What are the characteristics of a scorpion's habits and lifestyle?
Scorpions are nocturnal animals; during the day they do not come out to be active, and their eyesight is poor, so they cannot see far. They like dampness but fear wetness: scorpions like to be active in places with a bit of moisture, but they are afraid of water. A scorpion's breathing pores are on its belly, so it easily takes in water and suffocates. They like darkness and fear strong light stimulation. When catching scorpions at night, they stop moving when they see strong light. They like living in groups, prefer quiet over movement, and have the habit of recognizing their nest and their group; most scorpions settle together in fixed burrows. Generally, in a large scorpion nest there are both females and males, large and small, living together in harmony, and mutual killing rarely occurs. But if they are not scorpions from the same nest, they will often kill each other after meeting.
1. Scorpions are nocturnal animals; they like dampness but fear wetness, and they like darkness but fear strong light stimulation. They like living in groups, prefer quiet over movement, and have the habit of recognizing their nest and their group; most scorpions settle together in fixed burrows. Generally, in a large scorpion nest there are both females and males, large and small, living together in harmony, and mutual killing rarely occurs. But if they are not scorpions from the same nest, they will often kill each other after meeting.
2. Scorpions have the habit of hibernation. Generally in mid-to-late April, that is, after Awakening of Insects, they come out of dormancy, and in early November they begin to slowly enter dormancy and hibernate. Their active period throughout the year is about 6 months. During a day, scorpions mostly come out to be active after sunset, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., and return to their nests to rest at 2 to 3 o'clock the next morning. This pattern of activity generally occurs on warm, windless nights with dry ground, while on windy days they rarely come out to be active.
3. Although scorpions are poikilothermic animals, they are still relatively tolerant of cold and heat. When the external environmental temperature is from 40°C to minus 5°C, scorpions can all survive. The growth, development and reproduction of scorpions are closely related to temperature. When the temperature drops below 10°C, scorpions become less active; when the temperature is below 20°C, scorpions are also less active. The most suitable temperature for their growth and development is between 25 and 39°C. At temperatures of 35 to 39°C, scorpions are most active, their growth and development speed up, and giving birth and mating are also mostly carried out within this temperature range. When the temperature exceeds 41°C, the water in the scorpion's body is evaporated; if at this time the temperature is not lowered in time and water is not replenished in time, the scorpion is very likely to become dehydrated and die. When the temperature exceeds 43°C, scorpions die quickly. Scorpion activity, growth, development and reproduction are closely related to temperature, with the optimal temperature between 35 and 38°C. Therefore, when we breed scorpions artificially, we must pay attention to grasping this.
4. The growth and reproduction of scorpions are also closely related to the humidity of the external environment. In nature, if wild scorpions experience a long drought without rain, they will burrow to a moist place about 1 m deep to hide and conceal themselves; when the weather is rainy, and there is standing water on the ground, they will climb to higher places to take shelter. Therefore, when breeding scorpions, great attention must be paid to the moisture content of the feed as well as the humidity of the breeding site and the burrows. Generally speaking, the activity area for scorpions should be somewhat wetter, while the burrows where they rest should be somewhat drier; this is beneficial to the growth, development and reproduction of scorpions. If the burrows are too wet, they are easily harmed by microorganisms, and molting of scorpions is also very difficult; if the activity area for scorpions is too dry, and the moisture in the feed provided is also insufficient, it will also affect the normal growth and development of scorpions, and may even induce mutual killing.
5. Scorpions like darkness and fear light, especially fearing the stimulation of strong light, but they also need a certain degree of illumination in order to absorb the sun's heat, improve digestive capacity, speed up the rate of growth and development, and benefit the process of embryos hatching in the body of pregnant scorpions. According to reports and observations, scorpions have a positive tendency toward weak light and a negative tendency toward strong light, but they most like to be active under relatively weak green light.
6. Scorpions have a strong avoidance response to various strong odors, such as paint, gasoline, kerosene, asphalt, and various chemicals, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, quicklime, etc. It can be seen that their sense of smell is very sensitive. The stimulation of these substances is very unfavorable to scorpions and may even be lethal. Scorpions are also very sensitive to various strong vibrations and sounds, and sometimes they are even scared away by them, stopping eating, mating and reproducing, giving birth, and so on.