t is found (Bourne, 24) that some species of scorpion
faint at a temperature of 40 deg. Cent. They recover on being removed
to cooler conditions. A scorpion having seized its prey (usually a
large insect, or small reptile or mammal) with the large chelae brings
its tail over its head, and deliberately punctures the struggling
victim twice with its sting (fig. 52). The poison of the sting is
similar to snake-poison (Calmette), and rapidly paralyses animals
which are not immune to it. It is probably only sickly adults or young
children of the human race who can be actually killed by a scorpion's
sting. When the scorpion has paralysed its prey in this way, the two
short chelicerae are brought into play (fig. 53). By the crushing
action of their pincers, and an alternate backward and forward
movement, they bring the soft blood-holding tissues of the victim
close to the minute pin-hole aperture which is the scorpion's mouth.
The muscles acting on the bulb-like pharynx now set up a pumping
action (see Huxley, 26); and the juices--but no solid matter,
excepting such as is reduced to powder--are sucked into the scorpion's
alimentary canal. A scorpion appears to prefer for its food another
scorpion, and will suck out the juices of an individual as large as
itself. When this has taken place, the gorged scorpion becomes
distended and tense in the mesosomatic region. It is certain that the
absorbed juices do not occupy the alimentary canal alone, but pass
also into its caecal off-sets which are the ducts of the gastric
glands (see fig. 33).

[Illustration: From Lankester, _Journ. Linn. Soc._

FIG. 52.--Drawing from life of the Italian scorpion _Euscorpius
italicus_, Herbst, holding a blue-bottle fly with its left chela, and
carefully piercing it between head and thorax with its sting. Two
insertions of the sting are effected and the fly is instantly
paralysed by the poison so introduced into its body.]

[Illustration: From Lankester, _Journ. Linn. Soc._

FIG. 53.--The same scorpion carrying the now paralysed fly held in its
chelicerae, the chelae liberated for attack and defence. Drawn from
life.]

All Arachnida, including _Limulus_, feed by suctorial action in
essentially the same way as _Scorpio_.

Scorpions of various species have been observed to make a hissing
noise when disturbed, or even when not disturbed. The sound is
produced by stridulatin