Bug FAQBook scorpions
Paratemnoides nidificator · Order: Pseudoscorpiones · Family: Atemnidae
Also called: false scorpions
Paratemnoides nidificator is a tiny sit-and-wait predator about 3 to 7 mm long that lives in colonies under tree bark. It occurs throughout the Neotropics, from Florida in the United States down to Brazil’s Cerrado, and feeds on many arthropods, sometimes hunting cooperatively to take prey much larger than an individual could handle. Colonies can hold up to 200 individuals, with nymphs building silken chambers for molting, and the pseudoscorpion Parachernes melanopygus may parasitize their broods.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
It lives in colonies and shows complex social behavior, which is rare among arachnids.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure between 3 and 7 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It inhabits the space under bark of trees such as Fabaceae, Vochysiaceae and Pinaceae species. In Minas Gerais, Brazil, it is especially common under the bark of Caesalpinia peltophoroides.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Cooperative hunting lets the colony capture prey up to thirty times larger than an individual could take alone.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Colonies may contain up to 200 individuals spanning multiple generations. Nymphs cooperate to spin silken molt chambers where they shed their exoskeletons.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range extends from Florida in the United States through the Neotropics to the Brazilian Cerrado.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
The pseudoscorpion Parachernes melanopygus is a brood parasite of this species.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
Where can I find Paratemnoides nidificator?
It lives under the bark of various trees such as Fabaceae, Vochysiaceae and Pinaceae, and is especially common under Caesalpinia peltophoroides in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Source: Wikipedia
How large are these pseudoscorpions?
Adults are small, measuring about 3 to 7 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paratemnoides_nidificator
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.