Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion

I went hunting for scorpions last night near Vulture Peak in Wickenburg. This is one of my favorite pastimes on warm summer nights in the Sonoran Desert. There were small scorpions everywhere, but I was on the look out for the elusive Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion. I found this one after about an hour of searching, and getting lost in the desert. Fortunately, I had my cell phone with me and I could see my location, and that I had hiked right past the dirt road leading to my campsite. I was wearing a headlamp and when I looked around I saw the illuminated glowing eyes of about a half dozen coyotes watching me wandering about. I found the dirt road quickly and headed back to camp and then went out exploring again. That's when I found this beauty.

I catch them and take photos, and then release them. They really hate that.

The Blue Wash - Tonto National Forest

On September 15th, I did a night hike down the Blue Wash near Cave Creek.  Night hikes in the summer always bring an unique perspective to Sonoran Desert, and it's fun to look for scorpions.

Stripe Tailed Scorpion

Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion

On the 4th of July, instead of watching fireworks in Wickenburg, Arizona, I went scorpion hunting. No people and no traffic to deal with, just scorpions that might sting me, and cause a lot of pain, but hey, that would be my fault, and I'm willing to accept that possibility. Besides I was looking for Giant Desert Hairy Scorpions which have a weak venom. But someday I will probably get stung, and then I'll write about it.

Click on image for a larger photo

Click on image for a larger photo

Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion

Yesterday, I received my new 100 LED Ultra Violet flashlight in the mail, so I did some scorpion hunting in my campsite last night. Within 30 seconds of turning it on I was rewarded with a Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion (hadrurus arizonesis).  I spent the next hour finding scorpions about every 5 minutes. The desert floor surrounding my campsite was covered with hundreds of scorpions. They were all in the grass or hiding under bushes. Lots of Desert Hairy Scorpions and Stripe Tailed Scorpions. I poked the Desert Hairy Scorpion in the photo with a stick to get it in the defensive position.

Giant Desert Hairy Scorpions are native to the Sonoran and Mojave desert. They are the largest scorpions in North America, and typically live 7 to 10 years in the wild. In the winter they go dormant, living underground in their burrows. Their venom is fairly weak compared to other scorpions. They range in size from 4 to 6 inches.

The venom of North American hairy scorpions is fairly week compared to most scorpions.

The venom of North American hairy scorpions is fairly week compared to most scorpions.

Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion

My 100 LED Ultra Violet flashlight

Bark Scorpion - Saguaro National Park West

Last night, I went on a hike with a herpetologist, Lawrence L. C. Jones, MS, and a park ranger from Saguaro National Park West looking for scorpions. I sure did learn a lot, like where to find them, their behavior, and how to tell the different species apart. We saw Bark Scorpions, Desert Hairy Scorpions, Striped Tailed Scorpions, Bajada Dune Scorpions, and Yellow Ground Scorpions. We also found a Western Thread Snake. 

Scorpions play a very important role in nature.  They are predators that prey on large numbers of insects.  Thus, scorpions are a form of natural pest control and in wild areas, scorpions should not be killed just becasue they are scorpions. 

Bark Scorpion