Cerralvo Island

Scorpions! Scorpions! Yes, we are in scorpion country. There are 172 different species of scorpions in Mexico. Today we walked up a very interesting arroyo (dry gulch), with quite remarkable vegetation, dominated by the giant cardones and sweet pitahayas. Here we looked for scorpions under rocks, and were lucky to find three individuals like this one, a small creature that does not really need powerful poison, as it has very large, strong and armored pedipalps. With these pincers it captures its prey, consisting of small insects and spiders, and cuts them in pieces to be consumed. This species of scorpion, possibly of the genus Diplocentrus, never becomes very large and would rather pinch you with its pedipalps than sting you. Baja California is home to a large number of different species, and among them is the Mexican Hairy Scorpion (Hadrurus), which has a sting not much worse than a bee! Like many other small desert animals, scorpions are nocturnal and hide under rocks and debris during the day.