SCORPIONS - Info and Identification Thread

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Shutter_Eye

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This year seems to have an increased number of scorpion encounters.
While scorpions aren't plague animals, certain weather conditions can favour them and they move around more than usual.

There have been 2 fatalities that I'm aware of this season, and a number of stings across South Africa.

So I've started this thread for anyone who has found a scorpion in or around their house and would like to have it identified and get some info on the species and whether that one's dangerous or not. Here's a bit of background on scorpions for anyone interested.

Scorpions represent some of the oldest terrestrial animals on Earth, the fossil record indicates they emerged from aquatic ancestors around 430 million years ago, meaning that they've been around a whopping 2 150 times longer than anatomically modern humans!

Scorpions have conquered virtually every known land habitat except the Tundra and polar regions. Most species are restricted to arid environments though. They are masters of survival, capable of being submerged in water for 48 hours with no harm and some species can go for up to a year without food.

While they strike fear into hearts, only 25 of the +/-1800 species have venom capable of killing a human under normal circumstances. So while their sting is painful, 98% of all species are harmless.

A handy rule of thumb for seeing how much of a punch a scorpion packs is to look at the size relationship between the tail and the pincers.


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The above image is of a Rough Thick-tail (Parabuthus granulatus), the deadliest species in southern Africa. It also illustrates some of the most common anatomy terms that you'll find in almost any article on scorpions - handy for understanding ID pointers.


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The above pic here shows a Kalahari Burrowing Scorpion (Opistophthalmus wahlbergi), a harmless species that can deliver a painful sting, but isn't medically dangerous at all. Note the difference in tail/pedipalp size of the two species.

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I'll try my best to ID any photos, but with more than 150 species in SA, it can easily go astray! The following guidelines will help though

1) Please add where the photo was taken.
2) Always try to get good quality pics, the better the quality the easier it is to ID.
3) A close-up photo of any feature that stands out such as the tail or pedipalp.

The photo of the Rough Thick-tail illustrates a good photo to use for an ID.


Here's a link to an article in the Volksblad around the increased scorpion encounters:
https://www.volksblad.com/nuus/2014-01-21-help-daars-n-skerpioen-in-my-bad

And here's a transcript of my tips to minimize human contact:
"I’ve noticed more than one person has asked about keeping scorpions out of their house and yard.

Firstly, I’d like to mention that scorpions are not like insects, so any of the commercially available “barrier sprays” won’t work. Another important thing to note is that no plants or chemicals will keep them out. Spraying Jeyes Fluid around your house won’t do anything except make your house smell funny and chase your visitors away.

The best solution would be to put up a strong flood light in far corner of your yard, that way insects will be attracted to the outside light and not to the light inside your house. Scorpions aren't attracted to light, but they’re attracted to insects, so all the moths flying around your bedside lamp look like a McDonalds to the scorpions. A strong outside light should make them hang around there and not in your house.

Another very important point is that animals of all sizes prefer a stable habitat. Scorpions will definitely prefer a habitat that stays unchanged for a long time. If you have a pile of building rubble, firewood or anything else in your yard that stands there for months on end you’re creating a stable habitat and that will definitely attract scorpions. By cleaning your yard and house on a regular basis you prevent that stable habitat from occurring. Keep your living space disturbed and scorpions won’t hang around. Note that “cleaning” refers to shifting things around and disturbing the habitat. That pile of firewood or those 3 sheets of corrugated iron that you got for a carport that never happened are perfect homes for scorpions. Shake up their habitat and they’ll look for somewhere else to call home.

Those 2 things are pretty much all you can really do to keep your home and yard relatively scorpion free. Unfortunately they are roaming animals, so there will always be a chance of them making a turn at your home. There really is no sure-fire way of permanently barring your home to scorpions – they've been around for 430 million years and have adapted for almost any environment, trying to get rid of them is a battle that you will certainly lose.

By the way, the same guidelines apply for keeping snakes out of your yard."
 
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