"Oh yeah."
"Please send help."
Scorpions. You either love them
or hate them.
But regardless of how you feel about them,
they're not going anywhere.
Except for these ones.
They look like they might be going to a rave.
These predatory arachnids are the picture of menace.
They have sharp, snapping pincers,
a venomous tail stinger,
and that creepy, crawly vibe that creatures
with eight legs specialize in.
But all danger aside, you've gotta admit
these glow-in-the-dark scorpions are pretty,
pretty cool.
Scorpions can be found all over the world
except in one place:
Antarctica.
like deserts and shrublands.
They mostly eat bugs.
And they can slow down their metabolism
when food becomes scarce.
This minimizes their oxygen consumption,
which allows them to survive on only
one insect per year.
Geez, I can't even imagine surviving on one meal per day,
let alone one per year.
According to National Geographic,
some researchers have experimented
with freezing a scorpion overnight.
The next day, they thawed it in the Sun.
Can you guess what happened to the scorpion?
If you guessed that it died, you're wrong.
It simply defrosted
and skittered off.
They're resilient little buggers.
Scorpions are so resilient
that they were around before the dinosaurs,
and they can live up to 25 years in captivity.
But why do some of these arachnids glow in the dark?
Unfortunately, nobody knows for sure,
but there are theories.
In 2020,
researchers at the American Chemical Society
tested the molted exoskeletons of these
fluorescent arachnids
and discovered something interesting.
Previously, we only knew about
two fluorescent chemical compounds that made up
the glowing scorpion exoskeleton.
But the researchers found a new one called
In other organisms,
this compound protected them from
fungus and parasites.
So it may benefit scorpions the same way.
Other theories propose that fluorescence helps them
find each other in the moonlight,
especially for mating.
It may protect them from UV rays, like sunscreen.
There are even theories that suggest their enchanting glow
may confuse their prey.
And Discover Magazine published an article
suggesting that scorpions convert
ultraviolet starlight and moonlight
into their iconic, glowing blue-green hue.
It could make their bodies absorbent light collectors,
kind of like solar panels.
Just imagine if people could do that.
We probably wouldn't need electricity.
So you're probably still wondering,
can these things kill me?
The answer is yes.
And no.
While there are about 2,000 species of scorpions,
only around 40 of those species could
potentially kill a human.
I still don't like those odds.
And each species has a unique venom that is
specific to certain kinds of prey.
So even though the odds of you coming across
a deadly scorpion are slim,
when you're in the wild, it's best to admire them from afar.
There are some, uh, special individuals
who keep these stinging crawlers as pets, though.
I say, to each their own.
And just stay away from me.
Speaking of scary pets,
some people keep even crazier creatures at home,
like tigers, skunks and crocodiles.
Want to see more?
Check out our video about exotic
animals that have been domesticated.
Glowing in the dark and
slowing their metabolisms is what scorpions do.
And that's what makes them Crazy Creatures.