ENTOMOLOGY

INSECT POISONING AND MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 468of stronger solution. He has used successfully a dosage of ~o to 80minims of a solution of ~o grains cocaine to the ounce, injected exactlyon the sting. A number of different writers have prepared antivenomsor serums which are capable of neutralizing the venom. Villala.reports the preparation of an antiserum in Brazil which was successfullyused in the case of a child affected with a very severe scorpion poisonmg.SPIDER POISONINGThere is more or less general fear among the public, due to manylegends which have been passed down, as to the severity of spider poisoning.The majority of spiders are not poisonous but there are certainspecies which are extrcmely poisonous. The spiders rhost feared inAmerica are the tarantulas, large hairy spiders. The tarantulas, likeother spiders, have poison jaws for killing or paralyzing their prey.There are very few scientific records of tarantula poisoning in America.Vorhies has cited four without mentioning the species. The Americantarantula which has been regarded as poisonous is Phidippus auda:cHentz. In Europe" tarantula poisoning is caused by Lycosa tarantulaLinnreus, L. narbo1Umsis Walckenaer, Epeira diadema (Moritz-Herold)Walckenaer, and Troc1wsa singorUmsis (Laxmann). Epeira diadema isthe common garden spider of Europe and is not as large as the Americanta,rantula. The bite of Lycosa tarantula produces wheals surrounded byred areola but no general symptoms result.The evidence against the hour-glass spider, Latrodectes mactansFabricius, and its allies is far more convincing and there is no doubtthat these are dangerous spiders. This species is coal black and markedwith red or yellow or both. It is quite variable in markings. Thefull grown female is about a half-inch in length and its globose abdomenis usually marked with one or more red spots on the dorsal line. Thisspider occurs in old buildings, stables and wood piles. It spins an irregularweb which is composed of very coarse, silk threads. It is an exceedinglyaggressive spider. Severe and sometimes fatal poisoning follows.the bite. Kolbert has isolated a substance from the poison gland(Arachnolysin) which is a powerful hemolysin. Dr. E. H. Coleman, LosAltos, California, has conducted quite a series of experiments withArachnolysin and with a toxalbumen which occurs throughout the body ofthe insect. He dissected the poison glands and made various triturationsfrom which he prepared powders which he took himself and noted theeffects upon himself after each dose. After taking twenty-five powders,.his heart rate was reduced to 48 and his temperature was 99. He experienceda severe headache, clonic spasms of the thoracic and abdominalmuscles, marked distress about the heart with radiating pains extending