Centruroides vittatus (The Common Striped Bark Scorpion)

I know what you're thinking... And YES! There are scorpions endemic to Illinois!!

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C. vittatus is a scorpion species that can be found throughout many places in the United States.

Credit: Shelley & Sissom (1995)

As you can see, the range for this particular animal is small in Illinois. Still, it is described as being "frequently" collected in Monroe County on the bank of the Mississippi river in 1996 (Anton 1996). The DNR website of Illinois will not disclose their current location, as they fear that these creatures will be victims of the insect trade industry (Scorpions in Illinois? n.d). As someone who has insects as pets, I reluctantly have to agree with that decision. While that makes it hard to determine whether or not we as conservationists live in areas where these scorpions can be found, we can take the information given to us but Anton in 1996 as somewhat of a clue.

Bark scorpions live under bark and in moist areas, as their name might imply. They may also hide under rocks in glades to seek shelter from the sun during the day (Striped Scorpion, 2016). They are nocturnal carnivores and leave their hides during the evening to feed on beetles, cockroaches, ants, other scorpions and even mice.

What can you do??

[[Help!! I need more information for this area. How can I improve it? I'm thinking linking the Mississippi river to the health and conservation of the Scorpions.]]





REFERENCES: 

Anton, T. G. (1996). Current Distribution Of The Common Striped Scorpion (Centruroides vittatus) In Illinois. Illinois Department Of Natural Resources.

Scorpions in Illinois? (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/OI/Pages/BAScorpionsinIllinois.aspx

Shelley, R. M., & Sissom, W. D.. (1995). Distributions of the Scorpions Centruroides vittatus (Say) and Centruroides hentzi (Banks) in the United States and Mexico (Scorpiones, Buthidae). The Journal of Arachnology, 23(2), 100–110. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.miamioh.edu/stable/3705497

Striped Scorpion. (2016). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/striped-scorpion