Monday, July 13, 2009

Here's Something You CAN Catch From A Toilet Seat


This little critter was staring up at me when I turned on the light in the bathroom a few mornings ago.
Now, I wasn't glad to see him there, but I was sorta glad to have a critter to photograph, because last week's rain had really negated any photographic time in the wilds of Pure Florida.

This is our native brown scorpion ... a pretty minor player in the world of scorpion tough guys. Unless you are delicate or allergic, the sting is just like any ol' wasp sting ... you sure wish it hadn't happened, but it's not going to ruin your day.

One of these crawled into my jeans as I was kneeling to finish putting in a fence post years ago and when I stood up, he nailed me about 3 times.

It was more creepy than painful.


Here is the underside, which I have to admit, is pretty fascinating. I had never bothered to look under a scorpion's kilt until this day and there is some neat architecture there. Those white feathery structures just behind the last set of legs are "pectines" which are apparently sensory organs.
I think the white paired structures beyond the pectines are stoma for breathing.

Feel free to expand on that bugnerds, your input is always welcome here.


I made y'all a little video, 'cause I'm always thinking of you and shoot ... you may not be blessed with scorpions in your water closet, like we are here at PFHQ.

Neat baby pictures tomorrow!

31 comments:

Thunder said...

If you put about six of them on a bamboo scewer and dip into hot oil you can get a pretty tasty snack! ;-)

threecollie said...

ARRGHHHH!!! I don't want to ever see one of those. Not in the bathroom.
Not in the house. Not outside the house.
And not in dinner. lol
We get wasps in our john, but we give them a ride in the "water park thrill feature" ....flush....au revoir.

nfmgirl said...

Yeah, I've seen a number of them in my life, but none since moving back here 10 years ago. Once, as a kid, I got up to use the bathroom during the night and found one in my bed when I came back to it.

Aren't they an arachnid? They have eight legs. I have arachnophobia, so I will now respond appropriately.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

h said...

Might be a nice treat for the students this fall. I'm not a "bugnerd"...BUT...

The sting of a BIG native brown scorpion is considerably worse than a wasp sting.

Sayre said...

I've never seen any scorpions here in North Florida, but I've seen PLENTY living in Oklahoma and camping out in New Mexico!!!

Never been stung, though. (phew)

swamp4me said...

Very cool. We don't have those here in the swamp.
How is it that you can hold a scorpion but you can't hold a spider? I'm just sayin'...

Jen said...

OK, that's really creepy. Glad we don't have them critters up in Vir-Gin-ee-aye. Shudder!

Caroline said...

Thanks so much for your kind thoughts for all of us who aren't blessed with scorpions in the WC!
Being married to an architect, I can appreciate the neat architecture of the underside, not, however, up close and personal. :o)

Mockingbird said...

I find those tasty critters occasionally in the yards I fly through.
Yum.

SophieMae said...

How cool! I've found several scorpions in my bedroom, but never looked under their kilts. And I didn't realize how spider-like they little faces be. Were you able to determine gender... something to do, I think, with pectine length?

cinbad122 said...

Yeah...like they don't read this!

LibraryGirl62 said...

I have been stung and it hurt like Hades! I must be allergic 'cause my foot swelled up until I had to have my fav boot almost had to be cut off...After 28 years in FLA, there are some things I will never appreciate~despite their cool underbelly

Miz S said...

Mums the word on the orpion-scay in the athroom-bay.

How come you can hold it without getting stung? And what bird is singing in the background?

Unknown said...

These are not my friends. I've been stung about 20 times since I started my research here in NW FL in May. When I check my traps they are hiding inside waiting for my fingers...not to mention the one that found its way inside my shirt and made its presence known several times before I could shake him out.

lisa said...

First the black widow, now this! YUCK!! You can keep those critters!!

S N B said...

I did not realize Florida has scorpions. They used to be all over Roosevelt State Park up at Pine Mt. GA when we were camping.

Tywonn said...

Well, I'm not from FL, but I've lived there for about 7 years, so I admittedly don't know everything there is to know about FL. But one morning I woke up and saw a scorpion in the kitchen. I crushed him with a shoe. I wasn't really sure scorpions lived in FL, but it sure looked like one to me. When I asked my husband (a born and raised Floridian) about it, he didn't believe it had been a scorpion. Thank you for convincing him otherwise.

Sharon said...

Ohhhh...I am blessed and blessed abundantly with scorpions in the WC...thanks for the reminiscent shudder!!! LOL

Julie Zickefoose said...

Dude. If the thing stings like a wasp how in the heck did you manage to grab it by the bidness end?

I am..I am.. I am Superman
And I know what's happening

Tell us true.

This is like the only blog I am reading now. Too much trouble to go anywhere else but I can't resist PF. Flat turkeys, scorpions, Bear.

myamuhnative said...

My prior abode, a 1926 cracker cottage, came complete with a supply of scorpioms and the occasional coral snake in the yard.
The coral snakes were caught and relocated or shooed away and the interior scorpions were ushered outside rather quickly.But we never had roaches in that house-I was told because the scorpions eat them?
Now that I have moved into a newer abode, we have no more scorpions, just huge palmetto bugs that insist on trying to live indoors.
I'd much rather have the scorpions back!!

Anonymous said...

Do you know, after blogging and hanging out with you crazy nature people for a couple of years, I actually think this is interesting rather than gross.

Have aliens taken my brain?

Ericka said...

wait. scorpions eat those huge roaches? where do i get scorpions???

my cousin grew up in texas, and put her shoe on without checking it once - and stepped on a scorpion that was hiding inside. NOT fun. and now we're both paranoid about stuff in our shoes.

LauraHinNJ said...

(thank you for this new nightmare material)

;-)

kathy a. said...

the only scorpion that ever entered our house was encased in acrylic -- my son thought it was cool.

Kathy said...

We get those all the time in our house in Birmingham. In fact, I've lived in Bama since 1988 and seen them in each and every house. (And dorm at UofA.) Ick ick ick. Stepped on one for the first time last fall. It didn't get me too badly.

Freste said...

I do like to scout out the state parks out this way and thankfully these critters aren't found here. Just as well, I prefer not to see one of these beasts dangling from my architecture by it's stinger.

Unknown said...

Your family reads the blog!!!! lol ;)

amarkonmywall said...

I'm with Julie, on all counts. Why DIDN'T you get stung? This is coming a little too close to the wolf spider in the bathroom in Belize after the generator was turned off for the night. Made a person (me) stop drinking anything after 4 pm...

R.Powers said...

Dave,
You will eat anything if it's served with beer.

3C,
You are safe up there!

NFMgirl,
Yes, arachnida! Feel free to scream.

Troll,
I guess it just depends on your pain tolerance. I think they are a minor irritation.

Sayre,
You have them, trust me. :)

Swampy,
It's more crawfishy than spidery I guess. I could no more hold a spider than grab a rattlesnake by the fangs.

Jen,
The farther north you live the fewer creepy things!

Caroline,
These things are amazingly complicated!


Mock,
You should lunch with ThunderDave.

Sophie,
You're telling me size matters in scorpions?

Cindy,
Oops! Guess Emma does! LOL!

Library Girl,
I am blessed with pretty nonreactive skin, but I can sympathize.


Miz S,
That was me whistling.
I leave birdsong ID to Julie Z.
A secret isn't a secret if I tell it ...

David,
They love places like that don't they? Rascals!

Lisa,
And to think some folks keep them as pets!

SNB,
Any rotten log under the bark should produce at least one.

Tywonn,
Glad to be of service. They are definitely here.

Sharon,
LOL! What a blessing!

Julie,
I love that comment. I'm printing it and framing it. LOL!
Let's just say ... toaster tongs have other uses ... and ... scorpions are excellent at regeneration like most arthropods ...
;)

Myamuh,
Jeez, our roaches are so big and the scorpions are fairly small ... makes you wonder.

Wren,
You're transformation is complete.
LOL!

Ericka,
I always check my shoes and gloves if I leave them outside, but I'm usually thinking spiders rather than scorpions.

Laurah,
No problem. I'm sure we can find new material too! LOL!

Kathy A,
Like a pet rock huh? I used to have a set of paperweight critters.

Kathy,
I wonder how far north these guys go?

Freste,
Unauthorized dangling arthropods are to be avoided.

ELP,
At least YOU do!! Love you!

Vicki,
See Julie's answer.
Just think of the big scorpions that were patrolling that Belizean abode!

Ivan said...

But did you ever get a grampus in your pants?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip_scorpion

Jacob said...

I was born and raised in Florida and though I saw plenty of critters in my first ten years much further down the gulf coast, it wasn't until I moved to Cedar Key (down a dirt road a few miles east of Shell Mound, a place I know you're familiar with from reading your blog. also, we moved to get in the clamming business right after the net ban) that I truly got to be immersed in bugdom. Frankly I'm surprised that more Floridians who've commented aren't used to seeing them.

Though for all the squiemishness displayed here, I'm compelled to hope you run across a big banana spider hanging on their tell-tale web for some Pure Florida pictures. I'm with you when it comes to touching spiders, though. Being surrounded by carpenter bees may have gotten me over that phobia, but walking into who knows how many banana spider webs didn't quite take away much apprehension.