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Sticker of Florida bark scorpion
Bug card No. 0521 of 1,500

Florida bark scorpion

Centruroides gracilis
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsScorpions, ticks and friendsHouses and farms8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The Florida bark scorpion is a long, slim scorpion that can be red, brown or almost black. It hides under rocks and tree bark during the day. Funny thing: despite its name, it does not come from Florida, it came there from Central America.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. It is an arachnid with eight legs, a cousin of the spiders.
Lives in
Mexico and Central America, and now also Cuba, Florida, parts of South America and Africa
Length
10 to 15 cm (3.9 to 5.9 in)
Top speed
about 3.2 km/h (2 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Dangerous: look, do not touch
What does it eat?
It eats insects such as cockroaches. Pet ones are fed crickets or termites.
For real!Photo of Florida bark scorpion
Picture by Max0rz. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Florida bark scorpion about 15 cm long (5.9 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)A house cat about 50 cm (20 in)
as long as 5 toy building bricks in a rowabout as long as your handcould run across a dinner table in 1.1 seconds

How big is Florida bark scorpion compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

A mother can have 25 to 35 babies at once, and they ride on her back.

2

The babies shed their skin for the first time when they are just eight days old.

3

In Cuba it is called the dusky scorpion or the blue scorpion.

4

Sometimes it moves into the walls of houses or under piles of rubbish in yards.

5

Even this scorpion has enemies: some tarantulas can beat it.

you asked

Most asked questions about Florida bark scorpion

?What does the Florida bark scorpion eat?

Insects, such as cockroaches.

?How big does the Florida bark scorpion get?

Females grow up to 10 centimetres and males can be longer than 15 centimetres.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Centruroides gracilis
Group
Scorpions, ticks and friends
Family
Buthidae
Classification
Arachnida > Scorpiones > Buthidae
Lives on
North America, South America, Africa
Also known as
Brown bark scorpion, Red bark scorpion, Slender brown scorpion, Slender red scorpion

Where the facts come from

  1. Centruroides gracilis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Max0rz. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

More from the same group: Scorpions, ticks and friends

Also at home here: Houses and farms