3431 scorpions?

[LEFT][quote=Marinaw]We occasionally find a few very small and really rather sweet scorpions in our house in le Marche. They are no more than 1-2 cms long and don't look dangerous - I have been happily telling friends that they might nip but are not poisonous so not to panic/worry about them. No one has been bitten yet but as more people come to stay over the summer I thought I better double check - are they poisonous - should we rush to Amandola hospital if someone is bitten?
Can anyone reassure me?

Thanks

marina[/quote]

I found one of those guys in my kids' bedroom in Lunigiana at easter.
I was quite amazed when i saw it - you know, that familiar scorpion shape. However rather than find out whether they were poisonous or not [sorry to all you arachnid lovers out there], I whacked it a few times with a rolled up newspaper That seemed to do the trick. :)
I did worry for a few days afterwards, though, about what it's mother might say! :eek:

Dangerous scorpions and how to identify them.
[url]http://www.museums.org.za/bio/scorpions/dangerous.htm[/url]

Look at the pictures for a few minutes. Could you tell the difference?
Personally, I'd rather go for the rolled up newspaper solution.

[/LEFT]

The brown European scorpion which we get in Italy is supposed to have the STING(not bite) the same as a bee or wasp. I have had them running over my hand to try and prove how harmless they are to stop people killing them out of hand and have not got stung yet. But I don't suggest you try to do this. :D

[QUOTE=derekL][LEFT]

Look at the pictures for a few minutes. Could you tell the difference?
Personally, I'd rather go for the rolled up newspaper solution.

[/LEFT][/QUOTE]

ooh Derek. Derek. Derek. Havn't you heard that we are all gods creatures:D

Rule of thumb with scorpions. Bright yellow = be afraid. be very afraid. Dark brown/black = well...you will not die just yet.

We don't get the dangerous one here, though it does occur in Spain. If someone who has a place in Spain is picking on you :-)

I felt a pin-prick on my "nether regions" when getting into bed one evening, so brushed off whatever had caused it with my hand (behind me, so I couldn't see what I was brushing off) - and it was a very big scorpion (well, getting on for 3cm), which scuttled off. Gave me absolutey no ill effects whatsoever!! On a pedantic note, are they arachnids - how many legs has a scorpion got?

Thats a useful rule of thumb re the colours - ta for that - so if anyone did get bitten by a small brown one best to go for anti-histamine - not dash to the hospital to be greeted with Italian hoots of derision? (I find these happen to me a lot, tee)

M

Relaxed I have a feeling you are made of strong stuff despite your chilled out moniker. So no ill effects - not even an itchy mark? from a 3 cm jobby? Thats great news!

Don't think I'll be letting them run over my hands for fun though.

M

[QUOTE=Marinaw]We occasionally find a few very small and really rather sweet scorpions in our house in le Marche. They are no more than 1-2 cms long and don't look dangerous - I have been happily telling friends that they might nip but are not poisonous so not to panic/worry about them. No one has been bitten yet but as more people come to stay over the summer I thought I better double check - are they poisonous - should we rush to Amandola hospital if someone is bitten?
Can anyone reassure me?

Thanks

marina[/QUOTE]

....my brother in law has a friend who makes jewelllery out of them by dipping them in silver. We pay the kids €1 for each 1 they catch!

Hours of entertainment!

Eve

[LEFT][quote=Relaxed]On a pedantic note, are they arachnids - how many legs has a scorpion got?[/quote]

[FONT=Arial]"Like the insects and spiders, scorpions belong to the phylum Arthropoda and like the spiders they belong to the class Arachnida but belong to a different order, Scorpiones."[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][/FONT]
[/LEFT]