A Scorpion Tale

This summer, it seems we’ve had a lot more rain, sometimes in torrents, but mainly it has left us rather quickly. Also, as the weather begins to change, we are losing both many pesky insects that bother us most summers, plus one of the most recognized constellations belonging to the summer season, Scorpius, the Scorpion.

Legend has Scorpius situated overhead in the warm weather as a form of respect for his ridding the world of the mighty hunter Orion, who believed he should rid the world of all the animals. It was the scorpion who put an end to Orion’s dream. To show how grateful the animals were, the giant scorpion was placed in the sky, virtually diametrically opposed to Orion. As such, Orion is not able to be seen until the scorpion, who languishes in summer’s warm evenings, allows the hunter to move into the sky, in the cold winter nights.

Unfortunately, recently in Aswan, Egypt, rain and scorpions mixed. Violent thunderstorms rolled across southern Egypt, creating flooding, strong winds, hail . . . and hordes of venomous scorpions.

The continuous pouring rain drove poisonous scorpions out of their burrows, in streets, and into homes. The animals then began a “stinging spree,” especially when people, caught in power outages, found themselves stepping on the arachnids that had invaded their houses. Over 500 people were hospitalized.

This part of Africa is home to one of the most poisonous scorpions known, the Egyptian fat-tailed scorpion, but, fortunately, their venom is not lethal to humans. The victims were treated with doses of anti-venom and quickly released.

Fortunately, in our part of the world, Earthly scorpion sightings are virtually nonexistent. And, with Scorpius exiting the sky at this time, we are totally free of these nasty animals, at least until our summer sky returns.