The one to respect
It is the most venomous scorpion in North America. A sting is very painful, and can be serious for small children.
The desert · Spiders and scorpions
Arizona bark scorpion
Centruroides sculpturatus
A slender, straw-coloured scorpion with thin pincers and a long, thin tail.
- Size
- About 7 to 8cm long
- Look for it
- April to October
- Where
- Rocky desert, trees and houses in Arizona and nearby
Scuttles after you, tail raised. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Bark scorpion
Good to know
Six things about the bark scorpion
It climbs
Unlike most scorpions it climbs walls, trees and ceilings, and often rests upside down.
It glows
Under ultraviolet light it shines bright blue-green, which is how people find it at night.
Thin claws, strong venom
As a rule, a scorpion with slender pincers relies on its sting. One with big pincers relies on those.
It winters in groups
In cold weather twenty or thirty may huddle together in one crack.
Flat enough for any gap
It can squeeze through a gap the thickness of a credit card.
The real thing
Photos of the bark scorpion
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
People in Arizona search their yards at night with an ultraviolet torch. Look on walls and tree trunks, not just the ground.
How to help
Sealing gaps round doors keeps it out of houses. Outside, it eats crickets and cockroaches.
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