Have you heard of little book scorpions?

If you have old books at home, it is likely that there are small scorpions inside the pages. And while you find them weird, they are extremely important in preserving the good condition of your volumes. It turns out that these tiny beings like to eat book lice, which are responsible for chewing on the glues that hold the pages together - that is, these little scorpions are doing a great preservation favor, even though they look a little disgusting.

However, we need to clarify that even though they are similar to scorpions, they are not really scorpions. Called pseudo-scorpions, they are too tiny (less than 1 centimeter) to hurt any human being - so avoid killing them if you find these pets among your books.

A welcome intruder

Pseudoscorpions can only be found in places where truly ancient books are stored. This is because newer books use another type of collage that so-called book lice cannot eat - and consequently mini scorpions cannot survive without food for them. On the other hand, if you have old books, it is very likely that there are some lice in their midst.

In that case, you will want the scorpions to lodge there (and you can do a few things to help in the process). For that to happen, buy a few older volumes, don't clean the shelves excessively, and never kill the little scorpions you find on the pages - they may be saving several stories. Below is a video with an example of the harmless book scorpion: