little one
had died natural death. Like many
other animals. they can be excited to
combat by artificial means, but never
saw such battles have any serious con-
sequences. The participants seemed to
prefer to stop without shedding blood.
''There has been much discussion as
to whether scorpions commit suicide
by plunging their stings into their own
bodies, when they are driven to despair
by being surrounded by ring of fire,
or by being otherwise tortured by that
dreaded element. Certain experiments
have shown that the scorpions venom
has no effect on himself nor upon q
scorpion of closely similar species.
and also that scorpions are quickly
killed by even moderate heat.
when they are distressed by heat or
chloroform fumes they wave their tails
in the air, and thrust out the sting as
If to strike some invisible enemy.
Clearly the explanation of some of the
apparent suicides is that the animals
died of heat, though their distressed
waving of the tail and sting might
have given the impression that they
had stung themselves.
''My own experiments point to this
conclusion. put scorpion in glass
tube, and held him near a fire; he gave
signs of great distress, beat the air
with his tail for several seconds and
then became unconscious. At this
moment the glass tube was only slight
1y warm to the hand. The animal re-
vived in the fresh air. twice repeated
the experiment; the third time he
died. He had not once tried to sting
himself.
However, it has been positively
stated by observers that scorpions have
stung themselves; in one case it was
said that blood spurted from the
wound. It is possible that chance
blow directed toward an invisible
enemy might strike the scorpion him.
self Certainly it is easy to imagine
that his mental faculties might be de.
ranged by torture and the prospect of
death, and that in his confusion he did
not recognize by sense of touch his own
body in his wild attempts to defend
himself. A sharp blow directed thus
might lacerate the brain or the great
dorsal blood vessel, and cause death
Independently of the venom of the
sting.
$50 it seems to me that if it is ad.
mitted that the scorpions do some.
times kill themselves, our verdict
should be accidental suicide, or suicide
from temporary insanity. "-Youth's