Striped Bark Scorpion

Striped Bark Scorpion, Centruroides vittatus

The most common species in Texas, it is uncommon, but not unheard of, to find one of these types of nocturnal scorpions out in daylight. Usually, as with the case of this fellow, it is in the shadowed corners within a building. Waxy cuticle helps prevent water loss as does their nocturnal behavior.  While they can live up to 25 years, they often only survive up to 8 years in the wild, if that. They do have an amazing ability to lower their metabolic rate to significantly low numbers. Scorpions are not limited to desert habitats, but also live in pine and deciduous forests, mesic mountains, and grasslands. This particular species produces only a mild venom. It is not so much size that indicates how venomous a species is (smaller quoted as being more so), but rather the size of the pincers compared to the tail: larger pincers means focus on power over venom, whereas smaller pincers relies on more potent venom.

This guy was found inside, right at the door (covered in lint) where one of the patrons would easily have squished him. We tried to kindly get the scorpion onto the cutting board to move him outside to a safer place, but he had a preference for hanging on rather than getting on.