Plant-climbing
Guides
Centruroides vittatus
Striped Bark Scorpion
Centruroides vittatus is the most common scorpion in the United States, occurring throughout the midsection of the country and northern Mexico. This species exhibits notable behavioral flexibility, including plant climbing and temperature-modulated antipredator responses. Populations show geographic variation in venom toxicity, with eastern populations exhibiting reduced toxicity linked to lower sodium β toxin gene expression. The species has been documented harboring the endosymbiont Mycoplasma vittatus, the first Mycoplasma species identified from an arachnid.