Scorpions of Southern Africa

Scorpions of Sabi Sands Training Manual

I've been working on a training manual for the scorpions o the Sabi Sands. It's a product of 25 years of enthusiasm and passion for my favourite creepy crawlies. Something that has developed during the training courses I have given at various lodges in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve.

I like to think there are two types of people in this world. Some people are interested in scorpions. Not all of them will hold one in the palm of their hands, but they genuinely interested and wouldn’t harm them. The other kinds of people are those that fear or ignorance causes them to hold scorpions in contempt.

The first recorded use of UV light to detect scorpions was way back in 1945. During an expedition by rock collectors in the USA, one of the members of the party made the following comments. “While searching for fluorescent rocks at night, I observed a brightly fluorescing ‘rock’ at a distance of about 30 feet. When I got closer the rock started to move away. The fluorescent rock proved to be a large Giant Hairy scorpion.”

Since then, the ability of scorpions to fluoresce under ultraviolet light has been the preferred method of detecting scorpions. In those days, portable UV fluorescent tubes lights were used. These tubes were bulky, required a hefty power source, dispersed UV light in all directions and were very expensive. Many years later, the invention of UV LED technology solved all of these problems.