do scorpions live in Ireland (wild)

John mac · 20-01-2009 5:59pm #1

well as the title says do they?

Rory123 · 20-01-2009 6:12pm

I remember seeing something about this before. There is a type of scorpion that lives in the UK. South of England AFAIK. They are very small and are transparent or white so are very difficult to spot, it is easier to veiw them under a UV Lamp or something. Doubt we have them here though.

http://www.introduced-species.co.uk/Species/spiders/euro%20scorpion.htm

Try asking in the Nature and Bird watching forum.

John mac · 20-01-2009 6:20pm

yea thats what I remember it was on some David Attenbrough program Maybe life in the undergrowth!

thanks for the link.
will look into it a bit more. (6 year olds and their questions! )

EGAR · 20-01-2009 10:18pm

Your 6 yro might have encountered a Devil's Coachhorse. Frightened the living daylights out of me the first time I encountered an adult in defence stance. They mimick the Scorpion in as far as they raise their hindquarters up like a Scorpion and open their mandibles. Quite a fascinating sight, especially since they can reach a length of over an inch, are black and like to hide under leaves and rocks. They are predatory as well.

Rory123 · 20-01-2009 10:35pm

Couldn't remember the name of this one earlier, knew it was devil something. I secretly had a pet one of these when I was very young, kept it in a big jar and used to feed it house flies! Had it for about 6 months til my big sister found it and let it go! :rolleyes: Innocent times!

fionnmar · 20-01-2009 10:38pm

At the risk of sounding like the dunce in the class - is th'on not an earwig?

Rory123 · 20-01-2009 10:42pm

nah its a type of beetle i think, you don't see too many of them... I've only ever seen 2, both in the same spot so I'd imagine their habitat is quite specific. They are also quite large. Earwigs are brown too, these are black.

fionnmar · 20-01-2009 10:45pm

i see...yuck...ta for the pics

EGAR · 20-01-2009 10:49pm

The DCH is VERY chunky, no chance of mistaken them for an earwig. They also straighten their leg when in threatening pose to make themselves appear taller.

Scottie Dundee · 15-10-2010 1:14pm

Yes, there are black scorpion type beetles in Ireland. I saw one about an hour ago near Lusk. Cool looking thing but I didn't feel threatened.

seamus · 15-10-2010 1:26pm

Scottie Dundee wrote: »

Yes, there are black scorpion type beetles in Ireland. I saw one about an hour ago near Lusk. Cool looking thing but I didn't feel threatened.

Scorpions and beetles are very different creatures. Hundreds of millions of years apart.

If you actually saw a scorpion in the wild, please capture it and contact the local university, I'm sure they'd be very interested.

Scottie Dundee · 16-10-2010 12:47pm

Hi Seamus, while obviously bowing to your superior skills in coleopterology and entomology, I'm not so sure about your grasp of English and semantics in particular. What part of the word "type" are you having difficulty with?

Only joking pal, but this is what happens when two insufferable arses meet online. Ha Ha.

There is a fantastic photo of the creature I observed on EGAR's post. It was indeed a Devil's coachhorse. Well cool little beastie.

Cheers & thanks for the craic.

do scorpions live in Ireland (wild)

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