- I'm Coyote Peterson
Right now we're in the Sonoran Desert
searching for rattlesnakes, and I just came across something
pretty creepy.
(adventure music)
When exploring in the wild, one of my favorite things
about the desert is that you never know
what you are going to come across.
And if you dare to go out and explore under the
darkness of night, Arizona's Sonoran Desert
is a world of biological diversity.
Oh, look at this right here, little lizard,
it is a Western Banded Gecko.
Oh, look at him, he's seen us now, he flicked his tail
up in the air, he's basically saying "stay back,
"I am a little beast."
And that he is.
But this is one of the friendliest lizard species
we could have come across here in the desert,
and they are extremely fragile, so I'm gonna be
extra gentle with him.
Ooh, come here. Got him.
This is the famous little gecko species that lives out
here in the Sonoran Desert.
And unfortunately for this little guy, if he's
not careful, he's gonna stumble upon what we're
really looking for, rattlesnakes and scorpions.
You are just too cute to be eaten by either of those two.
We're gonna let him back off into the desert,
you stay safe little guy.
Always cool to come across a Western Banded Gecko.
See you later.
Capturing a gecko is what I would call a pleasant surprise.
But I think we all know that lurking in the shadows
you can also find a whole bunch of creatures
that are better suited for nightmares.
Some of them have close to a thousand legs,
some have only a hundred, which isn't as bad by comparison,
but these giants are also armed with a very
painful venomous bite.
Then you have the spiders.
Big and hairy, or small and stealthy.
That right there is a Black Widow.
Pick you venom wisely, because sometimes
it's the little guy that packs the most powerful punch.
Oh, yeah, then there are the three scorpion species.
You know, Stripe-Tailed, Desert Hairy, and Bark.
That's a Giant Desert Hairy.
Whoah, he's a big one, too.
Wow. Look at that.
You're probably asking, "does the nightmare ever end?"
I guess we'll just have to wait, and see.
Shy around, (mumbles) went out.
Something there.
Oh jeez, look at that!
Wow!
Okay, don't need a blacklight for this one.
Do you know what that is?
- [Voiceover] No.
- That is a Whip Scorpion.
Hold on.
I have actually never seen one of these before.
Oh, wild, look at that.
Does that thing not look like an alien?
Wow.
Now this is not actually a scorpion, and
they are not venomous, so I do not have to be
afraid of handling this arachnid.
Let me try to get him up on my hand here.
I don't want to agitate him too much because
Whip Scorpions are also known as vinegarroons.
Come here buddy.
Oh, gotcha.
Walk on my hand.
Yes.
- [Voiceover] Is it safe what you're doing right now?
- It's safe enough.
Look at that.
As long as he doesn't shoot me with his
acidic acid, and right there at the base of the abdomen
they have two glands that they can actually
shoot two streams of acidic acid at any potential predator.
And right now he's probably not feeling that
I'm a predator because I'm not a rodent, and that's
primarily what's feeding on these creepy crawlies.
Wow.
Now let's see if he smells vinegary.
Nope, he doesn't, which is a really good sign.
If he was agitated, those glands would start to
activate and then I would know he's probably
gettin' close to shooting me with his acid mixture.
Now that spray, that acidic acid that they shoot out
really smells like vinegar, hence the nickname vinegarroon.
Now, this whip that you have up on the backside here
he kinda looks like a scorpion stinger, but
no stinger on it.
You see all those little tiny hairs,
it's actually a sensory organ which helps them navigate
in their environment.
Now you may be wondering what this arachnid feels like.
He's actually got some weight to him,
he's pretty heavy for a creature of this size,
and his little legs have tiny hooks on them,
I can actually feel him holding on to my hand
which is why I'm able to do this, see that, pretty
much is just stuck onto my hand,
this is one well-equipped predator.
Let's talk about what the Whip Scorpion eats.
You see these pedipalps up front with those pincers?
Now what they're hunting for out here is
crickets and roaches, so if you see one of these
in your yard, and you've got a roach problem,
just let 'em hang out because he's gonna
do all the exterminating for you, and what they'll do is
they'll grab onto their prey and shove it into
the set of chompers that they have inside there.
Not gonna get my finger too close, I don't want to
know what that bite feels like.
But I can tell just by lookin' in there that it is bad news.
Now if you're human and you come across one of these,
I can't imagine that you're gonna want to pick it up
like I'm doing, but if you do, and you are
squirted with that acidic acid, all you have to do is
wash out your eyes with some water, keep
flushing 'em out 'til the burning goes away,
you'll be just fine.
These aren't actually venomous like a scorpion
or most spider species.
Now this is the first time I've ever encountered a
Whip Scorpion, and I guarantee you it's the first time
this Whip Scorpion has ever encountered a human.
Have you ever seen a creature creepier than a
Whip Scorpion?
Tell me about it in the comments section below.
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
So while it may look like a creepy alien from
another planet, remember, if you ever see one around
your house, it's the best kept roach extermination secret
out there.
And when you line it up against the other arachnids
and myriapods of the night, the vinegarroon is
about as friendly and harmless as it gets.
If you though that was one wild adventure,
check out the time I was chomped by the
Solifugae, and don't forget, subscribe to join
me and the crew on this season of Breaking Trail.
I'm Coyote Peterson, and I'm about to enter the
strike zone with the Solfugae.
Ready? One, two, three.
(wild animal calls)