The Asian Forest Scorpion
| Spotted At Night
10th June 2025 💚
Scorpions: The Stinger vs the Pincer Types
#scorpionisms #intothewildwithrufus
I spotted this Scorpion around 8 pm at Amrabad.
Well, I was busy taking an evening stroll, when I saw something dark crawl past me. Immediately I turned on the torch in my mobile phone to see what on earth it was!
It was an Asian Forest Scorpion!
Well, since Scorpions are highly nocturnal by nature they tend to be highly averse to light of any kind.
And that’s because, although scorpions have multiple eyes, their vision is generally poor and primarily adapted for detecting movement and differentiating between light and dark.
Bright light can hence annoy their sensitive eyes and thereby interfere with their vital sensory systems, making them less effective at detecting threats.
These Asian Forest Scorpions are among the largest scorpion species in the world, with some individuals reaching lengths of up to 5-6 inches.
Unlike some scorpions that rely primarily on their venomous stinger, Asian Forest Scorpions have remarkably large pincers. They often prefer to subdue their prey by pinching rather than stinging.
The stinger is located at the back – the very tip of the scorpion’s segmented tail, while the pincers are in the front!
Despite their intimidating appearance and size, the venom of the Asian Forest Scorpion is generally considered mild to humans. While a pinch can be painful and cause swelling, it’s typically not life-threatening! [Unlike in other large scorpion species]
They are native to the warm, humid tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia.
What’s more! Asian Forest Scorpions are quite popular as pets, particularly for those interested in invertebrates and arachnids. Their venom is generally considered mild to humans, often compared to a bee sting.
In his book titled, Scorpion, Louise M. Pryke shines light on the scorpions, and their unique characteristic features.
He says that, Scorpions pre-date the dinosaurs by millions of years.
When we think of the prehistoric age, our first impulse may be to consider several well-known species of dinosaur, such as the triceratops and tyrannosaurus of the Cretaceous Period, and stegosaurus and diplodocus of the Jurassic Period, rather than the scuttling arachnid which is the focus of this book.
Nonetheless, the scorpion pre-dates all of these famous creatures by hundreds of millions of years.
While less than 1 per cent of known scorpion species have venom capable of killing humans, the hazardous aspect of the scorpion dominates its image.
Images of scorpions appear in some of the world’s oldest written records, including cave paintings. A hybrid creature, part human and part scorpion, plays a guardian’s role in the world’s oldest literary epic, the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh.
Scorpion imagery appears in artistic works as diverse as Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth and the video game franchise Mortal Kombat. From ancient Egypt to modern films, the scorpion can be seen to have lasting links to kingship in human thought.
The scorpion’s habit of carrying its young on its back is likely to be the cause of the animal’s perceived link to motherhood,
says Louis.
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