Mark P. Villarubia Von Eric S. Tagarino Aris A. Reginaldo Department of Biology, College of Science, University of the Philippines Baguio, Military Cut-off, Baguio City 2600, Benguet, the Philippines Arthropods ISSN 2224-4255 http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/arthropods/online-version.asp 2026 15 4 207 212 International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Hong Kong 8 June 2026 10 July 2026 1 December 2026 disturbance fire ecology microhabitat Pinus kesiya pyrodiversity. We report an incidental field observation of Lychas armillatus (Gervais, 1841) in a fire-maintained Pinus kesiya community in the Central Cordillera mountain range of Luzon Island, the Philippines. An adult female was documented in situ carrying juvenile exuviae on its dorsum, consistent with the aggregation molting behavior of first-instars previously reported in other buthids. The presence of exuviae further suggests that L. armillatus can reproduce in this habitat. The locality is characterized by an open canopy of P. kesiya and a dense ground layer dominated by fire-adapted species, which more closely resembles a tropical pine savanna than any of the existing Philippine pine forest descriptions. This occurrence adds a buthid scorpion to the sparsely documented ground-dwelling fauna of Philippine pine communities and contributes habitat and ecological information for a species previously known almost entirely through taxonomic literature. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/arthropods/articles/2026-15(4)/occurrence-of-Lychas-armillatus.pdf