Hunting Arachnids

For outdoor adventure seekers like us, the summer is a tough time. It is too hot during the day to get out and explore, so we try to find activities we can do at night when it cools off. I guess “cooling off” is a relative term in the heat of the summer in southern Arizona. With our blood thinning out, we have found that triple-digit temperatures under the moonlight are comfortable. One of our favorite places in Tucson is The Sonoran Desert Museum. The museum significantly impacted Colleen when we visited in 2019. We might go as far as to say it was a big motivation for us to move to Tucson. 

The Desert Museum closes early afternoon during the summer due to the heat. Since we are night owls, our visits were often limited to the fall and winter when they are open a bit later. This last summer, they offered something new. On Saturday nights, they had evening hours staying, open until 9 pm. We tried to arrive just around sunset to see the warm pastel glow against the desert landscape before we started hunting. Scorpion hunting, that is. Yep, that’s right, hunting for scorpions. Not hunting to kill but instead pursuing to observe these very interesting arachnids. 

First Exposure

During our first Saturday night trip, we saw people walking around with blacklight flashlights appearing to be looking for something around the stones and in the brick walls. We would occasionally hear a child excitedly announce, “There’s one”! The children got very excited to spot these beauties. We understood why they gave off under a black light when we got glimpses of the blue-green glow. 

After our first night visit, we decided to research these guys a bit further. Scorpions found at the Sonoran Desert Museum are Bark Scorpions. They are about 2-3″ long and live for about 2-6 years. They use their pedipalps for sensing, and the hair on their legs can sense vibrations in the air. The glaring question to us was, “Why do they glow”? After researching this, we found that experts do not definitively know. There are a handful of theories. Some scientists believe the glow indicates that it’s time to eat. Others believe it offers protection from the sun’s UV rays. Reading some of the research is quite fascinating. Another mystery of the universe is yet to be explained. 

Getting Involved

Before the following Saturday, we purchased a blacklight to partake in this event. We were among the crowd seeking these luminous creatures. We found the best success spotting them in the rock walls. Colleen’s chair was the perfect height so she could glimpse these beauties before they darted back into the shadows.

There is one more “fun fact” we learned about Bark Scorpions. They are the only species in Arizona whose sting is life-threatening. We are grateful to have found an outdoor summer activity we can do at night together; however, I now pause when I look to sit on the rock walls at the museum.