Wellesley family finds baby scorpion in luggage after Italy trip

E-mail | Print | Comments () 06/25/2012 12:42 PM

Wellesley Police photo

The scorpion stung one person, but fortunately, because it was a baby, it did not have much venom.

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By Colin A. Young, Globe Correspondent

A Wellesley family found a surprise Sunday afternoon while unpacking from a trip to Italy: A stowaway scorpion. The aggressive arthropod stung one person, who sustained slight injuries, Wellesley police said.

Around 3 p.m., Wellesley police were called to a home where a family member had captured a baby scorpion that had apparently hitched a ride in the family’s luggage.

“The scorpion somehow got in the family’s luggage,” said Sergeant Scott Whittemore. “They went to unpack at the house and a victim was stung.”

The baby scorpion was “quite agitated” when it first crawled out of the luggage, Whittemore said. The woman who was stung was not seriously injured and refused further medical attention after being evaluated by EMTs, Whittemore said.

“Apparently, baby scorpions have very little venom, so it didn’t cause any serious harm,” he said.

Whittemore said the Wellesley fire department took custody of the scorpion, which is an unusual sight in Wellesley.

“Never in my 16 years have I seen a scorpion in Wellesley,” he said.

Colin A. Young can be reached at colin.young@globe.com.