EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Each week a different image of our fascinating environment is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional ecologist.

12-18 December 2005

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Bark Scorpion in 
Ultraviolet Light

Bark Scorpion (Centruroides sp., prob. C. exilicauda),
southern Arizona

Credit & Copyright: Dr. Bruce G. Marcot

Explanation:   Why is this bark scorpion glowing?  It is fluorescing under my long-wave ultraviolet (UV) light, making it easy to spot them during their nighttime activities.  But why do they glow?

Some sources suggest that scorpions cannot see UV light, and that the glow may have no ecological function.  It might be only a secondary property of the chemicals that render their exoskeleton impermeable. 

However, others hypothesize that the UV fluorescence reflects a sensitivity mechanism to UV light whereby scorpions can sense and avoid damaging light intensities.  They are, after all, nocturnal.

 

Next week's picture:  Wolf Lichen

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