Category Archives: Other Arachnids

Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion

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The Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion is the largest scorpion in North America, reaching lengths of 6 inches.

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They have sensory hairs can detect air movement up to a foot away. They also have a long tail that is tipped with a bulb-like poison gland and stinger as well as large pinchers and four pairs of legs.

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This creature burrows deep in the desert soil and often follows the moisture line, creating burrows as deep as 8 feet below the surface. It emerges from its burrow at night to hunt. Its nocturnal habits allow it to withstand the extreme heat of its desert habitat.

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The scorpion’s large size allows it to feed on other scorpions as well as a variety of other prey, including desert insects, spiders, centipedes and small vertebrates, such as lizards.

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As with all scorpions, the Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion bears live offspring. As the babies are born, they quickly crawl up their mother’s pincers and legs and onto her back where they will safely ride for about one week. After that they leave their mother and are independent.

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Scorpions are the oldest known terrestrial arthropods, having been on earth for 430 million years. Finding this ancient creature that still makes a living in modern times and in a harsh environment was one of the highlights of visiting the Mojave Desert.

Third Eye Herp
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American Giant Millipede

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Although the name millipede means “thousand legs,” most millipedes have more like 300; a California species, Illacme plenipes, holds the record at 666 legs.

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It’s hard enough for us to just count these legs, so it’s a real wonderment that a millipede is able to coordinate them all and move about so effortlessly by night on the forest floor.

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To prevent dehydration, they are confined to moist habitats in soils, leaf litter, or beneath stones and wood. If disturbed some millipedes protect their heads by curling into a tight spiral.

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Most millipedes feed on decomposing vegetation or organic matter mixed with soil. Millipedes are very important, because they help put nutrients back in the soil for plants and other organisms to use.

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This particular type of millipede can get to 4 inches long, making it twice as big as any other millipede native to the United States.

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In the Fall these can be seen migrating across roads, seeking places of shelter to wait out the Winter. They are not particularly common in northern Ohio, but become easier to find as you head south.

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Northwest Forest Scorpion

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Although scorpions are usually associated with deserts, they actually occupy a range of habitats from coastal beaches to mountains to tropical rainforests.

Their large front claws and long tail featuring a stinger at the end of it allow them to be easily recognized. Because of their secretive habits, scorpions are seldom seen – even in places where they are common.

The Northwest Forest Scorpion may be encountered under rocks, logs and in burrows. It is medium-sized, ranging from 2-3 inches. It is a communal, rather shy and a slow-to-act scorpion, preferring to play dead or hide rather than sting. All scorpions are venomous, though few are dangerous to humans.

Like its relatives, the Northwest Forest Scorpion will eat anything it can catch, though its diet mainly consists of insects. After dark they leave the safety of their shelters and either actively seek out or lie in wait to ambush prey.

A really cool thing about scorpions is that they glow under a UV light and it just so happens that I have a UV flashlight with me in this trip. The glowing is thought to attract insects (some of which apparently can see UV light) at night.

Third Eye Herp
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