Bug FAQForest Scorpion
Cercophonius squama · Order: Scorpiones · Family: Bothriuridae
The forest scorpion is about 2.5 to 4 cm long (roughly 1 inch). It is nocturnal, slightly defensive and tends to stay in the same spot, digging shallow or deeper burrows to avoid wet or extreme conditions.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The body shows creamy yellow to orange-brown tones with dark brown variegations, while the legs are yellow with dark brown pigment.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure about 25 to 40 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are slightly defensive, nocturnal and sedentary, rarely moving far even when conditions change. Living in wetter areas, they dig burrows that can be shallow or deep to escape environmental extremes for months.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Mating occurs before winter and the young are born in summer. Females give birth to 20 to 30 live, white, soft-bodied young over several hours. It takes about two weeks for the newborns' exoskeletons to fully harden.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
They are nocturnal and slightly defensive, staying in place rather than migrating.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
When are forest scorpions active?
They are mainly active at night, being nocturnal insects.
Source: Wikipedia
Do they move long distances?
They are sedentary and unlikely to migrate even during extreme environmental changes.
Source: Wikipedia
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cercophonius_squama
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.