Sunday, September 27, 2009

Scorpions

I found one of these little critters in my bath yesterday:





Image taken from: www.kabbalahzen.blogspot.com



Whilst I was having a shower I looked down and saw him, or maybe her, happily sitting by the plug hole.  I had no idea what it was and could only imagine it was a large eary-wig.  So we stood looking at each other for a long minute and then it dawned on me it might ~excitingly~ be a real live scorpion.

I was all fingers and thumbs and simply wanted to move it back down the plug hole.  As I moved the shower head over its head the tail came up, just like in the movies, and it stung its neck ~quite amazing stuff~

So I'm naked in the shower thinking how wonderful nature is and husband is running around the house looking for a murder weapon shouting, "DON'T TOUCH IT, IT WILL KILL YOU.  DOOOO NOOOT TOOOUCH  ITTTTTTTT"


Overview
Because I know so little about scorpions or their lifestyle I'll let the Sharjah Breeding Centre describe a bit more:

"Arabian thick-tailed scorpion, also known as 'Androctonus Crassicauda' is commonly found in sandy desert areas with some plant cover. It is one of the larger species of scorpion with an adult measuring 10-15 cm in length (from the head to the tip of the tail).

One characteristic of this scorpion is the tail being thicker than the pincers. This is also an indication that a scorpion has a more toxic venom than species where the tail is proportionately thinner than the pincers (Scorpionidae). The scorpion's venom, although seldom fatal, can be very painful and requires medical attention.

The species is nocturnal and emerges from its burrow at dusk to hunt for food. They are attracted to light and areas with higher humidity. When threatened, the tail with the sting presented will be held above the abdomen, but the scorpion will only strike if agitated as the production of venom takes a lot of energy. The scorpion will generally take flight if disturbed and will only attack if provoked.

It goes without saying, all bites and stings should be treated as soon as possible, and where necessary, medical attention must be sought. If possible, the animal that has inflicted the bite or sting should be collected for identification purposes."


By the way ...
In Arabic, the word scorpion [agg-rraab] is used as an insult {see wgaw insults} and means 'a tricky person who plays games behind my back.'



1 comment:

Jaz said...

I would have ran a mile!! Scary - but really interesting