ART. 9 SCORPIONS OF WESTERN UNITED STATES EWING 19 



CENTRUROIDES VITTATUS (Say) 

 ,' COMMON STRIPED SCORPION 



This species (pi. 2, fig. 5) which is frequently referred to as C. 

 carolinianus (Wood), has two broad, dark longitudinal bands on the 

 dorsal side of the abdomen. In J'^oung specimens these bands are 

 usually entire, but in most of the mature individuals they are partly 

 or even entirely interrupted at the middle of each abdominal tergite. 

 In adults of both sexes the appendages and the postabdomen are of a 

 uniform yellowish brown except for the distal part of the sting, 

 which is black. In young specimens the hands and the fifth segment 

 of postabdomen are black, and the postabdomen has three longitudi- 

 nal black stripes below. Male specimens have a very long post- 

 abdomen, but that of the female is only about a third longer than 

 the abdomen. A male specimen measures 6.7 cm. in length, a fe- 

 male specimen, 5.9 cm. 



C. vitfatus probably occupies a greater area of the United States 

 than any other scorpion. Pocock (1902) reports it from Georgia, 

 Florida, Kansas, Texas, and California. The California record, 

 however, should be ascribed to another species. Specimens in the 

 National Museum are from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and 

 Texas. The species has also been reported from South Carolina 

 and doubtless occurs in all the Gulf States as well as Kentucky, 

 Tennessee, and Missouri. 



Concerning the habits and life history of this species considerable 

 is known. Out of doors it is found very abundantly under the loose 

 bark of large trees and logs, and under logs and stones on the ground. 

 About human habitations it prefers probabl}'^ above all else the wood- 

 pile and crumbling stone or brick foundations. In some parts of 

 Texas the writer has found it infesting back yards, and reports of 

 its infestation of houses have been frequent. A number of specimens 

 have been kept in captivity by the writer. One adult received 

 October 2, 1925, was kept alive until late in August of 1926. In 

 captivity G. vittatus feeds readily upon small roaches and flies, but 

 refuses many kinds of insects and nearl}' all of the larger or hard 

 ones. While other scorpions have been observed to dig into the 

 ground in captivity, such a habit was not observed in this species. 

 G. vittatus has a habit of clinging to objects lying on the ground, 

 so that when the latter are turned over with the hands one is liable 

 to press upon the scorpion and get stung. 



The life history of G. vittatus has been studied by Smith (1927). 

 He found the species to be ovoviviparous. Each young " was born 

 in a very thin and transparent envelope from which it freed itself 

 in about 15 minutes." The young molted in from 3 to 6 days 



