Scorpions in South Dakota

Of the 70-plus different species of scorpions that live in the United States, only 1 of them lives in the state of South Dakota. 

The Northern Scorpion is South Dakota’s only scorpion species.

The state of South Dakota also has water scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and wind scorpions. Although each of these 3 species has the word scorpion in their common name, they are not actual scorpions. We’ll talk about them anyway, though, along with northern scorpions in the paragraphs below.

The Northern Scorpion (Paruroctonus boreus)

The northern scorpion or boreal scorpion is a species of scorpion in the family Vaejovidae. It is the only scorpion species found in the state of South Dakota. This is probably because it is the only scorpion species that is able to survive the state’s harsh winters.

Northern scorpions are found in 12 U.S. states and 3 Canadian provinces. The northern scorpion species’ range begins in northern Arizona and goes north to southwestern Canada. In the United States, northern scorpions live in Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon, and Washington. In Canada, Northern Scorpions live in southern British Columbia, southern Alberta, and southern Saskatchewan. See Northern Scorpions are the only scorpion species that survives in Canada.

What do northern scorpions look like?

Scorpions look a little bit like tiny land-dwelling lobsters with some distinctions. Lobsters have 10 legs, while scorpions have 8, and of course, lobsters don’t have a bulbous venom-packed stinger on the end of their tail, while scorpions do.

Northern scorpions have segmented sections in their exoskeletons that range in color from light brown to dark brown. What’s more, they have a proportionately thin, long tail with a stinger on the tip and two lobster-like front pinchers that do not function as legs. In size, an adult northern scorpion will be 35mm to 55mm (1.37 to 2.16 inches) long. Northern scorpions display sexual dimorphism, with females being consistently larger than males. See

Northern scorpions are nocturnal creatures, meaning that they come out and are active at night. Inversely, they are mostly inactive during the day.

As most scorpions do, they have fluorescent compounds in their exoskeletons that make them glow under ultraviolet light. If you are camping in an area where northern scorpions are active, it’s a good idea to go armed with an ultraviolet flashlight. Use the UV light to scan your campsite after dark, after 9:30 PM to be exact.

Although the venomous sting from a northern scorpion generally isn’t very dangerous, it still wouldn’t do to share your sleeping bag with one. Like all scorpions, northern scorpions are nocturnal hunters. As such, they will be out and about after dark, searching for small prey such as grasshopper nymphs.

Northern Scorpion Behavior

Like most scorpions, northern scorpions are nocturnal. In fact, they are most active between 9:30 PM and 11:00 PM. If they have not come out of their burrows by 11:00 PM, it is unlikely that they will immerge to feed that night. Additionally, they will not come out of their burrows to hunt during a rainstorm and are much less active for 3 to 5 days after a rainstorm.

Northern scorpions are burrowing scorpions. As such, they are similar to other North American burrowing scorpions, such as the Northern Desert Hairy Scorpion, in that they seldom venture more than a dozen feet from their lairs to hunt. In the fall season, it’s not uncommon for them to move inside some manmade structure to live out the months of cold weather. However, they usually hibernate through the winter months in their underground burrows.

The percentage of the time that northern scorpions utilize their venom to subdue their prey falls dramatically with the age of the scorpion. Northern scorpions that are less than 2 months old use their stingers each time they subdue prey. On the other hand, adults who have more strength in their pedipalps only use their stingers around 30% of the time. The other 70% of the time, they opt to subdue their prey using only their pedipalps to grasp it until it ceases to struggle. See

Northern scorpions are born alive. When the female gives birth, she assumes a sitting position on her hind legs. She will give birth to 10 to 40 young.

After the newborn northern scorpions free themselves from the birth membrane, they will climb up their mother’s walking legs and onto her back. They will ride there in a grouped formation, only climbing down to feed on pellets that their mother creates for them when she feeds until they are sufficiently old to strike out on their own. See

Are Northern Scorpions Dangerous?

Unlike Arizona Bark scorpions, for example, which are the most dangerous scorpion in North America, Northern scorpions are not particularly dangerous to humans.

Northern scorpions seldom sting humans. They reserve their venom to subdue their prey animals which include small insects and arachnids. What’s more, the sting from a northern scorpion is no more dangerous than a wasp sting. However, all scorpion stings carry the possibility of severe allergic reactions. If you or someone you know experiences slurred speech or difficulty breathing after being stung by a scorpion, seek immediate medical attention.

Predators of Northern Scorpions

Northern scorpions are territorial creatures. In fact, in the case of Northern scorpions of differing sizes, a percentage of the time, the larger scorpion will kill and eat the smaller one. See

An interesting scorpion predator in South Dakota is the northern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys leucogaster). Grasshopper mice are carnivores that feed on arthropods like grasshoppers, crickets, and scorpions. Interestingly, grasshopper mice are immune to and impervious to the pain from scorpion stings. These little rodents are scary tough predators that are famous for emitting a howl just before they go in for the kill. See

Water Scorpions in South Dakota

Water scorpions are not actual scorpions. They’re water insects that look somewhat scorpion-like, thus the name.

Water scorpions are .6 to 1.77 inches (15 to 45mm) long. They have brown, proportionately long cylindrical bodies. Their forelegs are proportionately short and attached up next to their heads, t-rex like, to facilitate pulling their prey into their beaks.

This underwater predator is an air breather. They breathe through a breathing tube that is attached to the end of their abdomen. The breathing tube has a stinger-like appearance. This gives rise to the name water scorpion.

Water scorpions lie in wait for predators. They blend into aquatic debris where the water is shallow enough to accommodate their breathing tube and wait for prey to come by.

Two different genera of water scorpion live in South Dakota. These are (Nepa apiculata) and (Ranatra fusca). Nepa apiculata are dark brown and flat-bodied. They closely resemble a dead leaf in the water. On the other hand, Ranatra fusca are long and slender by comparison and pale buff in coloration.

Nepa apiculata are primarily in eastern South Dakota, while Ranatra fusca are distributed throughout the state. See

Pseudoscorpions in South Dakota

Pseudoscorpions, which also have the common names of book scorpion or false scorpion, are a tiny arachnid that looks a lot like a tiny scorpion minus the stinger. They have a flat, pear-shaped body, eight legs, and two long pedipalps with pinchers on the ends, just like scorpions. However, although they share some similarities with scorpions, they are not actual scorpions.

People also sometimes mistake these tiny little creatures for ticks. There are over 3,300 pseudoscorpion species worldwide, and their average body length is just 3 millimeters.

Book scorpions don’t have a stinger on their tail. However, they do have a stinger in each pincher. They inject their prey with venom to immobilize it. After which, they secrete a fluid over it to dissolve it so that they can ingest the liquified remains.

These tiny arachnids spin silk that they secrete from glands in their jaws. They use this silk to construct cocoons for the purposes of mating, molting, or taking shelter during the winter months.

Book scorpions are generally beneficial to humans since they prey on pests such as clothes moth larvae, carpet beetle larvae, booklice, ants, mites, and small flies. See

Wind Scorpions in South Dakota

Another interesting arachnid that you might run across in South Dakota is the wind scorpion. Wind scorpions are also sometimes called sun spiders or camel spiders. In fact, South Dakota’s wind scorpions are a smaller cousin to the giant camel spiders found in the middle east.

These creatures have strong jaws that are capable of delivering a painful bite. However, they are not venomous. These arachnids are noted for their aggressive behavior, whether it be in hunting or self-defense.

They look like a cross between a spider and a scorpion, but they are actually neither. They are an arachnid, but they are from the order sollifugae. Sollifugae are unique among arachnids in that they have 10 legs rather than 8. They use their front pair of legs in concert with their sense of sight to feel out the route in front of them. There are more than 1000 sollifugae species that live in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. See

In North America, most wind scorpion species are nocturnal. They spend the daylight hours in shallow burrows, under rocks, wood debris, or dried cattle dung. They are extremely quick, aggressive predators that feed on anything they can catch. This includes insects, other arachnids, or animals that are several times their size, such as small lizards and small rodents. See  See