Why spotting a scorpion strolling your home suburb is good news

A straying scorpion delivered a shock for one suburban Aussie household after it lost its way and wandered into the kitchen.

The Sydney resident who discovered the scorpion was brave enough to capture the eight-legged arachnid* — which she named Sylvester — in a clear plastic container.

Australian Museum collection manager (arachnology*) Dr Matt Shaw explained that the critter, which he identified as a “wood scorpion”, was probably “extremely lost” after its burrow* was flooded by recent heavy rain.

But when the householder posted a video of the creature to a community Facebook group, it received a wave of responses from locals who did not realise that scorpions could be found in Australian suburbs.

One person posted that he “never thought about there being scorpions in this area”.

“Never seen one in my life,” he wrote.

Another local added: “I would never have believed we had them here!”

But others posted that they had seen scorpions multiple times.

While many think of scorpions as being desert stingers, the creepy critters actually live in every state and territory. The Australian Museum website states they can be found in a variety of habitats across the country.

“Scorpions are common arachnids found in gardens and forests throughout Australia. They are found under logs, rocks and in shallow burrows in earth banks. There are also desert species that construct deep spiral burrows in desert sand,” the site says.

The woman who caught “Sylvester” released it unharmed.

“Found this little fella in my kitchen,” she said.

“I will let him go of course, just having a little look at something I’ve never seen before.”

There are four common types of scorpions in Australia: the brown scorpion, the desert scorpion, the marbled scorpion and the wood or forest scorpion.

According to the museum site, wood scorpions live in burrows under leaf litter, or under bark on trees in well wooded areas. They prefer habitats with high levels of moisture and usually spend much of the summer months in their burrows.

Dr Shaw said the “small, attractively-marked” scorpions were not often seen because they prefer to remain hidden.

“Unless you go fossicking* through dead wood, leaf litter, eucalyptus bark, or wood piles, you are unlikely to encounter them,” Dr Shaw said, explaining that wood scorpions were one of many native species that thrived hidden below the surface if you didn’t remove natural leaf litter from ecosystems*.

“This scorpion is usually a sedentary* homebody, and it likes areas with good rainfall. Hence after heavy rain a variety of small invertebrates* move about and can be encountered in unexpected places,” he said.

“If inside a house, it is extremely lost, and away from its habitat of moist litter etc. It is like being in an arid* hell; they wouldn’t survive for long.”

Dr Shaw also said that if a person was stung by an Australian wood scorpion they wouldn’t be in any serious danger, unlike if they were stung by one of the many venomous scorpions from arid parts of Africa – but it might still be painful and red for a few hours.

He advised that anyone stung by a scorpion should seek advice from a doctor anyway.

Dr Shaw said it was also easy to avoid getting stung by a scorpion – simply don’t stick your bare hands into areas of the garden or bush where you can’t see.

“It is easy to live with these creatures without fear or problems, and they are a sign that your local nature is still harbouring some decent local diversity,” Dr Shaw said.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• arachnid: animals from the arthropod group that includes spiders, scorpions, ticks and mites. They have exoskeletons instead of backbones and segmented bodies with jointed limbs
• burrow: a hole dug in the ground by an animal that the animal lives in
• arachnology: the scientific study of arachnids
• fossicking: rummaging through the leaf litter looking for scorpions
• ecosystems: the way all the plants and animals in an environment live together
• sedentary: not moving around much
• invertebrates: animals without a backbone
• arid: very dry, like a desert

EXTRA READING
Funnel-web drug funded for trials
Three disco-dancing peacock spiders found
Learning life lessons from a very old spider

QUICK QUIZ
1. Where in Australia can scorpions be found?
2. What are two different types of native Australian scorpions?
3. Why are scorpions not often seen?
4. What are two places scorpions like to call home?
5. Scorpions are a type of what?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Scorpion facts
Create a fact file collector card for the wood scorpion by drawing a diagram and adding all the facts from the Kids News article.

You can trade your card with other class members and compare the information and presentation of each card.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, The Arts, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Is it a good sign if you see scorpions in your local area? Explain why.

What should you do if you find one of these creatures?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
BAB it!
Show you have read and understood the article by writing three sentences using the connectives “because’’, “and”, and “but” (BAB). Your sentences can share different facts or opinions, or the same ones but written about in different ways.