Historical data about scorpions, their species, behavior, tips for care: housing, feeding, maintenance and use, interesting facts, price. For a long time, this predatory creature was considered the personification of malice and deceit, and also belongs to the most famous individuals from ancient times. When he attacks, his bite is similar to that of a jet fighter. Like many movie stars, he is loved and hated just as much. When traveling in the desert, you shouldn't leave your boots outside the tent. Scorpios love to hide in them.
Scientists of the Middle Ages know about them various unimaginable fables and fables, which in our time seem ridiculous. Ancient philosophers believed that scorpions arose from decaying reptiles. Pliny said that they are born from buried sea crustaceans, when they begin to rot and the sun in the sky follows the sign of Cancer. Paracelsus argued that these creatures kill themselves and others are born from their decayed flesh.
Historical data on the origin of scorpions
The progenitors of scorpions grew over a meter in length. They possessed gills with which they swam and breathed in the water. They had articulated legs and it was with their help that scorpions were the first vertebrates to move to solid ground about four hundred and fifty million years ago. Today, the scorpion looks exactly the same as its ancestors, but they are quite inferior in parameters. Naturally, on the ground, they no longer need gills.
Scorpions are not insects at all, but with their close relatives - spiders, they form an individual and single family of arachnids. Surprisingly, a huge number of scorpions live in arid areas of the Earth. There are over one thousand four hundred species of scorpions, which belong to one of the nine main subfamilies.
They, like their "relatives" spiders, have eight limbs, but they also have weapons, two pincers, a sharp sting on a movable tail and a protective shell. Scorpios are worthy rivals, but their amazing achievements are not only due to this. The fact that they arose in ancient times also has its drawbacks. Predators have found ways to fight scorpions. To animals with quick reactions, they may not seem large, not fast, and predictable. The meerkat has worked out tactics for hunting these arthropods.
Scorpio is an amazing creature that has an incredible ability to adapt. Their tracking system reacts to the slightest gust of wind. Arthropods living in dunes can easily move on sand. Their limbs with long claws are covered with hairs that increase traction and protect them from drowning in the sand. Even a human cannot move so well on the sand. He falls through and slips at every turn - his path is rather uncertain.
All scorpion tracking sensors are surprisingly sensitive and accurate. These little hairs on its claws can pick up the slightest movement in the air - even the flapping of a butterfly's wing. The arthropod has organs to detect the low frequencies of movement of insects on the ground. Scorpios don't waste their poison. If the prey is too strong and he cannot strangle it with his pincers, it stings.
Many of these arthropods spend twenty-five percent of their lives deep in their burrows. After all, the surface temperature of the sand can reach sixty-five degrees, while seven and a half centimeters underground, it can be quite comfortable - twenty-seven degrees. In terms of humidity, staying outside is still better. The ratio of moisture on land surface to twenty centimeters underground is five to seventy percent.
The scorpion burrow can be recognized by the login form. The oval shaped opening allows the arachnid to penetrate inside with the help of pincers. Scorpions go to great lengths to dig a hole. Some individuals can move in the ground with a force of 400 times their own weight. Usually the "refuge" reaches fifteen, twenty centimeters deep, but there are also no deeper than nine centimeters.
Scorpios often dig a spiral tunnel that keeps temperature and humidity at the same level. The arthropod species Abistoptelmus has wide, large pincers. Some individuals weigh only five to six grams, but they can lift two hundred times their own weight with just one claw. Its short legs and powerful mouthpiece are ideal weapons for digging and maintaining its burrow. Scorpions almost never leave their shelter, but simply wait for the prey to appear at their burrow and immediately grab it with their powerful claws.
Since ancient times, humanity has been trying to get the most out of the living creatures they feed and the plants grown in their oasis. So are scorpions, grateful to all living things that the desert offers them. These fearless hunters are not very picky about their food. Everything that falls into their claws goes into food. Scorpions eat about thirty-five thousand insects a year.
The victim is cut with a mouth apparatus. Its remains are processed by digestive juice even before the arthropod sends it into the mouth. This is done for easier assimilation and allows the predator to absorb huge amounts of food in one go. Some beetles with a particularly hard chitinous cover are not of interest to the scorpion. It will be difficult to cope with such food even with two claws.
What is the most dangerous scorpion? The bite of the "baby" from Morocco can be fatal, and the sting of the "giant" from South Africa resembles a wasp sting. It turns out the size is incompatible with what damage it can cause. Finding out for sure whether a scorpion is dangerous will help the size of the claw - but here, too, there are exceptions. Arthropods with strong pincers can easily cope with the prey without using poison, therefore the "deadly potion" of these individuals is not very toxic. But it is not so easy for scorpions with small claws to overcome prey. For this they have a very strong and usually very dangerous poison.
Despite this circumstance, the bite of 98 scorpion species does not cause much harm to humans and they are more like a wasp or bee sting. Of the 1,400 species, only twenty-five have toxic venom that can kill humans. All of them belong to the kobiid family, which is the leader in deadly bites. Just a drop of the venom of these hideous little creatures is enough to kill fifty mice. In general, the drier the scorpion's habitat, the greater the concentration of the venom.
Androctonus Mavirtanicus has a disgusting habit of sneaking into homes. Androctonus amarexi is like two peas in a pod similar to its deadly relative, the Australian scorpion. Butus axitanus is one of the most common scorpions in Morocco. Bututus franzvernenriego is easily recognizable by its thin tail covered with numerous hairs.
The "potion" of a scorpion is an ominous mixture of toxic substances, some of which are a hundred thousand times more deadly than cyanide. Therefore, in hunting arthropods, the main thing is not to forget about caution. Since these creatures are nocturnal, very little was known about their life. But a way out was soon found. Scorpions' chitinous cover releases an unusual substance that makes them glow when exposed to ultraviolet rays. Ultraviolet light does no harm to the scorpion. Enthalmologists can see them from a distance of fifteen meters and calmly observe them without fear that they will run away from the light. Researchers can easily lift scorpions with fluorescent-dyed forceps. Individuals can be marked with fluorescent markers, which will allow you to monitor them for more than one night.
Scorpion species
- Pandinus imperator (imperial scorpion) - the largest of the family. Its body reaches a length of 11-16 cm, and if you add a tail and claws, it will exceed more than 21 cm. The pigmentation of their body is black with a dark emerald tint. Grasping pincers, large, widened. Life expectancy in nature exceeds 12 years. This species lives in the forests of tropical countries in western Africa. The dwellings that they equip, where they hide from the heat of the day, are located in stone ruins, under particles of tree bark or holes dug by them in the form of holes. The variety of dishes for large scorpions is not very great. These can be medium-sized insects, or small mice.
- Centruroides exilicauda (bark scorpion) - are varied, depending on the color. It can be with a yellow gradation from light to dark. It also sometimes has a pattern in the form of stripes or black spots. The body reaches a length of 7.5 cm. The grasping pincers are elongated and more narrowed. The tail has a thickness of 5.1 mm. They live in the forests of North Africa, in the desert areas of America and Mexico. Tree scorpions differ from their fellows in that they do not build their dwellings in the ground, but arrange their houses under the fallen bark of trees, in rocks or in people's houses. Such neighbors are certainly not safe for humans, because the poison of this arthropod is sometimes fatal for young children, elderly people and those with poor immunity. The main food of the bark scorpion is various-sized insects, juveniles of mice and lizards. It happens that brothers serve as a dish for them.
- Hadrurus arizonensis (desert hairy scorpion) - is distinguished by a dark brown color on the back and tail on a basic light yellow tone - that is, a contrasting color. Thin and long hairs grow on the limbs and tail. From head to tail, the length of the desert arthropod reaches about 17.5 cm. They are distributed in Southern California and the deserts of Arizona. The most intense heat, these scorpions wait out in rock crevices or equipped burrows. The food of this species is various beetles, crickets, cockroaches, moths.
- Androctonus crassicauda (black fat-tailed scorpion) - painted not only in charcoal black or gray-black, but also in variations of green-olive, brown-red. They are widespread in the deserts of the United Arab Emirates. The length of the body reaches 12 cm. In the daytime, fat-tailed scorpions hide in holes, under stones, in the cracks of various buildings of people. They eat large insects and small vertebrates.
- Androctonus australis (yellow fat-tailed scorpion) - a pale yellow or dark brown color, and its sting is black. Distribution area in the Arabian Peninsula, in the countries of the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and East India. The length of this arthropod reaches 12.5 cm. Their hiding places are dug holes and crevices between rocks in the desert, rocky terrain or foothill areas. The food of yellow fat-tailed scorpions is small insects. Their bite is the most poisonous and can even be fatal in two hours. No antidote has been made for the poison.
- Vaejovis spinigerus (stripedtal scorpion) - covered with stripes on the back and painted in gray and brown shades. It is a typical desert dweller in Arizona and California. Adult specimens reach a length of 7 cm. They live in burrows, but in extreme heat they hide in any suitable places.
Features of the behavior of a scorpion
Scorpions are nocturnal individuals that become active just after sunset. They prefer to feed on the victim that is still alive. They cherish their poison and if there is no need, they do not use it. Each type of scorpion has its own "potion" in terms of power. One poison causes allergies in people, another can kill.
Breeding scorpions
When the "matchmaking" of these arthropods begins, then all ritual dances take place. This fascinating sight can take several hours. During this ritual, the male scorpion gently takes the scorpion by the claw. He lifts her up and leads her back and forth, periodically lowering her to the ground, where he released the sperm.
The female bears cubs from ten months to a year. Scorpios are viviparous. The number of "babies" depends on the type of scorpion. It can be anywhere from ten to twenty arthropods. When they are born, their chitinous shell is still soft, so they climb onto the back of the newly made mother and "ride" there until that period, until they are covered with solid "armor". And only then will they leave and begin to live on their own.
Scorpion care, keeping at home
- Home equipment. The smallest volume of a glass terrarium is 34 x 34 cm for one or two specimens. The walls of the dwelling should be 14 centimeters high. Cover it with a large mesh or its plastic lid, in which you need to drill intermediate holes. Bark of different sizes, small pebbles, shards from earthenware, something in the form of an artificial hole or hollow are placed inside the dwelling of an arthropod. Scorpions are nocturnal inhabitants and therefore do not need additional lighting in the terrarium. You can illuminate it with an ultraviolet or red lamp and then the scorpion will glow. Moss, peat, tree bark, coconut shavings, or a decorative tropical flower substrate will work well for covering the bottom of an arthropod house. Its thickness should be from five to six centimeters so that the pet can bury in it. The litter must be systematically, but not too much moistened, so that it does not rot. It changes several times a year. A comfortable temperature must be maintained within plus twenty-thirty degrees. For this, a heating mat is placed under the bedding. The temperature from the thermal mat can dry it out, so spray moderately both the substrate and the scorpion itself from the sprinkler.
- Feeding. The frequency of feeding a sexually mature scorpion several times a week. "Youngsters" are fed three to four times a week. If their food is more rare, then individuals living together can eat each other. Their main diet consists of invertebrates (worms) and insects (butterflies, flies, dragonflies). Adult specimens will gladly feast on rodents (mice, dzungariki) or reptiles (lizards, snakes).
- Things to Avoid To ensure a comfortable environment for the scorpion, do not overdry the litter. Watch out for regular meals to prevent pets from eating lunch with each other. Close the enclosure lid well for your safety. A king scorpion bite will not kill you, but it can cause an allergic reaction and it will just hurt. If your pet does run away, and you find it, then slowly and carefully place the palm of your hand or take it by the tail and transplant it into the terrarium.
Use of scorpions and interesting facts
Scientists know that the animal is remarkable not only for its deadly reputation. Scorpion venom is used in many pharmaceutical preparations, medicinal ointments, and cosmetics.
What are scorpions created for? Before us is a living riddle. These arthropods can go without food and drink for a whole year. Stays under water for several weeks and does not sink. They are able to withstand radiation doses that are lethal for us. Survive even if frozen. And it also leaves behind fossils that glow for millions of years.
Acquisition and price of a scorpion
Mature individuals cost from $ 20 to $ 100, small ones from $ 5 to $ 25. The price depends on the type of arthropod.
See below for keeping a scorpion at home:
