SCORPION!

“All Scorpions are venomous. Only about 25-30 of them have a type of venom that is potent enough to make someone very ill or to kill them.”[*]

I’m glad I searched that.

If I hadn’t I might have thought all 90 of the species could kill me; that “only” means my chances of dying-by-bite are down to roughly one in three.

Whew, I’m relieved.

This entire matter began yesterday morning: after all the tempests last week I wanted to check the condition of the barbie outside. Pulling back the cover I saw this solitary creature sitting in a fold. Hard for even me to believe but since I’ve never before seen a scorpion in the flesh I wasn’t sure what it was; I ran inside to get my camera.

It’s simply fate that I could live all these years without the pleasure of its company.

Another factoid to mention in this snippet is to include, “Studies show that they do sting but that they don’t do so out of aggression. They will sting though as a means of keeping themselves safe.”

Don’t worry about me, Bud, I got the message.

[P.S. By the time I put the camera back inside and returned for another view it was gone. Turns out I think it was an Arizona Bark Scorpion the most venomous in North America.]

*Note – For a full yet concise read about this little fella and his selectively nasty cousins you are cordially invited to visit: http://www.scorpionworlds.com/facts-about-scorpions/