A friend dropped by today, recently back from a hog hunting trip in the panhandle. No hogs. His group was staying in an old house on the ranch. Just after he went to bed he felt something crawling on his foot. He turned on his flashlight and saw a huge bug on his foot. He jumped up, screaming like a little girly man. Everyone got up with lights and then they found a bunch of them. Whip Scorpions or Vinegaroons [Mastigoproctus giganteus] are not poisonous but they are ugly and big. He told me everyone slept in their trucks the rest of the trip. He scooped one into a coffee can and brought it back with him. He knew I would want pictures. He tried to catch a big one but couldn't. The one he brought back is a medium size one-he says.
You can see the whip tail here. They sling a vinegar like substance out of it, hence the name.
You can see that it has two pincers on each forward arm and both work. They use them to catch bugs as they are strictly meat eaters. With the penny in the picture you can tell it is a very large bug. Although it looks like a scorpion and is called a scorion, it really isn't a true scorpion. It's an interesting bug none the less.
You can see that it has two pincers on each forward arm and both work. They use them to catch bugs as they are strictly meat eaters. With the penny in the picture you can tell it is a very large bug. Although it looks like a scorpion and is called a scorion, it really isn't a true scorpion. It's an interesting bug none the less.
9 comments:
Sweet!
Oh Yeah) brought it back to Austin. He doesn't think we have enough nasties of our own here. I remember when I was at school we were dissecting Periplaneta americana and they got free in the lab. That's how England became over run with cockroaches!!
Brrrrr, Bob...what the Hell, strange bugs the size of hogs?
Man, if I felt one of these on my foot (it's size exaggerated with the dim illumination and subsequent exaggerated shadow from a flashlight), I would also be running around my cabin flapping my arms like a chicken making high pitched teenage girly noises. What a magnificent monster, crawfish Vs scorpion! Look at that whip! Look at those disturbing feelers!
(Another Brrrr, followed by an audible "crack" from a rather violent knee jerk).
I will sleep calmly tonight.
Thanks for this nightmare Bob.
ESP.
Ooh- read they existed (while looking up the true scorpions we had at the previous house) but never saw a non-clinical photo, Bob.
Would something that size mistake a toe for a bug? Do they pinch humans?
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
The word verification is "horses"...why does it freak me out when they are real words?
Annie, friends always call me when they find something weird and they want me to tell them about it. When Tom called at 10:30 at night to tell me about it, I told him they don't bite or sting. I also told him that if there were not enough bugs around for them to eat that they were known to eat the skin off peoples feet. After a few expletives I told him I was kidding but he wouldn't believe me and they all slept in their trucks. Bunch of sissies.
Wizzie, I knew you would say something like that.
I was told today by a friend that he had seen on the internet where you could buy these thing for pets. They were like fifteen bucks a piece. So Rose I think they could turn up any where now. I heard there is a big bug collector in the east part of town so ESP should get the Nabooboo tribe on the alert.
Consider it done. The intricate network of Tiki-lights have now been lit over here on the East-Side, signalling that tribal members are on the highest alert.
I have never seen this strange animal before, it is really interesting to know about it, thank you so much for sharing this information, I 'm going to do some researches to know more about this whip tail
thank you for your info. i met this bug several times in my house and i killed em all. :D
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