Vejovis carolinianus

[Tim R.]

Scropion hunt...
I always wanted to do this, and found that we have not only a native species in Western N.C. but two stowaways. Centruroides vittatus, and Centruroides hentzi have made there way in through goods being shipped here. Ken,a friend of mine and I found three Vejovis carolinianus last night with the help of a black light. We only manadged to capture one. Ken has that one in his collection now but we're going back for 1 or 2 more...it's one Very cool looking scorp, dark smokey gray with plumb color pedipalps. I found this one of all places trapped in an old spider web hanging by it's telson...what an easy catch. The other two were quick to use the cracks in the old barn walls, it broke my heart to walk away knowing they were two inches from my hand. One thing I learned last night was that not only scorps glow under a black light but so do a number of other critters, including nightcrawlers, spiders, and millipedes.

Does anyone know anything about this scorp? There's very little about them on the web.

 

[jper26]

Post some pics of what you catch.

 

[Tim R.]

Doh...I forgot to add the pic They're the best I could get so far, my digicam's not that great. I'll try to get better ones later.

 

[Kugellager]

Thats not a bad pic. Nice little Vaejovis fat tailed scorp.

John
];')

 

[TheWidowsPeak]

I don't think that carolinianus... the ones I catch don't have that fat tail?

 

[Kugellager]

Vaejovis carolinianus is pretty much the only species it can be. It is the only species reported from North Carolina.

The stowaway species cited above would only be found in one or two places ifthey were established...almost certainly not where these were found.

John
];')

 

[scorpio]

Wow, and I thought my emperors were tiny. I havent seen too many scorps in person, but I hope to keep a few more in the future, but anyways, im not too familiar with size.
Cool lookin scorp. I also get a kick out of putting my emps under the black light every once in a while. Im tempted to pick them up carelessly since they look like glow in the dark plastic toys.

 

[Wade]

To find the introduced NC species, look around barbecue resturants, common all over the state. The scorps were most likley brought in on mequite wood which is imported from the west. Many rural barbecue joints stack this stuff in the back.

Wade

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Nice scorps! Sounds like you may have saved that one from an untimely death!! nice job!

Probably everything you need to know for keeping this scorp alive and well is told to you by the environment in which you captured it. Or at least a lot of what you need to know!

 

[jper26]

Paul have you ever caught any of these near your house?

 

[Tim R.]

Thanks Everyone...and thanks for the tip Wade. Yea phoenixxavierre he did'nt look to happy hanging in that web

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Originally posted by jper26
Paul have you ever caught any of these near your house?

Joe, No I haven't. There are no scorps that I'm aware of on the east side of this state.

 

[Wade]

Originally posted by phoenixxavierre
Joe, No I haven't. There are no scorps that I'm aware of on the east side of this state.

Check around some of those barbecue joints and steak houses....

According to an article in the January '03 issue of "Wildlife in North Carolina" magazine, C vittatus has been found in several locations, including Rocky Mount, Dare County and even in downtown Raleigh.

C. hentzi has turned up in Brunswick and Carteet counties, in a dorm at Duke University as well as other locales.

Wade

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Originally posted by Wade
Check around some of those barbecue joints and steak houses....

According to an article in the January '03 issue of "Wildlife in North Carolina" magazine, C vittatus has been found in several locations, including Rocky Mount, Dare County and even in downtown Raleigh.

C. hentzi has turned up in Brunswick and Carteet counties, in a dorm at Duke University as well as other locales.

Wade

Wow!

I'll check around! Thanks!

Paul

 

[scorpio]

Anybody ever hear of a Scorp in Michigan? Lol. I dont see anything cool here. It gets too cold in the winter. The most exciting thing Ive ever seen was a 2 inch orby spider.

 

[XOskeletonRED]

I have several wc V. carolinianus, one adult female who just gave birth the other week. She measures at about an inch. The young appear to be little brown dots on the wood. *lol*


adios,
edw.

 

[Tim R.]

Cool XOskeletonRED ,
I bet they are tiny Where did ya find yours, under rocks, barn walls etc...?

Any care tips?

 

[jper26]

Is there a reason I rarely have ever seen these on any dealers lists?

 

[Wade]

Probably because they're so small only the most serious scorp enthusiests would be interested. Really big ones may be 2", but most are considerably less, especially those from the northern end of the range. Rubio's book has a pic of one sitting on a dime.

Wade

 

[XOskeletonRED]

Tim R.,

I keep a large wood pile in the back yard which I have been partially searching through in order to locate them. They are also very prone to show up in locations such as stacks of roofing shingles. All of this species I have located has been located in a pile of something that holds humidity pretty well (rotting wood, shingles, etc.).

And yes, like Wade said, they are not considered to be desireable, due to their dull (moreso than many) coloration, in combination with small size. I believe them to be amongst my favs, but heck, what scorpion species isn't a fav? They are so small that you can't help but like them and yes, they even run from their food (I can almost decimate a cricket and if the antenna moves, they are gone *lol*).



adios,
edw. =D


PS: My female, when gravid, might have pulled off 1.25 inches at best. The young are a much lighter brown.