M A G A Z •: - Desert Magazine of the Southwest

he was unable to save him, determined to try the antivenin. An
emergency inoculation was made. The result was astounding.
Immediate relief was achieved, and the child recovered.
From that moment, Stahnke's work was recognized by the
medical men of Mesa. He received the courtesy of the hospital,
to be called whenever a scorpion sting case is brought in. Mesa,
as well as several other towns of the Salt river valley, now keeps
scorpion serum on hand. Stahnke's intimate knowledge of the
effects of scorpion poisoning has been of the utmost value to
physicians, and the opportunities provided by their cooperation
have enabled him to compare the effects of the poison and the
serum, as shown by white rats, with those of human victims.
Every summer after that vital one of 1935 through 1939,
Herb Stahnke and his family went back to Ames, Iowa, where
he was enrolled in the graduate school of Iowa state college.
With the aid of the splendid library facilities of that institution,
he was able to acquaint himself with the published reports of
the scorpion research throughout the world. The excellently
equipped laboratories enabled him to refine his experimental
techniques and procedures. These studies together with the
mass of data collected in his several years work with scorpions
and in testing their poisons on white rats enabled him to complete
his thesis on "The Scorpions of Arizona" in the summer
of 1939 and to receive the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
But if Dr. Stahnke had wished to culminate his scorpion research
with the attainment of a degree, he would not have
been permitted to do so without a struggle. So many persons
have become interested in his work that an ever increasing
volume of live scorpions continues to arrive at his laboratory.
Friends, acquaintances, physicians, teachers, students, rangers
at isolated national monuments, and others totaling more than
300 persons in many states, continue to send in specimens.
Over 6,000 scorpions have been received and examined by
Stahnke since 1935, and during the summer of 1940 alone he
received more than 1,000 live specimens. Practically all of
those coming in are of species now identified, but frequently
species hitherto unknown in certain localities arrive, thus widening
the known range. And then, occasionally, the unexpected
occurs and a new species turns up as in the case of an entirely
unknown form being found in the city dump in Mesa. If any
locality in Arizona has been gone over with a fine-tooth comb
for scorpions, it is Mesa, and yet up pops a previously undiscovered
species.
"Don't be afraid of scorpions," Dr. Stahnke advises, "but
have a healthy respect for all of them. Fear is unreasoning, hence
dangerous. Learn to recognize the two deadly species. Be sure
that you know exactly what to do in case you or someone else
is stung. Remember, if no swelling develops about the point
where the sting has entered the flesh, you have probably been
stung by one of the deadly species. If swelling does follow the
sting, you have no cause for alarm. However, to be on the safe
side, apply ice immediately in any case."
Dr. Stahnke finds the ice treatment a very effective first-aid
measure for black-widow spider bite also.
Of the 21 species of scorpions found to date in Arizona,
only two have proven deadly. These are middle-sized forms
known to scientists as Centruroides scidpturatus Ewing and
Centruroides gertschi Stahnke. (The latter, as indicated, was
first described and named by Stahnke, and is one of 16 species
which, to date, have been discovered by Dr. Stahnke.) It isn't
the big scorpion which is dangerous. The big fellow of Arizona,
Hadrurus hirsutus Wood, may measure as much as five
inches from its blunt nose to the end of its sting-tipped tail.
The smallest species in the state attains a length of about one
inch. Thus far the two deadly species have been found only in
the southern part of the state, sculpturatus being recorded from
Tucson throughout the Casa Grande and Salt river valleys as
far west as Yuma, north to Wickenburg, with Miami and
Globe its eastern limit. Gertscbi is common in the southeastern
corner of the state overlapping the range of sculpturatus
throughout its western range extremities. Whether sculpturatus
Dr. Stahnke knows how to handle scorpions so that he
will not get stung. However, he does his shoiving off with
relatively harmless species. Here he holds the big Desert
Scorpion, Hadrurus hirsutus, against his shirt so that it
will show up plainly for the camera.
occurs west of the Colorado river in Southern California is not
known, Dr. Stahnke not having received specimens from that
area.
Scorpions do not bite, as many people think; they sting. The
sting and its poison sack or reservoir are at the extreme tip of
the segments of the tail. Pincers at the head end of the body
are used by the scorpion for holding its prey which consists
of soft-bodied insects and spiders. Young scorpions do not eat
the body of the mother. This is a popular superstition without
basis in fact.
Scorpions are nocturnal; that is, they come out at night in
search of food, hiding in the daytime in cracks or crevices,
under boards and the loose bark on trees or stumps, and similar
dark, tight places. Sometimes they get inside houses and, when
daylight comes, crawl into shoes or the folds of clothing hanging
in closets. It is always advisable to shake out your shoes
before putting them on in the morning, and to throw back the
sheet before getting into bed at night, Dr. Stahnke advises.
As head of the biology department of the Mesa union high
school, Dr. Stahnke is busier than ever this winter with his
teaching, but considers his past accomplishments as stepping
stones for greater ones in the future. Recently he announced
his intention of enlarging his field of effort to include a study
of the scorpions of the entire United States, and he has issued
a request that persons send in specimens with data regarding
the location, surroundings, and conditions of capture from
anywhere in this country. He is also at work on a project to
find a chemical antidote for scorpionism to replace the serum.
All sera have certain drawbacks which make their use difficult;
then too, it takes time to get fresh supplies all the way from
Mexico City.
Stahnke's recently acquired Ph. D. degree seems to have af-
MAY, 1941 1.7