[9] The Latin epithet boreus is equivalent to the Ancient Greek word Βορέᾱς (Boréās) which means "northern".
[8] Sightings of P. boreus have been reported over broad areas of North America and it is described as one of the most widely spread scorpions on the continent.
[4][5] In the United States, areas where it is found include the state of Arizona in the Southwest, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota in the Midwest, and most of the West region (California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming).
The species has been observed to inhabit various terrains typically bordered by tall mountains or low elevation valleys.
[10] In northern areas, it has a tendency to mainly occupy sagebrush and comparable dwelling places and reside at low elevations above sea level (200 m).
There is a black pattern forming a V which centers on the median eyes as well as dim streaks across preabdomen divisions.
[1][7][16] The adult female is consistently bigger than the male, featuring longer and wider carapace and preabdomen.
They also demonstrate more frequent surface activity than males, which may serve as a means of increasing their odds of encountering mating partners who travel to a much greater extent.
After freeing themselves from the birth membrane, the offspring will ascend the mother's walking legs and assume a grouped-up position on her dorsum.
Once they begin to move about to a greater extent at 9 to 11 days, female scorpions eat prey without taking cover and juveniles regroup onto the mother's cephalothorax.
Regardless of whether it received paralyzing toxins, the immobilized prey is detained in the pedipalps for a duration of 10 to 30 minutes before being brought to the chelicerae.
Scorpions aged 13 to 61 days have been observed to sting all prey, likely to maximize their odds of successful feeding and to nurture their evolution to greater size and adulthood.
Captured prey with a softer build (e. g. termites) remain confined to the scorpions' pedipalps until they stop struggling.