Bark Scorpion

The bark scorpion is native to the Sonoran Desert region of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, including much of Arizona and parts of California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. It is one of the more slender-bodied scorpion species found in North America.

Its name comes from its distinctive habit of climbing, often found clinging to tree bark, rock crevices, and building walls rather than remaining on the ground, a behavior less common among scorpions overall.

• Slender, uniformly pale yellowish-tan body without dark banding or blotches
• Thin, narrow pincers (pedipalps), unlike the heavy, oversized claws of species such as the emperor scorpion
• Long, thin tail relative to body size
• Fluoresces bright blue-green under ultraviolet or blacklight illumination, as most scorpions do
• Often found clinging upside down to bark, rock overhangs, or wall crevices rather than on open ground

This species is found throughout the Sonoran Desert and adjoining arid regions of Arizona, southeastern California, southern Nevada, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. It favors rocky outcrops, tree bark, palm fronds, and crevices in structures, and is capable of climbing smooth vertical surfaces.

The bark scorpion is nocturnal, remaining hidden in crevices, under bark, or beneath rocks during the day and emerging at night to hunt. It is one of relatively few scorpion species that regularly climbs trees, walls, and rock faces, sometimes clinging to surfaces upside down. It preys on insects and other small arthropods, using its venom primarily to subdue prey rather than for defense, which it reserves for when it feels directly threatened.

Like all scorpions, the bark scorpion is viviparous, giving birth to live young that climb onto the mother's back shortly after birth for protection during their first vulnerable molt. Juveniles undergo several molts over roughly one year as they grow toward adult size, and adults can live for multiple years in favorable desert conditions.