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WTSP (Tampa Bay, Florida) 21 February 06 Mechanics believe emperor scorpion killed 3 shop cats (Dave Balut)
Pinellas Park, Florida: At National Auto Service on 49th Street North, mechanics like Terry LaMarca can have some stressful moments.
Terry LaMarca, Mechanic: "It could be from not getting parts on time to getting a car from up north that hasn't been taken care of real well and everything's corroded."
So when he needs to calm down, LaMarca goes behind the shop to visit his friends. LaMarca and his co-workers have been taking care of the cats behind the shop, for years.
Terry LaMarca: "Gives it the homey atmosphere because I have pets at home and I have pets here."
Jeanette Hannett, Owns National Auto Service: "I think they tend to calm the men a lot because their jobs are extremely stressful and if they sit and pat a cat for awhile, of course it reduces the stress for them."
But shop owner Jeannette Hannett says her mechanics have found three of their young cats dead in the past month. And now they think they know why.
Jeanette Hannett: "When I first saw it, I thought, oh my God, it looks like a black lobster."
Terry LaMarca: "Not good, scary, freaky."
A dark brown emperor scorpion, measuring more than six inches long was found on a dirt pile behind the shop.
The scorpion stung mechanic Steven McCallie, who caught it and killed it with some chemicals.
Steven McCallie, Mechanic: "They get out there playing with them and they sting them, got me had to get the cats."
McCallie and the other mechanics plans to keep digging to make sure there aren't any more emperor scorpions around.
Terry LaMarca: "I wouldn't want to lose any more of our friends over that."
No autopsies were done on the cats so mechanics don't know for sure how they died.
The manager of a Petland store in Largo believes the emperor scorpion could have killed the cats but a reptile keeper at Lowry Park Zoo disagrees.
Heidi Hughes says emperor scorpions are large, but relatively harmless with weak venom like a bee sting.
Hughes thinks it's more likely the cats died from a viral infection.
Wes Note: Dear Hot People: I realise that this is the 2nd time in two weeks that I've posted on venomous 'bugs', and I realise that this is a 'hot herp' venue, but from time-to-time the hot 'bug' concerns, events and public perceptions seem to mirror your own. My apologies to the 'bug'-philes amongst you - I don't know what the proper term of reference is.
Respects
Wes
Mechanics believe emperor scorpion killed 3 shop cats
