BajaNomad

Are There Many Scorpions Where You Live?

DavidE - 4-15-2013 at 09:25 AM

Are there BARK SCORPIONS in northeast Baja California? Summer only problem in your area? Color?

I have to admit, at home in Michoacan on the coast is the worst area I have ever lived in for "alacranes". They have really long tails, and many of them are dark. The black ones can be two-inches long overall!

Have you ever seen an "Emperor Scorpion". An insect expert told me not to kill one if I see one because their top choice for food is Other Scorpions.

PS: They're pretty rare in the Bahia Asuncion area. All scorpions that is.

vgabndo - 4-15-2013 at 11:30 AM

Baja California Bark Scorpion (Centruroides exilicauda) is common over much of Baja California. Exilicauda basically means 'long skinny tail'.

The Superstition mountain cave dwelling scorpions (superstitionia donensis) are black and the Army bug guy, Stockwell, who claimed to have been stung by more species of bugs than anyone alive, claims they live in Baja. They too are equivalent to a wasp sting.



I'd like to know more about the scorpion that Dr. Gary Polis documented that can live for 40 minutes under salt water, and lives in the inter-tidal zones of Baja.

I'm no expert, but I have been studying them for a while.

mcfez - 4-15-2013 at 12:27 PM

Arizona bark scorpion ....... scientific name of the Arizona bark scorpion is Centruroides sculpturatus. The Baja California bark scorpion is a separate species.
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=379856671330


We have them' critters in San Felipe. I must say though......have only seen three in 14 years. Small and fast :-)

mulegemichael - 4-15-2013 at 02:03 PM

many many many in mulege....everytime we have the flowers cut off our date palms, our pruner, chuey, finds quite a few....he's be stung several times and has had to go to the hospital 4 times with seizures....while pruning last spring he found an exceptionally large one, P-nched it by the tail, and brought it down to show us...cajones of brass!

Paulina - 4-15-2013 at 06:30 PM

We see the yellow ones in Bahia all the time. They can get pretty big. This guy was hiding under this Coke can. I'm glad I kicked it prior to picking it up.





I've seen only one other scorpion that would have probably been bigger, if I had seen it's entire body. I was using an outdoor shower when two yellow arms as big as McDonald's french fries came out from under the wall right behind my feet. It was scooping the water into it's hiding place by stretching it's arms out wide, then pulling them back in, claws together. It was thirsty.

P>*)))>{

Ateo - 4-15-2013 at 06:33 PM

Never seen one here in Oceanside!!!! I'll never forget the ones I've seen in San Juanico!!! Pulling down the tent and rolling it up only to find 4 of these buggers.

Ateo - 4-15-2013 at 06:36 PM

One year we rented a casa at Scorpion Bay and kept noticing a dead scorpion that was on top of a 6' bookcase. After a few tequilas we took a closer look only to find it was alive!!!! It had been in the same place for a few hours. Strange behavior for a scorpion right?????

Ateo - 4-15-2013 at 06:53 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by willardguy
Quote:
Originally posted by Ateo
One year we rented a casa at Scorpion Bay and kept noticing a dead scorpion that was on top of a 6' bookcase. After a few tequilas we took a closer look only to find it was alive!!!! It had been in the same place for a few hours. Strange behavior for a scorpion right?????
were his eyes sewed shut? what? we're done with the carlos stuff? sorry:no:


Ha ha ha.......

Totally serious. But there was that crow in the refrigerator. I later jumped off 5th point only to turn into pure energy.

But seriously, it was a live scorp on a bookshelf. Maybe he was a literate scorp? =)

Ateo - 4-15-2013 at 07:38 PM

Proof:



Dog going after scorpion:





Brand new truck: 1 Week old



What I was really scared about :



[Edited on 4-16-2013 by Ateo]

vgabndo - 4-15-2013 at 07:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by mcfez
Arizona bark scorpion ....... scientific name of the Arizona bark scorpion is Centruroides sculpturatus. The Baja California bark scorpion is a separate species.


True, but the taxonomy of scorpions is VERY confusing. To tell the difference you'd have to chemically test the venom, or run a DNA test! They were considered basically the same until about 2004.

Bob H - 4-15-2013 at 08:12 PM

I have never seen a scorpion here in San Diego, living here about 6 or 7 miles inland in North County. But, we have had tarantula spiders a few times!

willardguy - 4-15-2013 at 08:17 PM

HURRIKANE, their tribute band was in rosarito this last weekend, sorry no review.





[Edited on 4-16-2013 by willardguy]

cessna821 - 4-16-2013 at 01:57 AM

In Mulege most of the river bank properties have scorpions in significant numbers.

The answer is to live higher. We are in Loma Azul and there are very few around there.

One answer is to have a gecko or two in your house, they hunt at night and keep them down. Home Defense spray works quite well around the outside door steps.

paranewbi - 4-16-2013 at 05:10 AM

Don't hang your beach towel in any palapa around Bola...threw it over my shoulder and had one go down my shirt. Got me 3 times in the side before I could get that shirt off.

grace59 - 4-16-2013 at 05:59 AM

I've seen 3 small Bark Scorpions in San Felipe in my back yard. They were yellow... small...about 3 inches with long thin tails. This was in the middle of the summer heat. I have to admit that I went out hunting for them with my blacklight flashlight....I got it through Amazon for about 15 dollars. When you shine it on the ground any scorpion the beam lands on shines like a yellow glow stick! I then disposed of them with a can of something that looks like Raid, but has a scorpion on the front! I have bad reactions to wasp stings and hope that doesn't happen with a scorpion sting.:?:

Scorpions are all over the place..

Pompano - 4-16-2013 at 09:34 AM

There appears to be scorpions that are widespread from at least as far north as Alberta, Canada..into western North Dakota from personal experience... and seemingly every state all the way to Baja & mainland Mexico.

It might be easier to find what place does NOT have them.

Baja Sur.

There are plenty of scorpions in and around mi old casa in Coyote Bay south of Mulege. Bark types and the huge desert hairy ones. I've found it almost impossible to not be 'greeted' by one in any given year since the early 70's.

One on my neighbors was pretty unlucky a few years back. In a single day he was stung by a scorpion 3 times..and bitten by a black widow once. Whew, poor fellow got a Severe ouch and a got a quick trip to San Diego via airplane with another neighbor.

I have a large sunken bathtub with smooth tiled sides that always traps a scorpion or two during the summer months I am gone. I came back one year to find 7 dead ones that couldn't climb out. I shed a tear...NOT.

One year, I did find sympathy for a large black tarantula trapped in my bath, though...and helped him find freedom & happiness...and like a lab puppy, it loved my sneaker.

Curt63 - 4-16-2013 at 02:12 PM

We look for them


EWWWWWWWWW!!!

DavidE - 4-16-2013 at 02:41 PM

Cypress - 4-16-2013 at 03:12 PM

None of those little stinging bugs, but there are some large animals that will eat you for lunch.:biggrin:

docsmom - 4-22-2013 at 08:00 PM

first one in the house here in Tucson about 3 weeks ago. I think the gatos bring them in from the garage because they're always almost or completely dead. Still worries me though.