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Sticker of Asian forest scorpion
Bug card No. 0059 of 1,500

Asian forest scorpion

Heterometrus spinifer
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsScorpions, ticks and friendsRainforests and jungles8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The Asian forest scorpion is a big, shiny black scorpion that glints green in the light. It has huge, strong pincers. It lives in damp rainforests, hiding under logs or in burrows during the day.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. It is an arachnid with eight legs, a cousin of the spiders.
Lives in
Southeast and South Asia, from India and Sri Lanka to Malaysia and Indonesia, in damp forests
Length
10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in)
Top speed
about 2.8 km/h (1.7 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Can bite or sting

Watch out! Read all about it on Venom Wiki →

What does it eat?
It eats insects such as cockroaches, crickets and locusts.
For real!Photo of Asian forest scorpion
Picture by Jidnesh Doshi. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Asian forest scorpion about 12 cm long (4.7 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 4 toy building bricks in a rowabout as long as your handcould run across a dinner table in 1.3 seconds

How big is Asian forest scorpion compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It is about 10 to 12 centimetres long, as long as a grown-up's hand is wide.

2

It is quite jumpy and defensive, so it is best left alone.

3

During the day it digs into the ground to hide, and comes out in the dark.

you asked

Most asked questions about Asian forest scorpion

?How big is the Asian forest scorpion?

It can grow to about 10 to 12 centimetres long, which is big for a scorpion.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Heterometrus spinifer
Group
Scorpions, ticks and friends
Family
Scorpionidae
Classification
Arachnida > Scorpiones > Scorpionidae
Lives on
Asia
Also known as
Malaysian forest scorpion

Where the facts come from

  1. Heterometrus spinifer (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Jidnesh Doshi. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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