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Isometrus maculatus
Isometrus maculatus (De Geer, 1778) is a small scorpion, predominantly brown in colour, but with numerous yellowish markings. "Pedipalps and legs are yellow, with spots. Manus of pedipalps is yellow with many spots, but fingers are dark. Mesosomal segments are light colored." Wikipedia.
I spotted this scorpion sitting on a rock in our garden.
There used to be a website called "insectoid.info" , a few years back, it closed down and is no longer available. However, my notes show that its checklist for scorpions in the Philippines showed: Isometrus maculatus, Isometrus navalae, Lychas armillatus, Lychas mucronatus, Lychas shelfordi, C¿haerilus celebensis, Chaerilus chapmani, Chaerilus seiteri, Liocheles australasiae, Hormurus boholiensis, Hormurus waigiensis, Heterometrus cyaneus, Heterometrus longimaanus & Heterometrus petersii.
Spotted on Aug 26, 2019
Submitted on Apr 22, 2022
3 Comments
Hello John B. Thanks for your suggestion on how to look for them, I usually go out at night to look for organisms and would sometimes use a uv light but I guess they're extremely rare because I've never seen a single one despite living my whole life here nor heard anyone finding a scorpion. I did some research and there are a few scorpion spottings found on the island I live on but most of these spottings are found in well-forested areas, there is no chance I'll spot one in a city. The only time I saw a scorpion was at an exotic animal expo held at our school and it was most likely not a native species.
Hi Francis, thank you for your comment. I have only seen 2 scorpions here in my area and they were both the same species Isometrus maculatus. I think the reason we don't see them so much is that they are nocturnal. When I saw the one shown here and also the previous one, it was just luck that for some unknown reason, they were out in daylight. However, I have heard that if you really want to study scorpions, the best way to find them is to go out at night with a "black light" - I think that is what they call an ultra violet flashlight. Then if you overturn some rocks, you might see some. Apparently, all scorpions glow in the dark when you shine this kind of light on them, rather like some old clocks used to glow at night because the hands and numbers were painted with Radium paint. But if you do this, be careful. I am not brave enough to try.
Wow! I had never seen a wild scorpion in the Philippines, wish to spot one someday.