A “spider-scorpion” hybrid bug was recently featured in a National Parks Service Instagram post, sparking shock and uneasy feelings of the new creepy-crawly across the internet.
Vinegaroons, a type of whip scorpion, are actually quite harmless, according to the University of Florida. That didn’t stop people from sounding off across social media platforms, including the National Parks Service itself, writing in the original post, “that’s it folks. Have a good one.”
“I will not be able to sleep tonight knowing this exists in the world,” one comment said.
“I feel like this needed a trigger warning I am shook,” another user wrote.
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“What seems like a miniature monster from a horror movie is really a fairly benign creature,” a University of Florida entomological report said. “While called a scorpion, this arachnid has neither the venom-filled stinger found in scorpions nor the venomous bite found in some spiders,” it continued.
Despite their daunting looks, a post from Big Bend National Park’s Facebook account wrote, these critters hunt “millipedes, scorpions, crickets, cockroaches,” and other bugs. They also can not see very well, so any chance of the bugs becoming aggressive with people is low. (RELATED: ‘Murder Hornet’ Discovered In ‘Perplexing’ First US Sighting of 2021)
“I was about to say no thanks, but then you mentioned they hunt cockroaches. We’ve had a solid month of rain here… Do you guys deliver,” an account jokingly asked.
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