Scorpions?
Where do they live?
- Scorpions are tend to be located in extremely dry habitats and climates such as deserts and semi-arid regions
- They are very sensitive to light so they need an environments that protects them from it
- Scorpion burrows can be as long as a meter deep, depending on the dryness of the location
How do they behave?
- Scorpions are a nocturnal species, which means they are mostly active at night.
- They prey on insects, spiders and other invertebrates
- They are able to detect their prey by sensing the preys' vibrations as they move.
- Scorpions are also known for hiding and waiting for their prey
- The venom is used to capture prey, scorpions can use it to defend themselves from predators or other threats
- Certain species of scorpions are capable of glowing in the dark. This is due to the presence of mixture of complex sugars and waxes that act as waterproofing compounds in the exoskeleteon
- Scorpions obtain most of their moisture from their prey that they consume
Whats in a scorpions diet?
- They generally eat insects, rodents, snakes, scorpions and many others. They are also known as cannibals for preying on their own species for their own survival
- Scorpions can survive for almost a year without water and food. They obtain most of the water from the preys they consume
- Scorpions are nocturnal, therefore they only feed at night
- Scorpions would listen out for vibrations around them, and then strike their prey with judgments based on what they hear
- Scorpions catch their prey using sharp claws and paralyzes it with their venom at the end of their tail
Food consumption methods of a scorpion :
- Scorpions have claw structures that come out of their mouths, which vary from other arthropods
- These claw structures are sharp and are used to guide food into the mouth to be digested.
- This digestion process is a slow and time consuming process
- Scorpions can only digest liquids and not solids
- This is accomplished by the venom they inject changing the internal elements of their prey into liquid. Which then can be absorbed out of the body by the scorpion.
The venom of a Scorpion
- Each scorpion has its own unique venom, which then have different toxicities
- Scorpion venom is used in moderation, it takes the scorpion a lot of energy to produce
- This venom will also change its preys internal organs into liquid for easier digestion
FUN FACT : Even baby scorpions produce venom, so do not underestimate their size!
What does the venom contain?
- The venom comprises of a group of complex molecules called a neurotoxin, these contain proteins consisting of about 600-70 crossed link amino acids
Where is the venom stored?
- The venemous sting is located at the tip of the long tail
What are the effects of the venom?
- When injected with the neurotoxin, it attacks the nerve cells of the victim causing paralysis and death
- In a human victim, a scorpions venom may cause symptoms like swelling at the site of the sting, numbness, convulsions, and in extreme cases difficulty in breathing.
How do scorpions reproduce?
- Female scorpions carry their eggs inside their bodies
- When the young leave the female's body, they then get onto the mothers mach and stay there until they have gone through their first molt
- As the progress along their age, they shed their exoskeletons
- A young scorpion's progress is measured by the molting stage, since it requires five to seven molts to reach maturity
What about mating?
- Scorpions do not mate directly
- The male scorpions deposits a packet of sperm on the ground, and guides the female by holding her pincers with his pincers to move over the ground and the sperm package is picked up by the female genital opening during this activity.
DID YOU KNOW? A scorpion's life span ranges between 3 and 5 years, with some have been known to live up to 10 to 15 years!
