![\"Sarah\"](\"http:\/\/nowthatswild.com\/evolution\/images\/sarah2.jpg\")
Bugs. Creepy crawlies. Beasties. Those little critters with exoskeletons- otherwise known as arthropods. The group that includes insects, like bumblebees and cockroaches, arachnids, like spiders and scorpions, and myriapods, like centipedes and millipedes.<\/p>\n
Most bugs are little. Even the ones we think of as being big, like tarantulas or luna moths, are pretty little compared to us and most animals. So if you\u2019re a bug, one thing you have to worry about is that there are probably big animals out there who want to catch you and eat you for lunch. To address this problem several bugs have evolved a lot of really clever ways to stay safe from all those big, hungry animals. Some bugs can run really fast, some are camouflaged, and some have painful stingers. And then there are bugs that have truly unique forms of self-defense.<\/p>\n
One bug that has evolved a distinctive way of protecting itself is a vinegaroon, or whip scorpion. Vinegaroons are arachnids, which means they have eight legs, two body parts and no antennae. They look quite similar to true scorpions, except they\u2019re missing the thick tail with the stinger at the end, and they\u2019re missing the scorpion\u2019s venom that\u2019s in that stinger. Instead, vinegaroons have a flagellum (a thin whip-like appendage \u2013 but from this point on we\u2019ll just call it a tail) that they use as a feeler because they don\u2019t have very good eyesight.<\/p>\n
![\"vinegaroon\"](\"http:\/\/nowthatswild.com\/evolution\/images\/VinegaroonEdited.jpg\")
Vinegaroons have a gland in their abdomens that produces a solution that is mainly acetic acid. Acetic acid is the same acid that\u2019s in vinegar. That\u2019s right \u2013 vinegar. When a vinegaroon feels alarmed or threatened by the presence of a predator, it secretes some of this solution from the base of its tail.<\/p>\n
Now, you may think of vinegar as a tasty ingredient in Italian salad dressing and dill pickles. But in the wild, animals don\u2019t eat salad dressing or dill pickles, and when an animal gets a spray of vinegar in its face, it doesn\u2019t like it very much. It doesn\u2019t like the smell, it doesn\u2019t like the taste, and it doesn\u2019t like the burning that results if the acid gets in its eyes. And if the predator is another arthropod, it doesn\u2019t like the feel of the acid seeping through its exoskeleton. So it may just decide to leave the vinegaroon alone and go in search of more appetizing prey. That little spray of acetic acid is a very effective evolved deterrent against danger.<\/p>\n
So if you\u2019re ever walking around on a summer night in the southwest United States or Mexico and come across a vinegaroon, and you suddenly smell vinegar, you\u2019ll know the critter isn\u2019t happy about meeting you. But, don\u2019t take it personally. To the vinegaroon, you\u2019re just another huge, hungry animal.<\/p>\n
by Sarah Rollin Naughton<\/span> Bugs. Creepy crawlies. Beasties. Those little critters with exoskeletons- otherwise known as arthropods. The group that includes insects, like bumblebees and cockroaches, arachnids, like spiders and scorpions, and myriapods, like centipedes and millipedes. Most bugs are little. Even the ones we think of as being big, like tarantulas or luna moths, are pretty little compared […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-evolution"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\nArachnid, Arthropod & Reptile Specialist: Outreach Educator, Philadelphia Zoo
\nEnvironmental Educator, Churchville Nature Center<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"