Asian Forest Scorpions are nocturnal and live in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia on the forest floor. Unlike humans, scorpions are able to see ultraviolet light and fluoresce under it, which makes them look like they are glowing under a blacklight.
Species: Asian Forest Scorpion (Heterometrus spp.)
Order: Scorpiones
Native Habitat: Located in the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia, these scorpions spend their time on the forest floor, beneath logs and debris and sometimes burrows into the soil.
Diet: In the wild, they eat insects and spiders. Here at the museum, our scorpions get crickets and cockroaches.
Life Expectancy: 7-8 years
Fun Facts:
- Asian forest scorpions don't see very well so they rely on touch using stiff hairs on their pincers and pectines to sense their environment.
-There are close to 2,000 species of scorpions in the world all of which have venom but only about 25 species are deadly to humans.
-Asian forest scorpions have low venom toxicity but are more aggressive than some other species of scorpions.
-Our Asian forest scorpions had 7 babies last year
-All scorpions fluoresce under ultraviolet light due to the hyaline layer, a very thin but super touch coating on part of the scorpion's exoskeleton called a cuticle.
