Columbretes

“One peculiarity of the Columbretes is the large number of scorpions found there from 15^th May to 15^th September. In the beginning, you couldn’t lift a single rock without finding one or several of these animals underneath. The workers responsible for building the lighthouse would go out at night to wipe the scorpions out, with a resin-covered wooden torch in one hand and, in the other hand, pincers to grab them with. However, the chickens that were introduced did more to hasten the extinction of the scorpions by eating them voraciously. Although the scorpions were not eliminated completely, their numbers were reduced considerably. The workers were bitten countless times, and as a result they had to take medicine to relieve the very sharp pain.”

Urios, G., Nachtwey, J., Translation, Columbretes, 1895, Castellón City Council, 1990.