Tailess Whip Scorpion

We saw this one on the famous "Bug Lady Tour" at the beautiful La Paloma Lodge, Drake's Bay, Costa Rica. Very bizarre and strange looking, but harmless and I held one in my hand.

comments (5)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

It was about time we get more of these weirdos on the site.
Tell us, what is this Bug Lady Tour? Posted 8 years ago
1. Barry
  
  Lion
  
  Aah, the legendary "Bug Lady Tour". She is a biologist who works at the Corcovado NP in Costa Rica and gives nightime walks in the gardens and surrounding rainforest at La Paloma jungle lodge. When we checked in, we signed up for various actvities (Rainforest hike, horse riding, etc.) but when they described this we were immediately and enthusiastically in favor. She and her partner point out and find all kinds of cool nocturnal jungle denizens - like tarantuals, snakes, sloths, trap-door spiders (I will load up a photo soon), and . . . these guys! We loved it of course, as like you, my wife and I both love these kind of things. If you should find yourself on the Pacific coast of Cost Rica - go to La Paloma and book this tour, it is fantastic! Posted 8 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Excellent, that sounds like a lot of fun! Wherever we go, we always insist on night tours. I love the tension of the jungle at night. Problem is, most daytime guides we have do not have specific insect knowledge. Posted 8 years ago
  2. 1. Barry
      
      Lion
      
      Yes, I agree - night tours ROCK! Luckily I do find more and more lodges offering them, and we did several in Madagascar. As to your second point - OMG, are you right! About 20 years ago it was sometimes hard in places like Africa with lots of big game to find guides who even knew the birds. Thanks to the fanatical birdwatchers, they all know birds now, but insects - those guides are rare. In Nepal, none of the guides knew even the butterflies until I finally found one in Chitwan who was a butterfly fan and we sat together at dinner, me drawing pictures on the napkins, and he trying to identify them! I am now writing to the guy on JungleDargon who loves walking stick insects for some help withmy IDs but it is definitely still a developing field. Of course, the difference in numbers of species make insects a REAL challenge! Posted 8 years ago
    2. 1. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        They are a challenge indeed. Still, niche hobbies are the most fun :)
        Similar experience in Masoala, one of the most beautiful forests I've ever been in, the guide walking it for years had no idea what a jumping spider is and even claimed that spiders don't jump. It blew his mind when I showed him one. In his defense, they're hard to see with the naked eye. Posted 8 years ago