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Scorpions of Kashan

Art & Culture Desk
Scorpions of Kashan
Scorpions of Kashan

A starry night in the Kashan desert may give a camper the romantic idea of walking barefoot. But please don’t; and don’t even try to move a rock unless it is very necessary, which it really should not be in the Modern age.

Every rock near Kashan may have sheltered a scorpion or two. Scorpions are widely dispersed in Iran. Due to its hot and dry climate, the city of Kashan, Isfahan Province, has a very suitable climate for a dangerous species of scorpions; it is in high temperatures that their venom becomes concentrated.

The urban areas of Kashan are not often frequented by scorpions as they were before the present variety of pesticides was available. But travelers should still be alert when they visit the old houses of Kashan, or when they are in nearby deserts.

Scorpion hunters, as well as some local teen boys deprived of video games, flood the scorpion nest with water and wait with a jar, held under the nest entrance, for the harried insect to come out and fall into the jar. The trapped scorpions are either sold to laboratories or used to extract rheumatic ointments.

Scorpions are not sting-happy. With no specific grudge, they tend to flee from possible threats, unless they find themselves too slow, and that’s when they have to fight back and swing their tails.

When in town, scorpion sting usually happens when one reaches down for something in a warehouse, especially where there are old wooden objects. Such nooks and crannies are the customary hideout for scorpions during the daylight.

The highest incidents of scorpion sting cases takes place on summer nights, when the insect comes out to find small prey. The more threatened it feels, the deadlier the dose it injects.

The stung area becomes tingly and numb. Lower limbs are the most commonly bitten part of body. Patients suffer from inflammation and pain.

Though it may not look so stylish but tucking the end of one’s trousers legs into one’s socks will decrease the chances of accidental exposure to scorpions that tend to creep into the nearest corner.

They say when a scorpion is trapped in fire, it stings itself to death. But after close observations, some concluded that the creature actually tries to sting the surrounding fire in blinded fury.

 

Financialtribune.com