# Scorpion ID required ASAP please!



## Steve (Apr 8, 2006)

Hi, As some of you who know me are aware i have just moved house. Our last house and yard had an abundance of Black Widows but this was never really too much of an issue. To our relief our new house had none.

Whilst in work tonight my wife called me and said there is a scorpion in the laundry room.

I rush back to find this little critter (about an inch and a half long) on the wall.

I live in Vegas, none of my collegues have heard of Scorpions inside of town and the only ones seen are in the Mohave and spring mountains and differ to this one. (i usually see these in the middle east).

The house i have moved into belonged to a collegue who was in Iraq about 6 months ago.

Can anyone ID this scorpion and confirm my belief it has in fact come from Iraq and isn't likely to turn up in significant numbers in my house.

Here it is:




























Many thanks..

Steve

P.S talk about out of the kettle and into the fire!!


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

I'd post this on some invert forums like maybe the ATS forum or arachnoboards. It looks like some kind of bark scorpion and I wouldn't be surprised if it is native to Nevada.


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## c'est ma (Sep 11, 2004)

From a brief google search (your NV Ag dept. site doesn't seem to have a "publications" page that I could find, even though it refers to one...):

http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/az1223/

http://wc.pima.edu/~bfiero/tucsonecolog ... h_basc.htm

http://agri.state.nv.us/PLANT_Entomology_FAQ.htm

Let us know what you find out! (Are you in Clark Co.?)


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## Steve (Apr 8, 2006)

Hi All,

C'est Ma, yes i am in Clark County. NW Summerlin to be precise. Since this scorpion thing started i have had a few replies in the lounge (i was a bit naughty and put a post in the lounge and in the ID bit as i wanted info quick. Being British we aren't used to finding Scorpions in our homes and with young children it was a little un-nerving).

I have done a load more google search since and the scorpion is in fact a Bark Scorpion. Our luck, the only venemous scorpion in the area!

The final Hint on ID was a site i read which said the Bark scorpion is the only one that lies its tail to the side when resting. This is exactly what this one was doing.

I have also found out that certain areas of summerlin are hot spots for them. No one knows why but they appear in droves at one address and four houses down will have none, even though exterminators fail in most cases to find nesting sites. (bark scorpions usually burrow to around 3 ft underground).

As to date and constant searching at night with a blacklight i have only found this one. Our hope is that it hitched a lift either in our removals truck or on a car and ended up in our laundry room. It may be a one time find and he/she was lost.. maybe.. hopefully. All the same we will now remain vigilant in the checking of closets around the house and in shoes etc. 

If we hadn't found this one we probably wouldn't be as vigilant so maybe finding it was a good thing.

Thanks to you all for replying and as they say.. fore-warned is fore-armed
(i think.. it sounds good anyway).

Best regards,

Steve


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## Danyal (Apr 15, 2006)

i used to have about 16 of those, although scorpians tend to creep me out i don't have much of a problem w/ barks. if you have a small terrarium laying around you should set up a little desert viv for it, they're pretty neat as long as you don't get stung(i accendenally knocked over a jar w/ 7 of them that i was transporting, i caught 6 and the 7th was in my bed that night)


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## josh_r (Feb 4, 2005)

that scorpion looks to be centruroides excilicauda. they belong the the buthidae family which contains all the deadliest species on the planet. it is the only species of scorpion in the U.S. known to kill people (typically the elderly or children) i have kept this species several times and have been stung by this species. the effects of the sting are equal to a severe hangover for about a week from my experience. others react worse with severe fever and trouble breathing, but people very rarely die from a sting. i know several other individuals who have been stung by centruroides excilicauda and had similar reactions as to what i had. now the picture is a little blurry and there are vejovid species that very much resemble C. excilicauda. here are a few traits that compate the two. vejovids are typically strictly ground dwellers. they also cally their tail directly over the body. there are other clues (stinger shape, carapace shape, etc.) but it is too hard to distinguish with the untrained eye. the C. excilicauda will be very common on walls, in trees, cielings, etc. they also move very fluid like. C. excilicauda also very typically holds the tail curled flat off to its side. that is the major clue. if you could post a more clear picture, i could tell you for sure if thats waht you have

-josh


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