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Sticker of Deathstalker
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Deathstalker

Leiurus quinquestriatus
Name means: “its scientific name means five-striped smooth tail”
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsScorpions, ticks and friendsDeserts and dry places8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The deathstalker is a pale yellow scorpion that lives in hot deserts.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. It is an arachnid with eight legs, a cousin of the spiders.
Lives in
North Africa and the Middle East to Central Asia and western India, in deserts and dry scrubland
Length
3 to 7.7 cm (1.2 to 3 in)
Top speed
about 3 km/h (1.9 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Dangerous: look, do not touch

Watch out! Read all about it on Venom Wiki →

What does it eat?
Like all scorpions it is a hunter.
For real!Photo of Deathstalker
Picture by SuperJew. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Deathstalker about 7.7 cm long (3 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 2.5 toy building bricks in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 1.2 seconds

How big is Deathstalker compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its tail is long and smooth, and its name means five-striped smooth tail.

2

In many countries you are not allowed to keep one as a pet.

you asked

Most asked questions about Deathstalker

?How big is a deathstalker?

It is 30 to 77 millimetres long, on average about 6 centimetres.

?Where do deathstalkers live?

In deserts and dry lands from North Africa through the Middle East to Central Asia and India.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Leiurus quinquestriatus
Group
Scorpions, ticks and friends
Family
Buthidae
Classification
Arachnida > Scorpiones > Buthidae
Lives on
Africa, Asia
Also known as
Palestine yellow scorpion, Omdurman scorpion, Naqab desert scorpion

Where the facts come from

  1. Deathstalker (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by SuperJew. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

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Also at home here: Deserts and dry places

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