Shock Scorpion Sighting on Island
TWO Anglesey residents on two different parts of the Island have
spotted scorpions in the last few days.
A Holyhead man walking his dog on Sunday made the first report to the
Chronicle; the man, who did not wish to be named, spotted the arachnid
near the Penrhos turn off.
He said: "I was shocked and quite apprehensive when I saw it, and made
sure to keep the dog away.
"It was quite small, probably just over an inch long, and of a dark
colour; I didn't stick around to see where it went."
And only yesterday, Malcolm Williams of Llangefni saw a scorpion in
his back garden.
Mr Williams said: "It was about 8.20am and I spotted what looked to be
a scorpion in the back garden; it was the right shape and looked to be
around one to one and a half inches long.
"It was just crawling about in the grass and then disappeared so I
need to find it; I've got two young children who like to play in the
garden so it has to go."
Mr Williams also explained that he was relatively sure that the
creature was not a pseudo scorpion, which unlike the real arachnid,
has been recorded on the Island before.
He added: "I looked on the internet at references to the pseudo
scorpions, which appeared to be brown or reddish in colour and with a
thick body.
"This one had a long narrow body and was a dark
colour, it was the exact shape of a scorpion."
One Bangor University expert believes that global warming may be
blowing a wind of change across Ynys M'n as more exotic species are
being discovered; zoologist Dr Webster said: "I haven't heard of one
(scorpion on Anglesey) but who knows what might happen with global
warming?
"Mantis shrimps have established themselves off Abersoch so things are
certainly changing; however scorpions can't withstand frost so there
is no chance of them becoming established here."
Edward Harvey, head animal keeper at Pili Palas, added: "If it's got
really big claws and a small tail it's relatively harmless, but if it
has a fat tail and small claws, then it might be on of the deadlier
types and needs to be kept well clear of."
North Wales Chronicle: 15th September 2007
