Photo Adventures with Curiosity and Learning

Larry and I set off to Lower Pierce Reservoir nature trail with Paul and BH. It had not rained in some time so probably there would be few spiders. So we focused on using our 365 nm torch to locate scorpions. We were not disappointed.

Face of a scorpion

Long tail of a scorpion

Scorpions fluoresce in 365 nm UV light - here is a 1/10 sec exposure (f/8, ISO 400) of a scorpion resting on a leaf

This was a big and pleasant surprise. A mama scorpion with kids hanging on all over her. She was perched under a leaf - and to the right you can see one of her open claws.

Here she is bathed in 365 nm UV light - note that the kids don't fluoresce at all - and I think I read somewhere that 4 - 5 moults are required before the exoskeleton expresses whatever protein responsible for the fluorescent response

Another view with flash illumination

Predator and prey - which is which? A scorpion above a female huntsman (Thelcticopis sp.)

Another view - better resolution of the huntsman below

The scorpion fluoresces in 365 nm UV light - the huntsman does not

Another view of the scorpion and the huntsman below (Thelcticopis)

Combining flash with UV - you can see the dorsal aspect of the scorpion shows a dim bluish from the UV

This is a better example. Note the huntsman (Thelcticopis sp. does not fluoresce

Another view of the question of who is predator and who is prey

Thelcticopis sp. Huntsman

Thelcticopis sp. Huntsman

C. Frank Starmer

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