The iguana, or guana, sometimes attains the length of from four or five feet, measuring from the point of the snout to the extremity of the tail; its usual size, however, is from three to four feet. It is of a deep emerald green, with the upper part of the head, the feet, tail, and legs, of a dull ash colour. Along the summit of the back and tail runs a deeply serrated membrane, almost like the fin of some fish; the head is surmounted by a kind of crown, or crest, from which circumstance it has obtained the name of “king of the lizards;” and underneath its jaws hangs a kind of comb, which it can inflate when angry or excited. Like all the lacerta tribe, its mouth is well furnished with teeth, with which, when exasperated, it inflicts deep wounds; but, in general, it is a quiet and inoffensive animal, feeding in its wild state upon leaves of trees, vegetables, insects, or, when it can procure them, young birds. It climbs with agility, and will spring from one branch of a tree to the other, like a squirrel. The flesh is said to be excellent, rivalling in delicacy that of a chicken. It is eaten in the French islands as a great luxury; but from its outward appearance, few strangers would be led to partake of it, unless deceived by its form of cookery.[[70]]
The wood-slave is about the same size as the common tree-lizard, but with a shorter tail. The bite is said to be
extremely venomous, as also the wound inflicted by its sharp claw, which ends in a kind of nipper, and with which it adheres to the part with such tenacity, that no power but that of a knife will extricate it. In colour it approaches a toad; its haunts are amid old timber or old dwellings, from whence it attains its name of wood-slave.
Scorpions are another formidable foe. They are well equipped for battle, having eight legs, besides two shorter ones fixed on the fore-part of the head, and answering for hands, with which they hold their prey; eight eyes, three upon each side of the head, and two on the back; two feelers, and a long tail, terminated by a curved sting, underneath which are two instruments resembling a comb. The poison is contained in a small reservoir, and is evacuated through two oblong orifices at the top of the sting, at the moment of the wound being given. The effects are extremely painful, producing a burning heat, which, if not alleviated, produces fever. If encaged, and it can discover no means of escape, the scorpion stings itself to death, rather than remain in captivity. The body of the parent scorpion becomes the nest of the young ones, which remain sticking and feeding upon their mother until she dies, and all nurture is absorbed, when they fall off and shift for themselves; fifty of these terrific little creatures have been counted at one time adhering to the body of their dead parent.[[71]]
The scolopendra, or centipede, is another member of the aptera order, whose bite is equally dreaded with that of the scorpion. They sometimes attain the length of six inches, and are as thick as the finger of a man; the common size is, however, from two to three inches. They lurk in the dark holes and corners of houses, in the lumber-yards, in the stores, (or warehouses,) in stone-walls, rotten wood, or indeed, any place where they think themselves secure from molestation; and from whence they issue forth and attack whoever falls in their way. They feed upon insects; and their wars with the cockroaches are most terrible. Sometimes, however, they fall a victim to their stingless enemy, who in that case makes a hearty meal upon their remains. The scolopendra is furnished with numerous feet, from whence it derives its name of centipede—there being as many of these members (on each side) as there are joints in their body. The antennæ are covered with short hairs; they wound with two curved feelers in the head, armed with two short teeth. The bite is very painful, and produces (like the scorpion’s) severe fever, if some antidote is not immediately applied. In illustration of this, a sailor on board a West Indiaman was so severely wounded in the hand by a centipede, that his life was thought to be in danger; he was, however, eventually cured, by having roasted onions applied to the part affected. The workmen employed in pulling down old buildings, or in removing stacks of lumber, are also very often dreadfully bitten by these terrible creatures.
The Antiguan snakes are perfectly harmless; some of them are beautifully streaked and speckled. Spiders are also very numerous in this part of the world, and call for the constant use of the housemaid’s broom. The tarantula, or “horse-spider,” is the most celebrated in Antigua. It is about the size of a pigeon’s egg; the body and legs are stout, and thickly covered with stout black hairs, and the feet armed with triple claws, with which they hold their prey, while they tear it to pieces with their forceps. Their bite is very sharp, and is also often attended with fever; but the strange stories which have been related of the bite of the tarantula throwing its victims into a state of lethargy, from which the power of music can alone restore them, has long ago been proved a fable.
The cockroach, or blatta, is a most disgusting insect, although perfectly harmless, being utterly devoid of any weapon of warfare. It belongs to the order hemiptera, and is furnished with four plain wings, which, when walking, it conceals beneath its outward covering. The common cockroach is of a bright brown colour, with long antennæ, and wings exceeding the body in length. They are most destructive creatures, preying indiscriminately upon the contents of the larder, the linen-chest, or the book-case, or upon any insect they can overcome by treachery or open combat, or vary their repasts at times with a taste of the little negroes’ fingers, when they go to-bed with such members in a greasy state. Cockroaches cast their skins once or twice in the year; during those periods they present a most revolting appearance, being of a milky white instead of their usual brown hue. In the day, they lurk in holes and corners, but no sooner does night approach, or the clouds threaten rain, than they issue forth by legions, crawl over the floor or furniture, dash in your face, or commence their work of devastation upon your property, leaving their nauseous odours behind them upon whatever they may touch. The drummer-cockroach is of a dingy ash colour; it receives its name from the drumming noise it makes by striking, it is said, its horny head against any wooden substance it may come near. It is even more disgusting than the common cockroach, both as regards form and odour; the antennæ and wings are shorter, and the body of greater breadth, and differently marked; the feet are furnished with an adhesive liquid, which stain anything they pass over. The eggs of the cockroach are about one-third the size of their bodies; they are rather flat and long, and are covered with a hard shell of a brown colour. The parent insect attaches them to walls, curtains, the interior of boxes or drawers, or, indeed, any place which they deem convenient for the purpose, by means of a kind of animal gum with which they are provided. The cockroach has many enemies to contend against, among whom the domestic fowl is, perhaps, the most formidable, picking them up, impaling them alive upon their beaks, or swallowing them with a relish which none but a fowl could conceive. The avidity with which fowls seek such food gives rise to the negro proverb, “Dat time cockroach hab dance, he no ax fowl for to come.” They certainly are the pest of the West Indies; nothing escapes their depredations; and as the North American Indians have remarked of the deer, “The more you kill, the more they come.” The redeeming qualities of cockroaches are said to be, that they improve the flavour of wine, and make excellent fish-sauce!
There are immense hordes of caterpillars (erucæ) in Antigua; some among them are of great magnitude and beauty, although sad plunderers of the garden. After grovelling for some time upon the ground, and then undergoing the transformation of a nympha, they at length burst from their shelly covering, and, in the plenitude of life and joy, bound forward in the bright sunshine as so many gorgeous butterflies. Some of them are beautiful in the extreme, their velvety coats displaying every tint of the rainbow; but, alas! like all other beauties, their triumphs are soon over; the sun rises and sets but seldom for them, and after laying their 300 or 400 eggs, their business in the world is achieved—their little lives are over, and they again become a “thing of nought.”
Ants also abound, and infest every comer and cupboard in your dwelling. They have been held up as patterns of industry, and surely they possess that virtue in an eminent degree, for in vain does the thrifty housewife use her best endeavours to secure the contents of her larder from their depredations. They never tire, but surmount every difficulty, and, like the “Goths” and “Huns” of old, pour their countless legions over the whole face of the country. You may, with the greatest caution, suspend your choicest preserves from the ceiling, thinking that a place of security, but in a short time it is sure to be discovered by some roving ant, who, without loss of time, communicates the results of his foraging to his neighbours. The whole tribe are soon in motion, the discoverer acts as pioneer, and with great judgment conducts them over every impediment along the ceiling, down the string, until at length they gain the sweetmeat, where, sans ceremonie, they luxuriate at will. At other times, in order to guard the delicacies from the attacks of the ants, the vessel which contains it is placed in water, and there all is deemed quite secure. But not so; the ants are indefatigable; for no sooner does their sense of smelling tell them some choice dainty is inclosed therein, than they form a kind of bridge across the water, by one ant embracing another by the antennæ, and in this way they transport and enjoy the luxury at pleasure. There are ants of various sizes, and colours; the large black ant, the small black, the red ant, the wild ant, &c., but of all these varieties the sugar-ant is the most disagreeable. It is supposed the sugar-ant was first brought into the West Indies in a slaver, from the coast of Guinea, and after destroying vegetation to a great extent in Dominica, found its way to Antigua, where it committed great havoc upon the sugar canes. They are of small size, and of a light-brown colour, tinged with black, and when crushed, emit a mucilaginous substance of a fœtid smell.
As for flies, it would take an entomologist months to describe them, so numerous are their varieties; and of insects of a viler name, not to be mentioned to ears polite, the negroes would no doubt tell you they are far from being an extinct race. Bats are among the other denizens of Antigua, whose company is not very desirable. Some of them attain the size of pigeons; but although the dreaded “vampire” may be found among the number, we never hear of any creature falling a prey to its thirst for blood.