• Home
  • About Alex Wild
  • Articles
  • Galleries
  • Myrmecology News

Myrmecos Blog

the little things matter

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Bad ecologists. Bad, bad, bad ecologists.
Rover Ants (Brachymyrmex patagonicus), an emerging pest species »

The most feared animal in Arizona ran away from me

May 26, 2008 by myrmecos

Centruroides sculpturatus – Arizona Bark Scorpion

I have a hard time getting worked up over stuff that happened 25 years ago. But here’s something that still angers me every time I think of it.

One of those educational safety movies we were shown back in grade school- you know, the “Stop-Drop-and-Roll” variety- presented the dangers of the Bark Scorpion. The film featured dark tones and a dramatic reenactment of a deadly encounter, complete with screams and fainting.

This was shown in Rochester, New York, mind you. We don’t have scorpions anywhere near Rochester. The climate is is far too cold. And the one potentially dangerous American species, our friend the bark scorpion, is found in Arizona. As far as anyone knows, the Bark Scorpion has only killed two people since 1968. Did I mention that Rochester consistently sports one of the highest homicide rates in the country? No? Well. At least the kids in Rochester know to check their shoes for the dreaded bark scorpion.

There was absolutely no reason to show that horrible movie, other than to instill in children the idea that arthropods are scary, icky, dangerous animals that should be killed. No reason. It still ticks me off that someone’s bug phobia got turned into a state-endorsed lesson plan.

While out photographing harvester ants this weekend, I happened upon one of these dreaded animals when I disturbed a rock. The scorpion, which as you can see is a very pretty orange animal, cowered. It tried to make itself look as small as possible. This made for a boring picture so I poked at its legs with a twig, hoping that it might brandish a claw or wave its tail about photogenically. Instead it ran for cover. I let it go.

photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon 20D
f/13, 1/250 sec, ISO 100, twin flash diffused through tracing paper

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in arizona, Photography Links, Science | Tagged arizona, arthropods, education, Nature, Rochester, school, scorpions | 5 Comments

5 Responses

  1. on May 27, 2008 at 10:18 am Aydin

    If the most feared animal in Arizona ran away from you, then logic dictates that you are the most feared animal in Arizona! No wonder the Feds are giving you a hard time. 🙂


  2. on May 27, 2008 at 2:51 pm eric

    Long ago I used to catch these cute scorpions while at summer camp. After taking them for a ride in a canoe we would deposit them in the middle of the girls camp. Juvenile I know, but hey I was 11 at the time.

    How do you like the MP-E?


  3. on May 27, 2008 at 5:12 pm JasonR

    You may not of needed it in New York, but yesteday this 12 year-old girl in West Virginia received a painful lesson in scorpion awareness while shopping for watermelons at Walmart.


  4. on May 28, 2008 at 12:04 pm myrmecos

    Eric. Ah, you’re probably the reason they made those stupid movies in the first place.

    The MP-E is fantastic! It’s the lens that sits on my camera 95% of the time.


  5. on June 10, 2009 at 3:02 pm dangerous animals

    i bet he ran cuz he figured you were the jolly-green-giant!
    -Jack



Comments are closed.


  • This blog is an archive; the Myrmecos blog has moved.

    Please update your bookmarks!
  • Alex’s Galleries

    alexanderwild.com

  • Recent Photos

    Special SwansSpree AnsichtenSnowy Fraser CreekWaiting.....Hydrolights!Alzavola
    More Photos
  • Biology Links

    • Tree of Life
    • Understanding Evolution
  • Blogroll

    • Ainsley Vs Livejournal
    • Ammonite
    • Anna’s Bee World
    • Archetype
    • Arthropoda blog
    • Backyard Arthropod Project
    • Beetles in the Bush
    • biodiversity in focus
    • Bug Dreams
    • Bug Eric
    • Bug Girl’s Blog
    • Burrard-Lucas Photoblog
    • Catalogue of Organisms
    • Creature Cast
    • Dan Heller
    • Debbie's Insect Blog
    • Dechronization
    • Drawing the MotMot
    • Entomoblog
    • Evolving Thoughts
    • Fall to Climb
    • Generant
    • Historias de Hormigas
    • Life on Six Legs
    • Macromite
    • microecos
    • mirmekolozi
    • myrmecoid
    • Myrmician
    • Natural Imagery
    • Nature in the Ozarks
    • NCSU Insect Blog
    • No Cropping Zone
    • omit needless words
    • Photo Synthesis
    • Princess Peppercloud
    • Science Blogs
    • Snail’s Tales
    • Stu Jenks
    • The Ant Hunter
    • The Ant Room
    • The Bug Whisperer
    • The Loom
    • This Week in Evolution
    • What's Bugging You?
    • Wild about Ants
    • Xenogere
  • Insect Links

    • Ant Farm Forum
    • Ant Insights
    • Antweb
    • Bug Squad
    • bugguide.net
    • Xerces Society
  • Photography Links

    • Canon Photography Forums
    • Digital Photography Review
    • DIY Photography
    • Igor Siwanowicz
    • Mark Plonsky
    • photo.net
    • Piotr Naskrecki
    • The Strobist
  • Popular Posts

    • How to Identify the Argentine Ant, Linepithema humile
    • Friday Beetle Blogging: Spotted Maize Beetle
    • Dracula Ants at Myrmecos.net
    • Things that look like ants but aren't (Part 1)
    • Friday Beetle Blogging: Palo Verde Beetle
    • Beware the Cow-Killer
    • CombineZP: stack your images for free
    • Rover Ants (Brachymyrmex patagonicus), an emerging pest species
    • The Rogue Taxonomist
    • My, what big eyes you have...
  • Recent Posts

    • This blog has moved.
    • Friday Beetle Blogging: The Hollyhock Weevil
    • The Friday Beetle will be late…
    • Bed bugs reach an all-time high
    • Answer to the Monday Night Mystery
  • Recent Comments

    • Donald Byron Johnson on Reader question: who discovered the sex of ant workers?
    • Anonymous on Update on the Rogue Taxonomist
    • Ant on Arizona Daily Star covers “Planet of the Ants”
    • Ga. Girl on Beware the Cow-Killer
    • Anonymous on Beware the Cow-Killer
  • Categories

  • Archives

  • animation Ants aphids arachnids Argentina arizona army ants art Bees beetles behavior biodiversity biology Biology Links bugs Canon carabidae coleoptera copyright Darwin desert diptera E. O. Wilson ecology entomology Evolution fail fire ants Flies formicidae genetics google haiku Harpegnathos imaging Insect Links Insects invasive species lighting Linepithema macro macrophotography macro photography Martialis media miniscule muppets music myrmecology mystery natural history Nature new species odontomachus Parasites Paratrechina pests pheidole Photography Photography business photoshop phylogenetics phylogeny Pogonomyrmex politics predation Scarabaeidae Science SEM social insects spiders Taxonomy termites travel wasps
  • Nature Blog Network
    Add to Technorati Favorites

    Follow this blog

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: