Um, I found a scorpion in my bedroom today.

I was a bit disturbed, I was barefooted, and almost stepped on it.



It was sick, and dying when I found it, I think it may have been in the roach bait, or crawed through the bug spray.

I sprayed it with bug poison that claimed to kill scorpions on contact, but it took it probably 8 hrs. to die.


Anyway, I looked it up on Al Gore's invention, the information superhighway, and it seems it's not a dangerous species, but my specimen of about 3" long, is a small one.

I think it is a Hadrurus Arizonensis (desert hairy scorpion), and they can get up to about 6" long.

I did fluoresce it with UV, it is very interesting. Now I'm thinking of getting a more powerfull UV light, and observing these things in the desert at night.

I found a site that has many other photos:
scorpion photo links

Do any of you hunt scorpions at night with a royal blue luxeon light?
I am wondering if the royal blue casts enough light to see, as well as fluoresce objects.

Also, what is the forward voltage on a royal blue? Could it be run on a MadMax+? And how long should I expect a NX05 colimator to last when using it with UV light?

If that's a picture of your bedroom floor you might want to post an ad like this in BST.

WTT one flashlight and batteries for one broom and dust pan. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

just kidding, nice story.

Nice picture shankus!

When I was a teenager living in Arizona, I was stung by a smaller version of that scorpion in my room. It crawed/dropped into my bed and stung me on my back. Hurt like a match burn and made me sick to my stomach. We were too poor to go to the emergency room and I was fine the next day.

Peter

SIX inches!?!? F&*^ That! I hate hate bugs. I'd rather find a Grizzly under my bed!

Chris

Last time I was backpacking near Four Peaks in the Tonto National Forest I found a baby white scorpion underneath my sleeping bag as I was rolling it up. One of my friends said that you shouldn't kill it because it'll bring bad luck. He's one of those story telling types. Then my other friend squashed it to smitherines.

The next day we had the whole family of 5+ scorpions running around camp during the morning hour. Theses particular scorpions were definitely not nocturnal. They must of been looking for their lost child (squashed child).

Surprisingly I also run across many scorpions when in the Angeles National Forest, Death Valley (obviously), and there seems to be a bunch at my friend's residence in Redlands too.

I count myself amoung bug haters, at least, if they are in my domain. I don't near as much dislike them when I see them outside.

I'll tell you, I stripped the sheets all the way back last night, looking for bugs before getting into the bed. This thing has me a bit paranoid. Studying this scorp in the jar, well, they are a wicked looking creature, aren't they? The things nightmares are made of. I couldn't think up a scarrier looking creature.
Imagine something like a scorp, but like 3 ft. long. DUDE!

I've read that there have been fossils found of dragonflies with 36" wingspans!


I'm also having some mouse trouble right now. I found two holes they (bugs & mice) may be entering through, and stuffed them full of steel wool, and then siliconed over them. I hope that works.
Supposedly, mice won't chew through the steel wool.

I have a MM module from Dat2Zip with a Royal Blue Luxeon... it puts out quite enough UV to do just about anything you'd like to fluoresce. I have it in my MiniMag right now, but waiting to put it into my FireFly./ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

sometimes I am VERY GLAD that I do live in central Europe. the thought of something like this in MY room ... argh! even spiders make me think twice before deciding to attack them with a long range anti-insect spray.

PG, "too poor to go to the emergency room"? Now THAT made me think, and I haven't finished thinking yet.

bernhard

We don't have scorpions in Seattle either. Then again, we don't have any big or cool bugs like grasshoppers, katydids, crickets, big beetles, cicadas, large waterbugs, luna moths, monarch butterflies, or tarantulas. We do have a type of hobo spider though, which you don't want to get bit by. But that creature is small and uninteresting, compared with that scorpion. Oh, and it can't sting if you kick it barefooted. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

Whoa! I've seen all sorts of strange and huge critters when I once lived in a makeshift bedroom that used to be a garage. I'd rather find a Streamlight Scorpion than a scorpion in my bedroom any day.

shankus,

Scorpions are nocturnal- they forage at night and you will almost never see one in the daytime unless you turn something over. They also can climb- Peter encountered one in his bed. I fear and despise them /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif . Take your UV out at night and stomp the population down for a good radius around your abode- a hundred feet is a good start.

Larry

Unfortunately I can't tell if a RB Luxeon will do the trick for you Shankus, but I'd bet that if you could pull out your Social Security card or a CA drivers licence and see the hidden UV markings on either of these with the light, it should probably work fairly well for finding scorpions too !

While I can't speak much to the tune of hunting scorpions, I can say that a white ARC LS does a great job while hunting Black Widows. It's so bright and produces such natural color response, that I've been able to hunt and kill over 41 of the beasties ever since I got the light 3 mo's ago.

See, now we have yet another excuse to justify our eccentric/expensive habit - pest control/saftey issues.

[ QUOTE ]
Mednanu said:
but I'd bet that if you could pull out your Social Security card or a CA drivers licence and see the hidden UV markings on either of these with the light, it should probably work fairly well for finding scorpions too !

[/ QUOTE ]

Uh, my SSN card, doesnt have any markings on it in UV light... Other items to check - credit cards, money security strip, passport, and highlighter marks...

Dan

[ QUOTE ]
Gransee said:
...We were too poor to go to the emergency room and I was fine the next day.

Peter

[/ QUOTE ]

Peter,

Everywhere I've lived the emergency room was where people went if they were too poor to have doctors. What you described was tantamount to a death sentence for someone having a severe cardiac episode, poisoning or in your case a severe sting that could have been fatal. What if that scorpion had been a rattlesnake?

(Maybe you were joking?)

Brightnorm

I have a pretty healthy fear of Scorpion stings. Luckily my part of Texas ain't got many.

http://www.sawyerproducts.com/Extractor/extractoruse.htm

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I have one in the house, one in the car.. saw them for $10.95 at one site..
I got a bite the other day..it started with itching, and took alot of examining to discover the two tiny holes about 1/12" apart..I worried at first, then realized it couldn't be bad if it only itched; bad bites would burn and hurt. Evidently spiders often bite in self defense without invenomating...

do scorpions glow in the dark when hit by UV light?
anybody got a pic?
bernhard

Scorpions are a delicacy in my region. Sautee them with a little butter, onions, garlic, white wine and a good squeeze of lime. Yum yum. Crunchy.