Pseudo-scorpion (image)

[boxy]

Hi all,

I'm new around these parts, and a bit different to most of you by the look of it. I don't keep inverts, just go around stalking and photographing them in the wild (when I get time!)

Just thought I'd share the one that I found the coolest, and I didn't even know they existed until last year, pseudo-scorpions.

I'm reliably informed that it's a Conicochernes Chernetidae, they're only tiny little fellas. I found these under the bark of a eucalypt, although apparently they love it in the leaf litter... it's just almost impossible to find them without trapping.

 

[Steven]

nice critter :}

what size are those ?

 

[mactans]

When I visited Yuma, AZ. These pseudoscorpiones were in all the trees under bark in nearly every residential neighborhood I encountered. Neat critters.

 

[boxy]

That one up there was only 5mm long (from memory), so they're only tiny buggers, easy to miss if you're not looking for them. I also found an even smaller one, probably a baby I guess.

The metal thing up in the the top right hand corner is the tip of my pocket knife, it's one of the smallest swiss army knives you can get, the blade is only 5 or 6 cm long... so that may give a bit of an idea of the scale.

I love the way they run around too, just like their bigger cousins, scorpions, with their nippers up in the air. There's a quick-time movie here (3.3Mb) for those of you with cable (or patience)

 

[David_F]

Great pics Boxy. I found a few pseudo-scorpions while caving last fall. Not sure what species they were but they are definitely cool little critters.

 

[Horrido]

LOL! That pic is begging for a caption contest...

"Yo! FOOL! You think you can take me? Pullin' a knife on me?!!!!"

I've always enjoyed turning over rocks and logs, even when I do surprise the occasional rattle snake, and seeing the little pseudoscorpions crawling about like little bio-robots.

Phaedrus, where do you go caving, how large are they, and what interesting things have you done/found?

Does anyone know of any "large" pseudoscorpions, or what size the largest get to?

 

[Raan_Jodus]

I swear I've seen two of those here in Canada before. both in the bathroom suprisingly, I thought they were pretty neat, but no one ever believed me when i told me :S grrr...i shuold start carrrying my camera around with me 24/7

 

[David_F]

Phaedrus, where do you go caving, how large are they, and what interesting things have you done/found?

Don't get to go caving very often. Maybe once a year or so. The only places I've been are in southern Missouri. As Boxy said, pseudo-scorpions are tiny. We were actually looking for them which is how we found them. The coolest thing I've seen in a cave was a rimstone pool in an ancient bear cave. Can't even describe it. So many different colors and formations in a small area. Anyway, sorry to get off topic Boxy. Once again, great pics. Keep 'em comin'.

 

[boxy]

FOOL![/i] You think you can take me? Pullin' a knife on me?!!!!"

ROFLMAO, you've got the attitude down pat

I'd love to see them in action, can you imagine them using those nippers against other inverts that size?

Someone actually emailed me saying that they had seen pseudo-scorps attached to the legs of flies, and wondering why it happens. I've got no idea, other than they're fiesty little blighters

They sent this link, the top photo has a pseudo-scorp having a go at a wasp leg... amazing!

http://www.alrfoto.com/gal02/gal2.htm

I've always enjoyed turning over rocks and logs, even when I do surprise the occasional rattle snake, and seeing the little pseudoscorpions crawling about like little bio-robots.

Oh yeah! I'm always doing that... surprising how agile you can be when it's a brown snake under there instead of termites, roaches, centipedes or spiders eh

Does anyone know of any "large" pseudoscorpions, or what size the largest get to?

I'm pretty sure these are about as big as they get. I wonder why?

... pseudo-scorpions are tiny. We were actually looking for them which is how we found them.

... Anyway, sorry to get off topic Boxy. Once again, great pics. Keep 'em comin'.

Don't worry about a small sidetrack like that I was looking for the pseudo-scorps too which is why I found 'em... it took a while to spot them, even when they were there, but once you know what you're looking for, they're everywhere!

 

[Navaros]

Do you guys ever find any salamanders while in the caves?

 

[David_F]

Do you guys ever find any salamanders while in the caves?

Most I've seen have been close to the entrance. Can't remember what species though. I have seen a few different cave species though. Freaky looking.

 

[Alex S.]

Nice pics! Out of the 23 families and approximately 3000 species, the largest pseudoscorpions are around 5 mm long. Awesome little arachids!

Alex S.

 

[Navaros]

Very cool. Most likely Eurycea lucifuga and E. spelaeus.

 

[boxy]

Someone actually emailed me saying that they had seen pseudo-scorps attached to the legs of flies, and wondering why it happens. I've got no idea, other than they're fiesty little blighters

They sent this link, the top photo has a pseudo-scorp having a go at a wasp leg... amazing!

http://www.alrfoto.com/gal02/gal2.htm

I emailed a few friends about this, and I figure I may as well include the answer I got here too

Hi there, Boxy. Scribbly's pretty dull tonight. Here's as much as I know about this behaviour in pseudoscorpions---it's a well-documented phenomenon, but I haven't really read a lot about it.

Hola!

Many species of pseudoscorpions use flies, beetles and other arthropods to move around. This behaviour is called phoresy. I don't know much about this, but I think that some species also travel on birds and mammals, holding onto the feathers or fur in the same way that they hold onto the legs of insects.

There are some scientific papers on this, but I don't have any here at the moment. Perhaps searching on the Web using 'phoresy' and 'pseudoscorpions' will give you some more
information.

Good luck!

Helix

Phoresy
Pseudoscorpions have been known to use their palpal chelae to latch on to larger flying insects, such as flies, and get a free ride. There has been some debate about how intentional this behavior is. It has been suggested that phoresy is due to pseudoscorpions simply grabbing "prey" items that are too large, and the resultant aerial transport is simply an accident. However, it appears that gravid females are more often the ones who hitch rides, and it therefore seems like an intentional method for spreading the brood, and species.
http://www.sff.net/people/windrummer/ReadWebSite/psdoscrp.html

Awesome little arachids indeedy!

 

[David_F]

Maybe an odd question but has anyone kept pseudoscorpions before? Not really display animals I guess but it might be a cool project.

 

[Navaros]

I never have but wouldn't mind giving them a try. It's not like they take much space.

 

[Malhavoc's]

I swear I've seen two of those here in Canada before. both in the bathroom suprisingly, I thought they were pretty neat, but no one ever believed me when i told me :S grrr...i shuold start carrrying my camera around with me 24/7

I used to lvie in ontario canada and found one parasiting on a fly [it hitched on under the wing and fed upon the fly while it flew around doing its thing.. I was in the car fly was annoying me I grabbed it and the lil bugger climbed onto my finger..