Terrifying appearance, large claws, poisonous tail raised up - and all this is a scorpion. An amazing insect that has been known to the world for more than 400 million years. The image of a scorpion is inscribed on the Egyptian pyramids, many myths were composed about him, he was worshiped as a deity, he was cursed and feared.
Lifestyle
Scorpion is an insect, the description of which may interest any person. Its body length is 10-20 cm. It has two large claws and a poison gland located at the end of the tail. It grows slowly, bears eggs, gives birth to cubs, easily tolerates heat. It can live in adverse conditions, but dies at low temperatures. However, scorpions living in the mountains, with the onset of cold weather, hibernate until the onset of heat.
Scorpion is a nocturnal insect. It is almost impossible to see him during the day, as he prefers to go hunting only at night. Under the cover of darkness, he catches his prey with large claws. If she tries to escape, she paralyzes her with her poison.
Scorpion sees poorly, but has an excellent sense of touch. Thanks to the villi on the paws, he hears a fly that has landed on the ground at a distance of 10 or morecentimeters. With the help of these villi, the hunter accurately determines the distance to the victim, makes a sharp throw, and the prey is in his claws.
Daytime, insects - scorpions - hide under stones, tree bark, in the minks of small animals. If they don't find anything suitable, they bury themselves in the sand. Even in places with dry and hot climates, they find a humid shelter.
Food
Scorpions never eat dead food, only live food. They don’t overdo it in food, they can eat a spider, centipede, various larvae, small lizards. If nothing edible comes across, they tolerate hunger well for a week or two. In general, scorpions are able to go without food for more than a month - very few insects have this ability.
Scorpions on the hunt are not very active. Usually their prey is a cockroach or wood lice, which accidentally stumbled upon a hunter. The scorpion with a sharp movement grabs the victim with claws and tears it apart. And then it starts sucking out the contents.
This process takes quite a long time. Such food allows the hunter to do without food for a long time. And the liquid sucked from the prey compensates for the lack of water.
Cannibalism among these insects is not uncommon. With a long absence of food, they attack each other. Females very often eat their suitors after the mating process. And thanks to such actions, the female has enough strength to lay eggs and give birth to strong offspring.
Poison possessed by insects
Scorpions are poisonous and non-poisonous. Bitethe first of them, for example, kills a dog in a few minutes. And a person dies in a few hours if he does not receive an antidote. Scorpion venom paralyzes the work of the nervous and cardiac systems, as well as the pectoral muscles.
Non-poisonous insects are dangerous to invertebrates that are selected for food. A person will feel only a weak bite, like a wasp or bee. But for young children, an elderly person or those in poor he alth, a scorpion sting can be fatal.
Described insects (scorpions) never attack first, especially people. When threatened, they try to hide or run away. Attack only for defensive purposes.
Offspring
The future offspring of the female bears for a long time. The process can take up to a year. The number of cubs varies from 20 to 100, it all depends on the species. Scorpions are generally viviparous. But some species lay eggs (ovoviviparous), or the embryo develops in the egg shell.
If the offspring are numerous, births occur in two passes, and new insects are born every day. Scorpions give birth only at night, in a secluded and inaccessible place for predators. The offspring appears with a soft colorless shell and is very weak.
Therefore, at first, the babies are on their mother's back, in complete safety. But this does not last long, only a few days. Then the cubs molt, become covered with a hard shell and are ready to live on their own.
Arachnids are not very good mothers. But not scorpionsfemales in which the instinct of motherhood is highly developed. They tenderly protect their offspring and zealously protect.
Scorpio - who is he
Many people ask the question: is a scorpion an insect or an animal? Despite its small size, hard shell, many legs, it does not belong to insects. It is classified as arachnid. However, it so happened that the scorpion is called an insect.
And, of course, scorpions have enemies. No matter how invulnerable they are, monkeys love to feast on them. They gently tear off the tail with a sting, and the delicious delicacy is ready!
But most of all, scorpions are destroyed by humans, treating them with prejudice and killing them at any opportunity. But, like all living things on earth, the scorpion fulfills its useful mission. A decrease in their numbers leads to the mass reproduction of harmful insects that they feed on.
