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Sticker of Giant forest scorpion
Bug card No. 0586 of 1,500

Giant forest scorpion

Heterometrus swammerdami
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsScorpions, ticks and friendsRainforests and jungles8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The giant forest scorpion is the biggest scorpion in the world. It can grow about 23 centimetres, and is reddish brown to almost black. It has huge, bumpy pincers that it uses to grab and crush its food.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. It is an arachnid with eight legs, a cousin of the spiders.
Lives in
India, in warm forests and around farm fields
Length
23 cm (9.1 in)
Top speed
about 3.9 km/h (2.4 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Can bite or sting

Watch out! Read all about it on Venom Wiki →

What does it eat?
It grabs small animals with its big pincers and crushes them.
For real!Photo of Giant forest scorpion
Picture by Nireekshit. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Giant forest scorpion about 23 cm long (9.1 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)A house cat about 50 cm (20 in)
as long as 7 toy building bricks in a rowas long as 1.5 bananas end to endcould run across a dinner table in 0.9 seconds

How big is Giant forest scorpion compared to YOU?

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

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It weighs about 56 grams, as much as a big hen's egg.

2

It hides in old termite mounds, tree holes and empty rat or crab holes.

3

The males come out of their burrows mostly in summer, from April to July.

you asked

Most asked questions about Giant forest scorpion

?What is the biggest scorpion in the world?

The giant forest scorpion from India. It can be about 23 centimetres long.

?Where does the giant forest scorpion live?

In India, in warm forests and in holes near farm fields.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Heterometrus swammerdami
Group
Scorpions, ticks and friends
Family
Scorpionidae
Classification
Arachnida > Scorpiones > Scorpionidae
Lives on
Asia

Where the facts come from

  1. Gigantometrus swammerdami (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 Nireekshit. 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 [email protected] and we will fix it.

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Also at home here: Rainforests and jungles

Chinese bird spiderSpidersMandaçaia beeBees and bumblebeesLong-flange millipedeCentipedes and millipedesHercules beetleBeetlesMadagascar hissing cockroachCockroaches and termitesOrchid mantisMantises