Ultraviolet becomes visible when it makes things fluoresce.
“Continue reading” to see more interesting facts about UV and scorpions. 6 photos, links…
Here is a small (dead) specimen that I found in a spiders web, bound up. I carefully unpicked the web, steamed it to loosen and reposition the limbs into a more natural pose.
Under normal light it is interesting but under UV light becomes dramatic. There is bright blue fluorescence under a standard UV fluorescent tube. Apparently most scorpions are like this but it is reduced just after a moult.
The only part that does not is the very tip of the sting if you look at the enlarged photo. I was told that the telson (last segment with venom) didn’t show up. In fact it is only aculeus (stinger barb) if you look closely.
Say cheese…
There are many of these Little Marbled Scorpions (lychas marmoreus) that come in under the back door. This one is in UV light and is seen through a magnifying viewer.
See the Google+ discussion on this.
The photo above was taken under UVB. It is of shorter wavelength at 253.7 nm.
Related pages
Ultraviolet
Fluorescein
Blu-ray Laser
Try something else
External links
Ultraviolet – Wikipedia
Scorpion – Wikipedia
Scorpion – Fluorescent images
Fluorescence
Photo Date: May 4, 2006