Came across this creature on the roadside near Baoshan Reservoir.
Note the menacing sting (?) this thing has.
Looks nasty. My guess is it’s a Virgo. I hear they’re the most dangerous type because they’re frustrated :help:
That ain’t no insect. I’d guess it’s a scorpion. How big was it? Always have something in the photo (like your hand) to indicate relative size.
Good idea. Put your hand next to the scorpion.
Actually that sting diesn’t look stingy to me. I think it’s just a tail. It’s a beetle with a tail.
Disclaimer: The author once spent 24 hrs in hospital recovering from a bite by a snake that “didn’t look dangerous.”
I believe that’s a whip scorpion - a friend of mine woke up to find one in her shorts in Kenting once, and we had a couple of them show themselves in Puli. The aren’t dangerous, but emit a form of vinegar.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/arachnids/whipscorpion/Vinegarroon.shtml has a diagram. Some people keep them as pets.
Theres loads of them in Kenting. I have experience of these whip scorpions quirting amonia smelling stuff at me after curiously prodding one with a small stick.
It didn’t affect me, but I imagine if it was close enough or the stuff had got into my eyes it would have stung quite badly for a while.
Loretta wrote
Idiot.
I meet one of those sometimes in my neighbourhood in NeiHu. I say “how are you”, he shakes his pliers and we both go our way.
No big deal. He has this heavy way of walking which shows me, life’s not easy for him too.
They’re far better than those inpolite big beatles (roaches?) who always hide in their hole when I meet them. Rude behaviour.
Rascal has something very similar living under his bed.
[quote]They aren’t dangerous, but emit a form of vinegar.
[/quote]
er…so handy to keep in a drawer in the kitchen?
Yes, it’s a whip scorpion. They’re otherwise known as a vinegaroon.
Are there actually scorpions in Taiwan?
What happened to the photo 
Can’t see it either.
Here’s another pic. Handsome devils, eh? I met one while hiking up past Wulai last year. Thought it was trying to attack me but it was really just trying to hide under my boot. Very common, but usually only come out at night, so you tend not to see them too often.
Has it got six or eight legs?
If the answer is six, then it can’t be a scorpio!?
[quote=“rice_t”]Has it got six or eight legs?
If the answer is six, then it can’t be a scorpio!?[/quote]
Eight. The picture just doesn’t show the front ones too well.
Here’s another pic.
If you look at the above picture you might notice that it has eight legs, so it is definitely an arachnid (scorpions and spider order)
As mentioned it is commonly called a whip-scorpion, but a common characteristic among scorpions is the bigger the pincers, the smaller the sting. So if a scorpion (not whip scorpion) has small pincers and large sting on its tail…Watch out, chances are you will die a painful death, if however the pincers are large, then the sting is fairly harmless and will just cause pain. The whip-scorpion to get back on track is not able to sting, but the above one seems as if it could give you quite a good pinch between those well developed mandibles.
I saw a post here a while back regarding this creature and someone was asking what it is. I thought I would post these pictures and description in case anyone finds these things interesting.
This is Thelyphonida. Thelyphondae are characterised by their thin, whip like tail.
This particular animal is usually called a whip scorpion, or vinegaroon, and its Latin name is Mastigoproctus Giganticus. They are classed as arachnids and are not true scorpions.
Unsure of its evolution, it is believed that whip scorpions are extremely ancient creatures which were left behind as spiders evolved in one direction and scorpions evolved in another. In effect, what you are looking at is the forerunner of both scorpions and spiders.
Whip scorpions are harmless, with the exception of some sub-species emitting an amonia-like substance from their abdomen when threatened, hence the name vinegaroon. The whip-like tail serves only as a sensory appendage and does not in anyway serve as a tool for defence or attack, save for waving it around aggressively when it is being threatened.
If handled roughly, a whip scorpion has the ability to inflict mild pain via use of its pincers, but it is unlikely to break the skin.
Although not true scorpions, they do follow the lifestyle of that of a true scorpion, including reproduction. Their natural habbitat is in or around soft earth - they often dig burrows. They also live under rotting wood or under rocks.
Occasionally, one may be discovered inside a house, but this is highly unlikely in a city environment.
Whip scorpions are carniverous, and will feel on other insects, worms and slugs. They have been found eating small frogs and other reptiles.
Yeah, that’s a vinegaroon. I found one just the other day in my yard. Biggest I’ve seen – its abdomen section alone must have been over an inch long. Poor wee bugger was burrowed into an old flowerpot I was cleaning. Sorry, little stinky dude! I kind of like 'em.
Wow… it looks not that far removed from the crustacean family either. Look at those claws!