![]() ![]() What happens if a scorpion stings you?Īccording to the article “Scorpions of the Desert Southwest United States” by Dawn H. Nair said the Arizona bark scorpion is the only one in the state that is "medically significant," or likely to cause dangerous symptoms. Very few scorpion deaths have been reported in the U.S. Here's everything you need to know about these eight-legged creatures, including what to do if you get stung.īut does it work? This mom found a hack to keep scorpions out of her baby's crib Are scorpions in Arizona poisonous?Īccording to the Mayo Clinic, scorpion stings can hurt but are “rarely life-threatening.” ![]() “I think scorpions are really fascinating predatory arachnids, that are actually (distributed) worldwide, and we have some really cool species in the desert Southwest and especially in Arizona,” Nair said. Shaku Nair, an entomologist and associate in extension at the University of Arizona, said scorpions are more related to spiders and ticks than to insects. Scorpions can be a fear for many people due to their pincers, stingers and venom. Whether you’re an Arizona native or just visiting, you've almost certainly wondered about scorpions.Ībout 40 to 60 species of these arachnids live in the Grand Canyon State, according to the Arizona Department of Agriculture. He has lived with his wife, Flo, in Moapa since 1997.View Gallery: 10 of Arizona's creepiest, crawliest inhabitants But when a black light emitting UV light was shone upon the blindfolded individuals, their bodies glowed and the individuals became active as if it was dark.īy this test, it seems that scorpions need and use UV light to ‘know’ when it is the right time to get out and hunt and do other things that scorpions do.Īt this point, nothing has been concluded about any of this, and the search for answers goes on.īruce Lund is a retired biologist and has a lifelong love of nature instilled by his grandparents and some remarkable teachers. One bit of evidence of a connection is that when scorpions were blindfolded by covering their eyes with foil, the scorpions remained inactive as if they could not detect whether it was dark or daylight. Since scorpions’ bodies fluoresce under ultraviolet light, scientists are trying to see if there is a connection. On the other hand, we know that scorpions are most active at night, and that this is also when ultraviolet light is at its strongest from starlight and moonlight (the UV is still dim, but is stronger relative to other forms of light radiation). If glowing had a function like helping scorpions to find mates (like flashing of the fireflies) or to attract prey (like some deep ocean fish), we would expect to see scorpions to turn on their glow at will. On the one hand, it may be that the glow is nothing more than chance – that scorpions simply possess a protein in their exoskeleton that reacts to UV light by fluorescing their blue-green color. Desert Scorpions are a drab tan color in all other kinds of light (Photo by Bruce Lund) WHY scorpions ‘glow’ under the influence of ultraviolet light is a mystery that scientists are still trying to solve. Thus when a black light (which emits ultraviolet radiation that is invisible to our eyes) is shone on this type of scorpion, it chemically reacts with a protein in the scorpion’s exoskeleton and emits the blue-green light (glow) which our eyes can see. Flourescence is where one kind of light radiation causes a chemical reaction that emits a different kind of light radiation. Just how scorpions manage to ‘glow’ is explained by the physics of fluorescence. This included the ‘glowing’ Hairy Desert Scorpion which is our largest scorpion and a common one in our area. Using black light flashlights, the kind available at local hardware stores, participants discovered lots of scorpions out and about at the Bat Night event held at the Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge a couple of weeks ago. By BRUCE LUND A Hairy Desert Scorpion found the Moapa Valley Wildlife Refuge a couple of weeks ago glows an eerie blue/green when a black light is shined upon it.
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