- Thread starter caribmike
- Start date
Is this a scorpion or is (was) it mimicking one?
In Action
FYI:
[video=youtube;3zhJfgyIFfI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zhJfgyIFfI&feature=player_embedded[/video]
:laugh:
donP
FYI:
[video=youtube;3zhJfgyIFfI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zhJfgyIFfI&feature=player_embedded[/video]
:laugh:
donP
Im not making a wild guess but I think its a pseudo scorpion. Ok never mind, i posted before reading all the comments. Pretty nasty about the vinegar smell part
those long ones seem to be legs, as per picture of this little MF in the post #12
the notion that people keep them as pets always gives me business ideas. in a polish pet shop i saw giant cucarachas, just like those you smack with a flip flop in every dominican house. they are sold as posh argentinian roaches. and cost actual money! and them large centipedes? 30 bucks each!
Then I smacked 90 bucks last year
Then I smacked 90 bucks last year
dude, i just checked few exotic pets sites and i am about to weep. even the roaches cost something. lizards. spiders. centipedes. beetles. toads. bloody hermit crabs! DR is paved with money!
Almost all scorpions light up under black light. I don't know about the whip tails. It's how they find them at night when they are studying them.
There are worse creepy-crawlies out there:
That's a Pacific coconut crab btw. They are the largest land invertebrate and start off as hermit crabs, but are not closely related to anything in the DR. They tend to get eaten before they get that big.
That's a Pacific coconut crab btw. They are the largest land invertebrate and start off as hermit crabs, but are not closely related to anything in the DR. They tend to get eaten before they get that big.
This is a harmless Whipscorpion, Mastigoproctus giganteus, also called a Giant Vinegaroon or Grampus. Legend has it that the bite of a Vinegaroon will cause the person to taste vinegar for weeks. Though this is untrue. This creature can spray an acidic mist from a scent gland at the base of the tail when disturbed. The spray is 85% concentrated acetic acid/vinegar, hence the common name “Vinegaroon.” The heavy pinching mouthparts (modified pedipalps) can also inflict a painful bite. The tail and two long legs in front are used as scent organs so the two front legs although legs will never touch the ground. Although very unlikely to attack humans, it can certainly defend itself if provoked.” The Vinegaroon is a nocturnal predator with poor eyesight. It feeds on insects, other arthropods, and also, probably, small vertebrates like lizards.
Range
AZ-TX-OK, FL / Mex - UF, 2011 so definitely imported into the country.
Season
July-Oct (BG data)
Source : bugguide.net
Acira
I've been led to believe that an alacran is a scorpion. Several years ago a couple people in Villa Mella died from their stings. One guy was getting something off a shelf and got it in the neck. My 6 yr. old nephew spotted one on the bottom floor and freeked out. Another was spotted in the sand nearby. Either people there are schooled about them or just naturally see something different and back off. Would this be the most deadly insect in the DR? My father-in-law and others deemed it as big news.
I doubt it, they don't have stingers and so can not sting even if they had venom, which they don't.
Don't know what it is, but it's not a scorpion, had lots of those in Costa Rica, so I know them....
Google all, google... has answers to everything:
Scorpions, Whipscorpions And Vinegaroons | What's That Bug?
It's a vinegaroon.
Scorpions, Whipscorpions And Vinegaroons | What's That Bug?
It's a vinegaroon.
You missed the point; or I was not clear. I was only mentioning Alacran vs. Scorpion. Nothing about the thing in the photo.