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Scorpions Eat Spiders

Scorpions Eat Spiders in the Jungles of Guatemala FINCA TATIN, Guatemala- There are a lot of very large spiders that abound just about everywhere in the jungles of Guatemala — in the trees, on the ground, on the walls and ceilings of just about every human made structure. These large spiders tend to come out [...]

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Scorpions Eat Spiders in the Jungles of Guatemala

FINCA TATIN, Guatemala- There are a lot of very large spiders that abound just about everywhere in the jungles of Guatemala — in the trees, on the ground, on the walls and ceilings of just about every human made structure. These large spiders tend to come out at night. Scorpions come out at night, too. In an interesting interplay of nature, the scorpions eat the spiders. Even though the spiders are often much larger than the scorpions the sting from its tail gives them the terminal advantage: one stab from the tail and the spider is scorpion food.

I saw it happened once:

I was washing my hands at a sink and heard a violent ruslte in the palapa leaf roof over my head. I looked up in time to see a spider and a scorpion fall in tandem onto the sink that was right before me. The scorpion had two spider legs in its mouth, the spider was curled up in a ball, dead.

Photos of a scorpion eating a spider

Scorpion eating a spider

Scorpion eating a spider

photo of a scorpion eating a spider

Scorpion eating a spider

spider eaten by a scorpion

A spider that was being eaten by a scorpion

I have noticed a lot of large spiders that are missing their front two legs around the jungles of Guatemala, and I wondered for a couple of months about how this could happen: how was it possible for so many large spiders to be missing their front two legs. The answer now seems simple: scorpions have two claws. In the example that I witnessed, the scorpion snapped off both of the spider’s front two legs with its claws, and was eating them both at the same time. I imagine that the spider may be able to occassionally get away, loosing only a couple appendages in the attack, thus leaving a lot of six legged spiders wandering around in the night.

Scorpion in Guatemala jungle

At night, both the spider and the scorpion are active. They move around my room like pieces on a nocural chess board: the spiders looking for insects to eat, the scorpions remaining still in waiting for a spider to take one errant step: then BAM, it is stabbed with the stinger and legs are snipped off with its claws.

Related pages: Vagabond stung by scorpion

Sources: Scorpion Wikipedia

Filed under: Animals, Central America, Guatemala, Rain Forests

About the Author:

I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. has written 3699 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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  • Leslie August 26, 2010, 10:31 pm

    I am thoroughly enjoying all of your articles! I wish I was living it up in Guatemala too. Keep up the great work.

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    • Chaya August 26, 2010, 11:43 pm

      Thanks Leslie,

      Really appreciate the feedback. It makes this all worth it to get comments like this. Truly appreciated.

      Walk Slow,

      Wade

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  • david August 27, 2010, 3:34 am

    Are you guys completely at peace with all of that nature around you and Petra?

    Whilst I appreciate nature in all its myriad of forms, I still can’t help a yelp and shudder when suddenly confronted with any of the above!

    🙂

    Thanks for all the articles, indeed!

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    • Wade | Vagabond Journey.com August 27, 2010, 9:24 am

      Hello David,

      We check Petra’s bed each night before she goes to sleep and watch her during the day. It is a worry that she will go after a poisonous or pain providing insect as she likes to grab everything that moves — and insects and other small animals are her favorite.

      It is interesting living in the jungle, as you always have to watch where you put your hands and feet, least you get bitten — like the scorpion that got me a few months ago.

      Thanks,

      Wade

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  • Nathan van Deventer January 27, 2011, 3:15 am

    I found a spider with no legs in my room the other day. It was still alive, but just barely. I couldn’t find any of its legs anywhere and I still don’t know how it got there. That’s how I stumbled on this site. 🙂

    Any thought?

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    • Wade | Vagabond Journey.com January 27, 2011, 8:45 am

      I have no idea. Do you live in a location where there are scorpions?

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