Isometrus maculatus

[Extensionofgreen]

On vacation in Hawaii and spent a couple hours looking for these guys. Pretty hard to find, but hard work paid off! Thinking I have 2 females and probably the one on the twig is gravid.

 

[TheScorpionMan]

On vacation in Hawaii and spent a couple hours looking for these guys. Pretty hard to find, but hard work paid off! Thinking I have 2 females and probably the one on the twig is gravid.

Awesome finds!

 

[Scorpionluva]

Glad you got to enjoy vacation by hunting for scorps lol
That's exactly what I'd do on vacation also
Congrats on the finds and I hope you're correct and have a brood of them soon

 

[Stugy]

Awesome! Such a gorgeous species.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

So, after researching on my own and asking locals and other scorpion friends, it seems Isometrus maculatus is not a common thing to see on Oahu. A google search of “Isometrus maculatus on Oahu” lists a pest control agency, which provides some information about the scorpions and advertises to call them if there is a scorpion problem. I called them to ask where they might get the most calls from. They’ve never had such a call and the gentlemen living in Hawaii for 51 years has only seen one, the entire duration of his life, so far!
I am supposing there are several explanations.
One explanation is that scorpions are secretive and unless very abundant, can easily stay out of sight from people not aware of or looking for them.
Secondly, they prefer dryer areas and these areas are often beyond the beaches, where most people are. I would suspect most of people finding them are homeowners, on the dryer side of the island.
The final portion of the explanation is that they are just here and that doesn’t mean they are here abundantly. There may be abundant populations in specific areas, but they certainly aren’t infesting every piece of loose bark, debris, leaf litter, loose boards, or piles of rubble. There are lots of large pedes and tiny geckos, in these locations, however.
I’m not finished hunting and hope to find a few more.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

5 more little angels.....

 

[pannaking22]

Great finds! Agreed in your first two shots, those are female. Second one could be gravid. For your other shots:
1. 2 female(?)
2. female
3. male
4. female

That's good to know more about their habits and habitats too.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

Out of 7 total, I believe I have 2 mature males, 4 mature or nearly mature females, and a juvenile.

Another interesting not about their habits in nature; in contrast with the photo where the 2 are resting near one another in the bark, I have not found any together. Every single one of them was found under its own piece of rubble, board, or rock. I would say these guys aren’t communal, like many other “bark” scorpions, and they may be better off being considered terrestrial, rather than bark/arboreal scorpion, since peeling away bark on dead trees yielded no specimens, but turning over native rock, concrete rubble, and boards, provided all of my specimens. That doesn’t mean that they don’t sometimes climb or are never found in trees, under bark, but just like Florida C.gracilis, many more are found on the ground than in the trees.

 

[brandontmyers]

Actually, that brings up a good point. Many of the scorpions that are considered 'bark' scorpions seem to be much more inclined to live under rocks, leaf litter, debris, etc. I would assume that they are more opportunistic than anything.

 

[pannaking22]

While I was doing fieldwork in Florida I noticed that C. hentzi was pretty opportunistic. If it was an area without a lot of fallen logs they tended to be under the bark of still standing trees. However, I found several under debris on the ground. I wondered if that was in part because of all the assassin bugs I was finding under the bark?

 

[Extensionofgreen]

I only have first hand knowledge of 3 “bark” scorpion species, in their natural habitats. In all cases, they were found in terrestrial locations. With my captive animals, some species live a vertical existence, but it’s questionable as to whether it’s preference or because I housed them in vertically oriented enclosures. I do find them at the base of the bark, near the substrate at least 50% of the time. I’m going to upgrade them to larger set-ups and given them choices to see what they choose.....eventually. Lol

 

[JoP]

Awesome finds; surprised you found so many! Are you going to ship them back home for your personal collection or just catch and release? I can't wait to visit the island and see what I can find flipping logs/rocks.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

They all came home with me, legally, cleared with TSA and Hawaii DNR.

 

[JoP]

They all came home with me, legally, cleared with TSA and Hawaii DNR.

That's awesome! Did that require any special licensure on your part, or did you just have to fill out paperwork there? I'd love to know more about that process; I might be taking a trip there this summer and would love to be able to collect a few specimens.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

More or less, there are trained people involved with scorpions you’ll be dealing with. They don’t exactly know what is what, when it comes to what’s required. You have to research the policies and procedures, at the time you will be traveling. You need clearence with TSA ( can contact TSA by Facebook messenger for questions about procedures for declaring them (screenshot your conversation) ), your airline’s policies ( check and screenshot the airline’s policies, where it states it’s policies on traveling with insects or small pets ( most don’t specify insects or scorpions, meaning they aren’t specifically restricted ), and lastly and by far the most ambiguous, is you need to research the permit requirements for the state of origin and screenshot them from the website. Again, they may or may not have specific rules and regulations about removing invertebrates. Since these scorpions are not native to Hawaii, they fall under the permitting requirements for introduced/injurious wildlife, and the scorpions are not listed under the species, under that heading, requiring a permit.
Fair word of warning, just because you do things correctly, doesn’t mean you’re dealing with people trained in the specific requirements needed and the wrong person can present problems, because they are in authority and they like being able to tell people what to do. It’s easier to mail them, and I would have, if the weather allowed, because I’ve seen people have their properly permitted boxes of plants confiscated and destroyed, because the agents don’t know any better and don’t care to. It’s a crapshoot and not black and white. All you can do is arm yourself with the proper documentation.
I also had information ready, stating the scorpions were not native to Hawaii and did not have potent stings.

 

[JoP]

More or less, there are trained people involved with scorpions you’ll be dealing with. They don’t exactly know what is what, when it comes to what’s required. You have to research the policies and procedures, at the time you will be traveling. You need clearence with TSA ( can contact TSA by Facebook messenger for questions about procedures for declaring them (screenshot your conversation) ), your airline’s policies ( check and screenshot the airline’s policies, where it states it’s policies on traveling with insects or small pets ( most don’t specify insects or scorpions, meaning they aren’t specifically restricted ), and lastly and by far the most ambiguous, is you need to research the permit requirements for the state of origin and screenshot them from the website. Again, they may or may not have specific rules and regulations about removing invertebrates. Since these scorpions are not native to Hawaii, they fall under the permitting requirements for introduced/injurious wildlife, and the scorpions are not listed under the species, under that heading, requiring a permit.
Fair word of warning, just because you do things correctly, doesn’t mean you’re dealing with people trained in the specific requirements needed and the wrong person can present problems, because they are in authority and they like being able to tell people what to do. It’s easier to mail them, and I would have, if the weather allowed, because I’ve seen people have their properly permitted boxes of plants confiscated and destroyed, because the agents don’t know any better and don’t care to. It’s a crapshoot and not black and white. All you can do is arm yourself with the proper documentation.
I also had information ready, stating the scorpions were not native to Hawaii and did not have potent stings.

That's great to know, and makes total sense. I've heard of people doing it both ways, so that's why I was curious (FedEx in HI probably gets a lot of business from invert lovers, if I had to guess). Thanks for detailing your steps though, looks like you were really thorough.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

Should read “are not trained people”.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

I’m a proud Poppa!

 

[Arthroverts]

Awesome! I sure hope they do well for you. Are you going to share any of those with the rest of us Isometrus maculatus starved collectors?

Thanks

 

[Extensionofgreen]

I plan to make as many available as possible.