Animals in Costa Rica, Nicoya Peninsula

Scorpions

The sting of a Costa Rican scorpion is painful yet not fatal (unless you are a grasshopper). Their venom is relatively low in toxins and they only sting in self defense e.g. before being squashed when you slip into your shoes.

Scorpions are useful animals which hunt cockroaches and other insects at night. They live in pairs and if you see one scorpion, the other one is probably not far away.

The hunter himself is hunted by army ants. Although so much smaller, their bites paralize the scorpion. The ants will completely disassemble the scorpion until there is nothing left but the tail.

Tailless Whip Scorpion

The name of this useful animal is totally misleading: tailless whip scorpions are only distant relatives of scorpions and spiders.

They possess no venom glands and even though they are fierce looking they are totally harmless to humans.

These shy, nocturnal hunters are immensely helpful to combat bugs and other pests in your house. In your bedroom they will even go after such nasty critters as the infamous kissing bug. They use their first pair of legs as antenna to sense their prey.