Beware of Pedipalps
I know: you're frightened by that word and you don't even know what pedipalps are. You should be afraid!! Pedipalps are the claws on scorpions and I'm talking about them because we found one in our apartment last night.
Don't cry - I already did that yesterday. A scorpion is a scary thing.It has venom and will sting you; if you get stung you will die! Okay, I made that last part up. But that doesn't mean I want to get stung.
Kelsie found the scorpion (about the length of my thumb) in our front hallway. He could have crawled in under the front door, but its more likely that he was living in our backyard (I don't remember inviting squatters to live there!) and came in when we brought the carpets in from airing. Kelsie trapped it under a glass and then we proceeded to freak out. We called Shannon, our friend from Trinidad, to get the lowdown. After trapping it we were in a state of shock. We were afraid there was a colony of them living under everything and everything in our apartment (like under the bed, or the large pile of clothes that needed to be washed). Kelsie bravely picked each piece of laundry up by itself and proceed to shake it. I on the other hand was useless in the face of danger. It was a very proud moment for me and my wilderness skills.
Since I wined about the scorpion all day in my Italian class, I have learned lots about them. Like, for example, how they LOVE humdity. Oh, great. Because if its one thing our apartment is, its humid. Everybody who has talked to us since we've been here has heard us complain of our damp apartment. I know, you're thinking "but I thought they lived in the nice, dry desert?" Nope. According to Wikipedia they live everywhere:
"In conformity with their wide dispersal, scorpions have become adapted to diverse conditions of existence, some thriving in rainforests, others on open plains, others in sandy deserts, and a few even at high altitudes where the ground is covered with snow throughout the winter. In the tropics they aestivate at times of drought; and in the Alps they pass the cold months of the year in a state of hibernation."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpion
I also learned they like gardens. Score number 2 in the list of places like to live. So to sum up Kelsie got the scorpion out of the house, but not before taking some sweet pictures of it. We even named it, and if you can guess the name I'll give you a hundred bucks. Okay, that's a lie. But still, guessing games are fun.
One positive thing is that I think I'm over my fear of indoor spiders. Living with a scorpion is WAY worse.
To see what the scorpion looks like click here http://www.origami.gr.jp/Etc/conv99Mizuno/images/model/DSCF0096.JPG
I know its an origami scorpion, but i think the resemblance is striking
Don't cry - I already did that yesterday. A scorpion is a scary thing.It has venom and will sting you; if you get stung you will die! Okay, I made that last part up. But that doesn't mean I want to get stung.
Kelsie found the scorpion (about the length of my thumb) in our front hallway. He could have crawled in under the front door, but its more likely that he was living in our backyard (I don't remember inviting squatters to live there!) and came in when we brought the carpets in from airing. Kelsie trapped it under a glass and then we proceeded to freak out. We called Shannon, our friend from Trinidad, to get the lowdown. After trapping it we were in a state of shock. We were afraid there was a colony of them living under everything and everything in our apartment (like under the bed, or the large pile of clothes that needed to be washed). Kelsie bravely picked each piece of laundry up by itself and proceed to shake it. I on the other hand was useless in the face of danger. It was a very proud moment for me and my wilderness skills.
Since I wined about the scorpion all day in my Italian class, I have learned lots about them. Like, for example, how they LOVE humdity. Oh, great. Because if its one thing our apartment is, its humid. Everybody who has talked to us since we've been here has heard us complain of our damp apartment. I know, you're thinking "but I thought they lived in the nice, dry desert?" Nope. According to Wikipedia they live everywhere:
"In conformity with their wide dispersal, scorpions have become adapted to diverse conditions of existence, some thriving in rainforests, others on open plains, others in sandy deserts, and a few even at high altitudes where the ground is covered with snow throughout the winter. In the tropics they aestivate at times of drought; and in the Alps they pass the cold months of the year in a state of hibernation."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpion
I also learned they like gardens. Score number 2 in the list of places like to live. So to sum up Kelsie got the scorpion out of the house, but not before taking some sweet pictures of it. We even named it, and if you can guess the name I'll give you a hundred bucks. Okay, that's a lie. But still, guessing games are fun.
One positive thing is that I think I'm over my fear of indoor spiders. Living with a scorpion is WAY worse.
To see what the scorpion looks like click here http://www.origami.gr.jp/Etc/conv99Mizuno/images/model/DSCF0096.JPG
I know its an origami scorpion, but i think the resemblance is striking