The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-06-30
CUBAN INSECTS
Natives Handle Scor-
plons FearIessIy.
PROFESSIONS of Umbrella Ants
Dread Of the
Centipede.

1t was surprise to the writer to find
in Cuba great scarcity of insect life.
or at least great scarcity of variety.
AS an enthusiast in entomology, I had
looked forward with pleasure to finding
a plentitude of the brightly colored in
sects so common to other tropical coun-
tries. My disappointment was great,
for with the exception of scorpions.
cent1pedes, tarantulas. mosquitoes and
ants, very few butterflies and an oc-
casional FREELY there are no insects on
the Island. Even the housefiy is rare.
nearly all of the scavenger work per-
formed by them in our own country be-
ing attended to by ants and buzzards.
The latter are innumerable Nothing
IS safe from the ants. 1t is necessary
to place the legs of tables on which
food Is kept in vessels filed with water.
else the ants will in a single night de-
YOUR everything. OF the many kinds
of ants. the most interesting is perhaps
the umbrella ant. l have seen process
sion OF these little fellows 200 yards
long, In which each ant carried over
his head bit Of leaf. They had the ap-
pearance of carrying umbrellas to
shade themselves from the sun, hence
their name.
l believe that the American soldiers
who first came to Cuba had much more
fear of the stings of the so-called
deadly insects than of the bullets of the
Spaniards. I have laughed myself al
most into Mysteries over the tremendous
excitement that has been created in a
tent full of soldier boys over the discov-
cry of single frightened little scorpion
in blanket. Nothing could be more
amusing than to see eight or ten big
strong men, armed with sticks, beating
and pounding away at cot until it
was smashed in to kindling, in an effort
to kill scorpion that had already
sided out under the tent The scor-
pion, which Is called 'alakrano by the
Cubans. is little feared by them They
have no hesitancy in dexterousiy pick
ing up the "alakran' by his business
end. To do this without getting stung
requires some skill and great quickness.
was stung several times before ]
learned the trick. While the sting is
very painful, il is in no sense danger
Gus. Suction of the wounded part with
the mouth removes the poison, and the
swelling is not so great as from the
sting of our own big humble bee The
native boys amuse themselves with
battles between two of these fellows.
They get the largest they can find and
put them in glass dish or Jar to-
gether. The fun is fast and furious
while it lasts. The scorpion is prob
ably the most common of the poisonous
insects in Cuba. The old stone walls
of which there are many, are full of
them, and on the rocky hillsides every
gtone has one or more under 1t.
The Cubans show the same lack OF
fear of the tarantula as they do of the
scorpion. have seen a Cuban boy pick
up an "arana pelour,' as the tarantula
is called in his naked fingers with per-
feet nonchaiance. 1t is really safer
proceeding than would seem, ass the
tarantula is a slow-moVng insect, and
if he is caught by his fat thorax he is
powerless, for his fangs are beneath his
body and cannot be readily used. saw
a party of American ladies scared al
most into hysteria at the sight of big
tarantMa with a spread larger than
parlor of Cuban house at which they
were calling Their fright was not les
sened greatly when they saw the little
son of the hostess take up the big fell
low in his fingers and bear him forth
to sacrifice. The tarantula is not con-
sidered deadly by the Cubans, little
suction and a good deal of Cognac be-
ing the only remedy used for the bite.
80. 1T -
have wholesome respect is the cent?
pede. He is called by them "cien pies"
hundred feet. The centipedes grow to
great size, the writer having captured
several specimens eight inches long.
While do not think that the centipede
is deadly, yet I have never been able to
get over a creepy feeling in handling
them, and I never attempted to make
a captive of one unless my hands were
covered with thick buckskin gloves.
They are not much to be feared, how
ever, for they scuttle away with the
speed of a railroad train at the ap-
proach of human being. and speci-
mems can only be gotten by turning
over the largest stones. and that in a
hurry.
The FREELY is possibly the most Curl
Gus of the Cuban insects. He belongs
to the family of swapping beetles" Of
which there are so many varieties in
the United States. On his thorax there
are two spots about the size of 6. large
pinhead In the daytime these appear
as yellow spots. AT night they emit
brilliant greenish light, so bright that
it is possible to read a newspaper by
its light. Several of these confined in
a bottle will serve to light a room. They
are worn as hair ornaments by the
senoritas, with peculiar and striking
effect
1 must not forget to speak OF mos
quitoes, which abound in CuLa at GER
tain seasons. During March, April.
May and June 1t is impossible to sleep
without mosquito bars over the beds
But about the first of July re mos
quitoes disappear, no one krovs where,
and they do not reappear until the fol-
lowing March.-New York Pet.
BANANAS AS FOOD.
Banana lovers win be delighted to