A Little Bit More
If you look up the prefix pseudo, you’ll see that it means false, so a pseudoscorpion is a false-scorpion, if you wish. Since the pseudoscorpions are small – rarely over 5mm – and secretive, many people have never seen or even heard of these interesting animals. They’re predators, regularly feeding on arthropods as large as or larger than themselves. Pseudoscorpions catpure prey with their pincers, pass the “victim” to their mouthparts and then subdue it with an injection of venom. As with spiders, the venom also predigests the prey’s “innards”. Once the inner soft parts are digested, the pseudoscorpion simply sucks out the predigested material, leaving an empty shell behind. This feeding behavior allows pseudoscorpions to feed on animals considerably larger than themselves.
Although most species are found in tropical and subtropical areas, many do live in the colder parts of North America too. All species spend most of their lives in crevices and rarely appear in the open; most prefer high humidity to help prevent desiccation (drying out). Many species live under rocks, under or on the bark of pines, maples, Sycamores, and oaks, to name a few trees. Some inhabit buildings, while others can be found in the nests of birds and dens of mammals. Large numbers have even been found under the elytra (wing covers) of beetles, as well as among bird feathers and mammal fur. But pseudoscorpions are probably most common in the leaf litter/soil community, along with mites, collembola, nematodes, wood lice, millipedes and insects on which they prey.
Activities
Pair Them Up
Objectives: Learn about some of the many look-alike animals
Materials: Library or Internet
The pseudoscorpions are closely related to the “true” scorpions and it’s not surprising that they have a similar appearance, however there are many unrelated animals and plants that have a very similar appearance despite the fact that they are NOT closely related at all.
When you begin looking for them, there really are a lot of animals and plants that look like other unrelated animals/plants. If two different plants or animals evolve similar physical traits that serve a similar function, independently of each other, scientists call this convergent evolution.
I’m going to provide some pairs of different animals that have similarities that will demonstrate convergent evolution. If your students are old enough, they can use the following list to get them started but you may want them to see if they can come up with their own list of animals. Younger students can use this list and go no farther.
Have your students look over this list and assign one of the following groupings to individuals/groups of students for them to search out. Ask that students to find photos of each animal in their group that can be brought in to class for viewing. Once in class, students should share their photos and be able to tell what function it is that these two animals have in common.
1. Sharks – Porpoise (long, streamlined body well-suited for fast swimming)
2. Snakes – Legless Lizards (legless body well-suited for getting into narrow cracks and crevices)
3. American Robin – European Robin (red-breast well-suited for display or as a signal)
4. Swallows – Swifts (long, pointy wings well-suited for very fast flight)
5. Bats – Birds – Pteradactyls (wings well-suited for flight)
6. Hummingbird – Hummingbird Moth (wings well-suited for hovering and sipping nectar)
7. Penguin – Dolphin (front limbs and streamlined body well-suited for swimming)
8. Scorpions – Crayfish - Pseudoscorpions (pincers well-suited for grabbing and holding prey)
Although I’ve chosen some obvious similarities, there are many, many more that are available for you to find. See what you and your students can come up with.
Key Concepts
Identification, Predator/Prey Relationships
Questions
Do you have a question for a naturalist? Go ahead and ask!
It's easy -- just fill out this form, submit your question and you'll receive an answer shortly.
Posted by rob meechan on September 11, 2006 at 01:57 PM
Q: my sister found a small littel insect in our garden in edinburgh scotland it looked like a a scorpion but had no stinger and no front claws the tail was the same width as the body and it came from under a stone it had stripes down its back running from side to side about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long could you tell me what she found
A: Oh my Rob, you've given me a really difficult question! There are so many different insects that identification from just a description is not easy, but I'll try. You gave me some good descriptive information, however, so I hope I can help you out.
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> From your description, I'm thinking it might be a rove beetle (family Staphylinidae). This large family of beetles (over 3,000 in the United States alone)is found in a wide range of habitats but often in places where there is decaying food, plants, or animals. This is a beetle, but it doesn't really look like one and therefore confuses many people. I found a site on the web that has quite a few pictures of rove beetles but it's possible your animal is not there so you need to see if any of these look "similar" rather than identical to your mystery animal. Check out www.pbase.com
If it seems that these beetles at this site do look very similar to what you found, then you can see if you can find out about Scottish rove beetles for your area to try and make a match. If you have a photo of your animal, this would make it much, much easier for me to help but let's see if this first step - my hunch - will work. Please feel free to get back to me on this if you come to a dead end. Thanks for asking and I hope this puts you on the trail of figuring this out.
Posted by Tammy and Dennis Dawson on September 04, 2006 at 10:18 PM
Q: What flies at night hovers over flowers, eats the nectar from them. Can't see it close up yet—It likes four o'clocks (flowers)it comes between 9:00-11:30pm, could you please tell us what it is and if you have a picture please send it.
A: You're being visited by a sphinx or hawk moth. There are quite a few different species of these beautiful moths and they visit flowers for nectar at dusk or twilight as you've noted. Most sphinx moths are active in low light but a few can be seen in daylight. Sphinx moths are members of the family Sphingidae and you can google this group to see the various members tht might be in your area. Thanks for asking and now you know - enjoy.
Posted by Bob Chase on April 02, 2006 at 07:51 PM
Q: Insect that flies and looks similar to the hummingbird. We saw this hummingbird like critter visiting the creeping flox in our garden.
A: You saw a real look-alike. The insect you saw was the Clear-winged Sphinx or Hummingbird Moth. These moths are really similar to hummingbirds and fly from area to area feeding on nectar. I'm sure many people have seen these moths and never realized that they were watching an insect rather than a bird. Thanks for your question.
Posted by EVELYN CARR on March 11, 2006 at 10:29 AM
Q: I FOUND A BUG THAT LOOKS JUST LIKE A BABY SCROPIN IT HAD A LONG TAIL WITH A STINGER AND FROUNT LEGS WITH PINCHERS
A: If what you found is as you describe, it certainly does sound as though you've found a scorpion. Baby scorpions look exactly like the adults. There is a kind of scorpion - the Striped Centruroides - that lives in the southeastern U.S.so this is probably what you've seen. Keep in mind that these guys are not aggressive so they won't "try" to hurt you. Scorpions eat lots of insects so are actually a good animal to have around the area. Scorpions are not bugs, but are a special kind of animal that are more closely related to spiders. Thanks for writing to us.
Posted by Erika Nuss on December 07, 2005 at 07:47 PM
Q: we found a red-thorax, royal blue-abdomen, and a royal blue-head. It has clear black wings (the wings look exactly like the Sesiidae's wings)! We think it is a Red Clear-winged Moth! But, we are not sure!
A: From the information you've given me, I'm leaning to the Peach Tree Borer as your animal. These moths are quite "wasp-like" in appearance and very colorful as you described. Take a look online and see if you can identify this animal at: www.urbanext.uiuc.edu The young of these moths, called borers, are quite injurious to the peach trees in the South. Hope this helps. Thanks for asking.
Posted by krystyna wojak on December 02, 2005 at 11:23 AM
Q: it looked like a small brown lobster and come
out from the ground
A: You haven't given me many details about your observation but I have an idea about what you probably saw. I'm not familar with Polish animals, but I'm quite sure they have crayfish in Poland just as we do in North America. We usually think of crayfish in rivers, streams, and lakes but there are some species (kinds) that live in tunnels in the ground. These crayfish make tunnels in wet soil and the end of their tunnel has water in it - so they're really in water too. Often there will be many different tunnels in an area. Did you see many other holes too?
So, I'm guessing that you saw a tunneling crayfish that had come out of its burrow. Crayfish are certainly closely related to lobsters but lobsters live in saltwater while crayfish live in freshwater.
Thanks for your question.
Posted by jk jones on October 21, 2005 at 03:49 AM
Q: just found clear, one wing each side, outlined in black with gold glitter and gold glitter "pom pom" on tail. Would fit on a quarter. looks like moth. found under light tonight on house! never seen anything like it! "Tail moves like tiny sea anemone.
A: I'm pretty sure I know what species of moth you've seen. In fact, our mystery animal on the home page for enaturalist currently shows this animal. Hope you agree that this is what you've seen - a Clear-winged Sphinx!
This moth is a member of the Sphinx or Hawk Moth family (Sphingidae) and is often called a Hummingbird Moth for its habit of hovering next to fowers to sip nectar. Such a beautiful moth and one that almost seems more bird-like than insect. The larvae (caterpillars) of these moths usually have a horn-like extension on their end that people often assume is dangerous. Hope I've identified your species. Thanks for asking.
Posted by Stefanie Forcella on September 05, 2005 at 09:07 PM
Q: Today while hiking in the badlands of Eastern Montana my husband and kids came across a very small scorpion. Maybe an inch to inch one half long with pinchers and a tail with a stinger. It was light in color with something that looked like dark stripes going across.
It was under a flat rock and had a moth that it had killed. What kind of scorpion is it and are they found quite frequently in Montana.
A: When we think of scorpions, we think of places like Arizona where it's hot and dry. But there are scorpions living as far north as southern Canada too. I think you saw the Northern Scorpion, Paruroctonus boreus, that is found in Montana. I've included a website for you to look at and see a photo of what you may have encountered. Scorpions are not all that common in Montana but if you look in the right places, like beneath rocks and logs, you'll certainly find a few.
Thanks for your quesiton.
Posted by Mary Ann Wilson on August 15, 2005 at 09:52 PM
Q: Where can I find more info and a pix. Think I had one in my garden [Austin TX] this morning.
A: It's a wee bit confusing but there are Clear-winged Moths (family Sesiidae)and a Clear-winged Sphinx (Hemaris diffinis) that is a moth too). The Sphinx is the one that looks a lot like the hummingbird and is probably the one you saw although the moths sometimes confuse people.
Try googling Clear-winged Sphinx or Sphinx Moths or Hummingbird Moths and see what you get. This should turn up some good photos and info.
Thanks for asking.
Posted by Beth Elliott on August 10, 2005 at 07:35 AM
Q: Found an insect 2" long with pinchers. body is 1/2" wide and skinny 1" long stinger on a bettle like lower body. Thought it was a scorpion look alike. It does kill prey with tail.
A: I'm trying to put together your description but can't come up with an animal that fits. I don't know of any insects that have pincers and a long stinger. You might want to look at a picture of a Vinegaroon (very scorpion-like but no stinger and not an insect) and the Tailless Whipscorpion (also no stinger and not an insect) but doesn't sound like these are what you saw. There are at least two scorpions that I know of (Hentz's Centuroides and Brown Centuroides) that live in Florida. Both of these are rather dark brown with a light stripe down their back. If you're sure it had a tail stinger and pincers then you've probably seen a scorpion. I know they're kind of scary but they do eat lots of insects and rarely interact with people. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by fred dickow on July 07, 2005 at 05:52 PM
Q: What Looks like a hummer baby, It had a green head and black body, the back had multi colors prim red.
A: It sounds as though you saw something feeding at a flower that looked like a baby, not adult, hummiingbird? I'm almost positive you saw one of the Sphinx or Hawk Moths. These moths tend to feed in the evening or at night although a few do feed during daytime. The Clear-winged Sphinx (this is the species I'm guessing you saw) looks especially like a hummingbird and can really fool you if you don't get a good look. Google this moth and see if this isn't what you saw. As you might suspect, this moth was getting nectar from a flower just like the hummingbirds do - a wonderful example of convergent evolution.
Thanks for your question.