Scorpion Project Help!

[danielparra1911]

Hi all! A friend and I are very into all bugs but like to focus on scorps. We need to do a science fair project and we are having trouble coming up with an idea to test. We are interested in milking one and looking at the chemical breakdown and we are also interested in how most scorpions glow under black light. I have kept many reptiles, fish, Inverts, so I'm not inexperienced and think I have a good grasp on the subject of creepy crawlers. Any ideas are appreciated and it doesn't have to be scorpions but is preferred, Thank You ps. I also would like to continue research after we have completed our initial experiment.

 

[Travis K]

Unless you have the proper equipment to do a chemical and molecular analysis of the venom I wouldn't bother. It will also cause stress and harm to the organism at hand. UVB phosphorescence is pretty interesting and easy to demonstrate in a Science Fair setting. The same reaction to UVB light is present in a lot of flat or armored millipedes.

 

[danielparra1911]

Unless you have the proper equipment to do a chemical and molecular analysis of the venom I wouldn't bother. It will also cause stress and harm to the organism at hand. UVB phosphorescence is pretty interesting and easy to demonstrate in a Science Fair setting. The same reaction to UVB light is present in a lot of flat or armored millipedes.

Cool thanks for the help, do you have any ideas of what we could test for the phosphorescences of some inverts like millipedes/scorps

 

[Travis K]

Cool thanks for the help, do you have any ideas of what we could test for the phosphorescences of some inverts like millipedes/scorps

Well I would think some good inforgraphics and diagrams explaining the science behind it would be the base of your project and a dark room style display that one could look into and press a button for a UV light to illuminate a live scorpion would be ideal.

My kids have been getting a kick out of watching 6 H. spadix in a 10 gall naturalistic setup. I have a black light flashlight on top of the tank that they use to shine the scorps or just watch them under normal light do their thing like digging burrows and eating roaches.

 

[JoshBC]

I saw something like this on YouTube recently. A Nat Geo thing where some guy caught a scorp, I believe it was a south American scorp, then milked it and analyzed it. Then he harassed it for 2 weeks with like a stuffed/fake mouse lol. Milked it again and analyzed how much more powerful it was. Apparently if scorps are stressed out their venom can become more powerful. It was news to me. Made me want to keep treating mine nice lol. Good luck with your project.

 

[Desert scorps]

I also saw that video, very interesting!