Centruroides vittatus

[cannabeast]

Got stung by Striped Bark Scorpion (Centruroides vittatus), outside of Dallas, Texas a while back. This one I caught wild, and was holding him in captivity for a while. Was used to handling scorpions, had never been stung and haven't been stung since then. Somebody told me if you press their back they won't like it and will sting. Wanted to know what it felt like, and purposely pressed an adult on his back with right index finger very slowly and watching very closely. He stung of course in what seemed like milliseconds, less time than what my eyes could see. I immediately, not by choice flung him across the room by some sort of reflex, and had to search for him again, and did find him and put him back in his tank. It was much worse than i had imagined it would be! For the first 5 min. it seemed like somebody held a cigarette lighter on my index finger constantly burning me! My finger started turning red, and a bit violet. for the next 4 hours it tingled and was in semi-intense pain. Near the end of the day, 12 hours later, it still felt like it was tingly, like when your arm or leg goes to sleep from not having blood circulation to it, but it wasn't in pain anymore. The next morning all symptoms were gone.

These guys have funny behavior. For example they stay still until you touch them, and then they run really really fast. Easy to find and catch in the summertime if you live in TX! Just pick em up by the tail they wont sting but don't press on his back unless you want this to happen to ya!
~HappyHunting~

 

[MizM]

Leander, TX:
Was woken up at 4 a.m. this morning by the feeling of a red hot needle in the back of my arm. Jumped up and turned on the lights but found nothing. Inspected the wound and saw about 2" radius of reddened skin. Burning pain equal to about 2-3 times of a wasp sting. Went back to bed and woke to find the cats or dog had gotten an adult C. vittatus, so I can only assume she was responsible. Still a mild stinging at 11 a.m., but it's now 1:30 p.m. and no pain or after effects.

 

[SkyeSpider]

I was stung six times by an adult female two days ago. She wandered into a pair of scrub pants I'd left on the floor overnight.

When I put the pants on, I was initially stung twice on the back of my right thigh. These didn't hurt too bad. It felt like I'd snagged a couple of hairs and ripped them out. Then, she gave me the full force of her venom in the next four stings. I wouldn't be surprised if I got every last drop she had before I got my pants off.

I'm quite familiar with pain, unfortunately. From being covered in 200+ hours of tattoos, having hundreds of body piercings over the years, suspending, scarification, and finally having several surgeries on my right arm that left my hand crippled. I'm very well aquatinted with the pain scale. I've experienced 10s which have caused my body to shut down and I've blacked out, so I don't say something hurts lightly.

The initial stings registered on the pain scale at a 7– higher than even tattooing the back of my knee (my most painful spot). The pain was so intense that it took me a while to get my bearings and get my pants back off. Once they were off, I saw her walk back to a covered spot inside of them.

I called for my wife, who's a nurse. She kept me calm to prevent shock. After about two minutes, the pain was still at a 6, and I was light headed and dizzy. My leg convulsed for about ten minutes, then calmed down.

I went to the ER due to the severity. The doctor saw all six stings, but gave me nothing and sent me on my way.

For the first 24 hours, the pain hovered around a constant 4, going up to a 5 when sitting on it. Other than pain and a nasty headache, no symptoms persisted after the first hour.

Before going to bed that night, I started to get a sore throat and a stuffy nose. For the next 48 hours, it felt like I had a nasty cold (runny nose, stuffy sinuses, headache). I'm unsure if this is related, but it seemed relevant to add. I noticed that no one in here mentioned this as a symptom of their stings, but I was also stung worse than anyone else, it seems. Such would be my luck.

I ended up catching the scorpion who stung me and decided to keep her as a pet. I'm seriously impressed and humbled by the power of her sting. I named her Scrubs.

 

[Fulene]

C. Vittatus SURPRISE!

I rolled over in bed at 5 AM one morning and felt a red hot needle in my upper forearm. Realizing I had definitely been stung by SOMETHING, I carefully searched the covers and the floor around the bed,
finding nothing. I went to the can, and while sitting there half asleep, I saw a movement on my p j top. I looked down and there was a mature C Vittatus, which I instinctively flicked off my top. It ran
and slithered down a crack at the edge of the wall. I put ice and a baking soda/ water poultice on the
sting site.
The initial pain subsided fairly soon but there was a bit of tingling and aching in the whole upper arm
for the rest of the day. In Oklahoma this summer these guys are EVERYWHERE. I am super vigilant
about checking my bedding before bed and shaking out clothes and shoes and not leaving things on the floor. We also have Brown Recluses EVERYWHERE this summer. " Recluse" is a misnomer.
A black widow is reclusive.

 

[TheScorpionMan]

sting

I've been tagged a couple times by these. Never were very bad. Worst was about an hour and a half of stinging pain and swelling

 

[MrDeranged]

New sting report item for this species has been created and can be found here.