The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-23
SUICIDE OF SCORPIONS.
They XIII Themselves when They
BECOME Overhented.
From the New York Press.


Lord Byron has referred to a tendency
Of the scorpion to commit suicide when
surrounded by fire. Naturally enough,
this has been regarded as a poetic fiction;
and a distinguished writer has COMO so
far as to say that the popular idea regard
ing scorpionic suicide is a delusion based
on an impossibility." The imposslbility
TO which this writer refers is this The
sting of the scorpion is in its TAIL and the
termination of the tail is recurved, so that
it would really be impossible for The
scorpion to sting itself ON the under part
Of It's body But IL is not impossible for
me sting 10 penetrate the back or even
the head; and there is positive evidence
that in certain circumstances the scorpion
does commit suicide in that way. This
creature seems TO be unable to endure
light; and when it is exposed 10 light Il
seems 10 become so desperate as 10 end
its torture with its own sting. w. q. Biddie
tells this incident which he himself OBJ
served in Madras and which he communl-
Gated TO Nature:
-One morning a servant brought TO me
a large spec.mcn Of scorpion, which, haV-
Ing stayed out too long ia It's nocturnal
rambles, had apparently got bewildered at
dayDreak and been unable to find It's way
home. To keep it safe, the creature was at
once put into a glazed chronological case.
Having few leisure minutes in the course
of the forenoon. l thought l would see
how my prisoner was getting on, and to
have a better view of the case was placed
in window in the rays of the hot sun The
light and heat seemed TO irritate 1t very
much, and this recalled TO my mind a story
which ] had read somewhere that a scor-
piOn, on being surrounded with fire, had
committed suicide, ] hesltated about sub-
Jecung my pet 10 such terrible ordeal;
but, taking a common botanical lens, !
focused the rays Of the sun on its back
The moment this was done 1t began to run
a he al 81 nj l.
ting in very fierce way. This experiment
was repeated some four or five times with
like results, but on trying Il once again
the scorpion turned up It's tail and plunged
the sting, quick as lightning, into its own
back The infliction of the wound was fol-
lowed by sudden escape of fluid, and a
friend standing by me called out, "see, il
has stung Itself; it is dead; and. sure
enough, in less than half a, minute life
was quite extinct have written this br.et
note TO show Cd that animals may commit
suicide ~ thai the poison of certain ami
mails may be destructive 10 Themselves"
An eminent writer, DR. Allen Thomson,
f. r. S., has contributed the following
narrative of facts observed by b. +.
Hutchinson while living IN the summer
at the baths of Sulla in Italy. Mr..
Hutchinson and his family were much an
noyed by the fequent infusion Of small
black scorpions in the house, which Sc
GREETED themselves among the bedclothes,
in shoes, and In other articles OF dress.
at thus became necessary to be con-
stantly on the watch for these trouble
some creatures ana 10 take means for
their removal and destruction. Having
been informed by the natives Of the place
that the scorpion would destroy Itself
if exposed to a sudden light, my inform
ant aud her friends soon became adeptS
IN catching the scorpions and dsposing
of them in the manner suggested. This
consisted in combining the animal under
an inverted drinking glass or tumbler,
below which a card was inserted when
the capture was made, and then waiting
till dark suddenly bringing the Light of
a candle near to The glass In which the
animal was confined No sooner was this
done than the scorpion invariably show
ed signs of great excitement, running
round and round the interior OF the tun-
bier with reckless velocity for number
This state having lastedA for minute
or more. the animal suddenly became
quiet, and turning its tail on the hinder
part of its body, over IT'S back, brought
its recurVed sting down upon the middle
of the head, and piercing 4 forcibly, IN
q few seconds became quite motionless,
and in fact, quite dead. This obserVa-
ton was repeated very frequently; in
druth il was adopted as the best plan OF
getting rid Of the animals. The young
people were in the habit Of handling the
SCORPIONS with impunity Immediately aft
ter they were so killed, and of preserving
many Of them IS curiOsiies."
1t would be difficult 10 prove that sui
eide Is an evidence Of intelligence. and II
is certainly different from any other act
that is prompted by instinct, lOF instinct
always tends to the preservation of life in
the Individual and also In the species,
never to its destruction Unless, there
fore there were some reason 10 believe
that light affects the physical organiza-
ton Of the scorpion IN such way as 10
be fatally injurious alike to the Individual
and TO the species, the extraordinary fact
alleged in these anecdotes Is quite inexpiic-
able. There is reason. then. 10 receive
these stories with some hesitation, but
they cannot be summariily rejected.