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mantis

60 x 55 x 80cm, 9mm birch ply treated with danish oil. Loosely based on our only species of scorpion the European yellow-tailed scorpion ( Euscorpius flavicaudis ) this little chap (?) can be found all over the UK, but n surprising numbers in Sheeness dockyard. It crushes rather than stings its pray, with the rather large claws compared to other species of scorpions. It is the third in this series of insects. The only other insects that come close to the scorpion are the Pseudoscorpiones, they are very small and distinguishable from scorpions by their lack of a tail. I only mention them because of their mating procedures, mating involves the male leaving bags of sperm randomly around for the female to find, males producing them only when sensing a female, or producing them after 'dancing' together, with or without holding 'hands'.

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