Book Scorpion - Chelifer cancroides

The book scorpion (Chelifer cancroides) is the best-known representative of the pseudoscorpions in Central Europe. The animal, which is only a few millimeters in size, also occurs in the living environment of humans, where it is useful as a hunter of dust and book lice as well as house dust mites. The book scorpion is harmless to humans, it cannot penetrate human skin with its claws.

The book scorpion also lives and hunts behind loose wallpaper and in dusty books or files. Therefore its name. Prey is grasped with the pedipalp scissors and venom is injected from a venom gland in the tip of the scissor finger. A hole is then bitten into the body and digestive fluid is pumped into the prey in order to then suck it out.