74 
FINDING NATURE’S TREASURES 
“I can see it,” said Bess. “It looks like a rose thorn. 
What is it for?” 
“That is her sting,” explained Uncle Jack. “And she 
knows how to use it. She has a little sac of poison in the 
end of her tail below the sting. The sting is hollow. When 
she pushes it into your flesh, she squeezes a little poison 
through it. The poison goes into your body and that is 
what causes the pain.” 
“Is it as poisonous as the bite of the black widow 
spider?” asked Buddy. 
“No, it isn’t as bad as the bite of the black widow,” 
replied Uncle Jack. “A scorpion’s sting does not hurt 
much more than the sting of a wasp.” 
“I don’t want her to sting me,” said Buddy. “I haven’t 
forgotten those wasps.” 
“What does she do with those pincers?” asked Bess. 
“She eats insects, and she uses her pincers to catch 
and hold them,” answered Uncle Jack. “She also fights 
with her pincers and her sting.” 
“What are those funny things all over her back?” 
asked Marylee. Then she cried, “I see now! One of them 
moved. They are baby scorpions. And they are riding 
on her back.” 
“Yes, they are baby scorpions,” said Uncle Jack. “I 
saw them when I first looked at Mother Scorpion, but I 
wanted you to find them without being told.” 
“I see them now,” said Buddy. “They are crawling 
around on her back. There is one climbing up her tail, 
playing circus.” 
