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Scorpion alarm in Wetzlar: Police trigger animal misunderstanding
A woman in Wetzlar alerts the police about a supposed scorpion that turns out to be a stag beetle.
Scorpion alarm in Wetzlar: Police trigger animal misunderstanding
On the night of Wednesday, June 25, 2025, a police operation was triggered in Wetzlar in the Lahn-Dill district due to an unusual call. A worried woman alerted the police because she discovered what appeared to be a scorpion on her balcony. The animal was described as large, black, with claws and a curved tail. Such alerts are rare, but not unusual, as reported by the Giessen General shows.
During their investigation, the police officers who arrived quickly discovered that there was no cause for alarm: the supposed scorpion was actually a stag beetle. Although these impressive insects are not poisonous, their appearance can cause quite a bit of terror. The stag beetle was safely captured and released into the wild, calming the situation and ending a bizarre misunderstanding happily.
Another hot topic of the night
At the same time, a completely different incident occurred in Wiesbaden-Amöneburg. A fire broke out in a landfill there around midnight, caused by a pile of bulky waste about 10 to 15 meters high. A tragic coincidence that the fire brigade was particularly challenged at the same time as the police operation in Wetzlar. Around 60 emergency services had to be deployed to fight the fire. The tight storage of the waste made extinguishing it a challenging task. Excavators and wheel loaders were used to remove the clay layers and effectively fight the fire, as in Hesse show reported.
As the cloud of smoke was visible from a distance, nearby residents were warned to keep windows and doors closed as a precaution. The all-clear finally came at 3 a.m. after the situation was brought under control. However, two of the company's employees who helped the firefighters were treated for minor smoke inhalation.
Background: Insect monitoring in Germany
Such incidents shed light on the diversity of insects in Germany. The Insect monitoring aims to collect targeted information about the most popular insect species across the country. National sampling areas are intended to record not only common species, but also rare and endangered species. This allows conclusions to be drawn about the health of ecosystems, which also play an essential role in the production of habitats for insects.
In this sense, the discovery of a stag beetle is not only a curious occurrence, but also an indication of the importance of paying attention to the biodiversity that exists around us. Collaboration with specialist associations and museums is sought to make insect monitoring even more effective and to expand our understanding of these often overlooked creatures.