Ulceration following tick bite is not uncommon. In many of the instances it is due to the file-like hypostome, with its recurved teeth, being left in the wound when the tick is forcibly pulled off.
THE MYRIAPODA, OR CENTIPEDES AND MILLIPEDES
The old class, Myriapoda includes the Diplopoda, or millipedes, and the Chilopoda, or centipedes. The present tendency is to raise these groups to the rank of classes.
The Diplopoda
The Diplopoda, or millipedes ([fig. 13]), are characterized by the presence of two pairs of legs to a segment. The largest of our local myriapods belong to this group. They live in moist places, feeding primarily on decaying vegetable matter, though a few species occasionally attack growing plants.
The millipedes are inoffensive and harmless. Julus terrestris, and related species, when irritated pour out over the entire body a yellowish secretion which escapes from cutaneous glands. It is volatile, with a pungent odor, and Phisalix (1900) has shown that it is an active poison when injected into the blood of experimental animals. This, however, does not entitle them to be considered as poisonous arthropods, in the sense of this chapter, any more than the toad can be considered poisonous to man because it secretes a venom from its cutaneous glands.