One of the most venomous scorpions in the world was found lurking in a box of roof slates in Plymouth.
The Brazilian yellow scorpion survived a long sea journey from Brazil to England before being discovered by a team of roofers from Ocean City Roofing Ltd.
‘It got the adrenaline flowing,’ Jamie Cook, who runs the firm, told Plymouth Live. ‘But I couldn’t kill it, no way.’
Jamie said the arachnid was moving around box, before they managed to get it onto a slate and transfer it into a plastic box.
He said: ‘We did some research online and saw it was among the most dangerous scorpions.’
The Brazilian yellow scorpion carries extremely toxic venom that can kill a human and is the most venomous scorpion in South America.
Jamie said the one they found was small – around an inch and a half long.
‘If it was a bit bigger we’d have been worried,’ he added. ‘I think it was a young one, it hadn’t grown to its full potential yet.’
He said the scorpion is very common in Brazil and can go months without food, making it possible to survive such a long journey across the sea.
The creature is currently being looked after at Plymouth Reptile and Aquatic, in Cattedown, where the team are planning to visit it in a few days.
Last year a man from Wakefield who had just returned from a holiday in Cuba found a scorpion crawling in his suitcase.
David Judd, 55, managed to use a litter picker to grab the Cuban Bark Scorpion tail before skillfully placing it in a Tupperware box.
The actor said he’s terrified of insects, and usually leaves their removal to his wife, so was proud he’d manage the tricky manoeuvre himself.
The scorpion, who he named Brian, was handed to a local reptile centre to be cared for.
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