Hello fellow nature enthusiasts. Tonight's Daily Nature Fix is about the first time I ever saw a scorpion(s) in the wild. Scorpions are awesome creatures, but they're not something you come by very often here in Pennsylvania. I spotted these guys while camping in Death Valley last year. I believe they are of the Paruroctonus genus, but I don't know their identity for sure.
As you can see, I bought a UV flashlight for the trip. I was hoping to spot some scorpions at night, but I wasn't actually expecting to find any. On the first night, after we got our tent set up, we walked out a bit into the barren scrub land and started searching. I immediately saw something glowing on the ground but I figured it was just litter or some other rubbish. Nope! It was a scorpion. Scorpions glow like this under a black light, in case you didn't know. They're not even 100% sure what causes it. Even the big black scorpions you'd see at a pet store do this. Very strange, but helpful when you're trying to find some.
^^^Here's the same scorpion as in the above photo, but under a normal flashlight. I think it MIGHT be paruroctonus silvestrii, but again I don't know for sure. As we started to look around, we realized they were EVERYWHERE. lol There were areas where the populations were so dense, I was worried about crushing one with every step. A couple were within 10 feet of our campsite even, but none closer than that. I think all the commotion and campfire kept them at bay.
^^^I even saw quite a few babies, like this one. It's hard to tell but that's a little one on the palm of my hand. I probably left it's mother's back no more than 2 or 3 days ago. It was a really cool experience and was something I was able to check off of my mini-bucket list. Finding some wild tarantulas is next! BTW, all scorpions were just photographed and then left where they were found. No harm was inflicted!
Thanks for reading! I post a nature-themed Daily Nature Fix blog every day. Please upvote if you enjoyed it and be sure to follow me @customnature so you'll never miss one! See you tomorrow. - Adam
***Daily Nature Fix is a daily blog showcasing the natural world. It is all original content using photos, stories, and experiences from my own travels.***
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