What are the living habits of scorpions? A comprehensive analysis of scorpion behavior patterns

Scorpions are entirely carnivorous; only a very few species take in small amounts of plant-based feed (such as the Chinese scorpion, Mesobuthus martensii). They feed on invertebrates such as spiders, crickets, small centipedes, and the larvae and nymphs of many kinds of insects. They locate prey by means of the auditory hairs or tarsal hairs and slit sense organs on their pedipalps. Desert scorpions can pinpoint a cockroach burrowed 50 cm deep. When feeding, the scorpion grips its catch with its pedipalps, raises its metasoma (the scorpion tail), curves it forward over the body, and stabs with the venomous stinger. The stinger is made up of six segments and is trapezoid in shape, with a cephalothoracic shield on the dorsal side densely covered in granular projections; when the muscles outside the venom gland contract, the venom flows out through the opening of the stinger. The venom of most scorpions is enough to kill insects, but it is not fatally dangerous to humans, causing only severe burning pain. The scorpion slowly tears the food apart with its chelicerae, first sucking the body fluids of the catch, then spitting out digestive fluid, digesting its tissues outside the body, and then taking them in. The feeding process is very slow.

Scorpions are crepuscular and nocturnal animals; they like moisture and fear dryness, and they like darkness and fear stimulation by strong light. They like living in groups, prefer stillness to activity, and have the habit of recognizing their burrows and their group; most scorpions settle in fixed burrows together with their companions. Generally, in a large scorpion nest there are both females and males, large and small, living together in harmony, and cannibalism rarely occurs. But if they are not scorpions from the same nest, they will often kill each other after meeting.

Scorpions have the habit of hibernation. They generally emerge from dormancy in mid-to-late April, that is, after Awakening of Insects, and begin to gradually enter hibernation in early November, with about 6 months of activity throughout the year. During the day, scorpions mostly come out to move about after sunset, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., and return to their burrows to rest by 2 to 3 o'clock the next morning. This pattern of activity generally occurs on warm, windless nights when the ground is dry, while on windy days they rarely come out.

Although scorpions are ectothermic animals, they are still relatively tolerant of cold and heat. They can survive when the outside temperature is between 40°C and minus 5°C. The growth, development and reproduction of scorpions are closely related to temperature. When the temperature drops below 10°C, scorpions become fairly inactive; when the temperature is below 20°C, their activity is also reduced. The most suitable temperature for their growth and development is between 25 and 39°C. At 35 to 39°C, scorpions are most active, their growth and development speed up, and giving birth and mating mostly take place within this temperature range. When the temperature exceeds 41°C, the water in the scorpion's body evaporates; if at this time the temperature is not lowered in time and water is not replenished in time, the scorpion is very likely to die of dehydration. When the temperature exceeds 43°C, scorpions die quickly. The activity, growth, development and reproduction of scorpions are closely related to temperature, with the optimal temperature between 35 and 38°C. Therefore, we must pay attention to mastering this when artificially breeding scorpions.

The growth and reproduction of scorpions are also closely related to the humidity of the external environment. Wild scorpions in nature, if there is a long drought without rain, will burrow about 1 m deep into moist places to hide and take cover; when the weather is rainy, with standing water on the ground, they will climb to higher places to take refuge. 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 of scorpions should be on the moist side, while the burrows where they rest should be somewhat drier, which is beneficial to the growth, development and reproduction of scorpions. If the burrows are too wet, they are prone to attack by microorganisms, and molting becomes very difficult for the scorpions; if the activity area of the scorpions is too dry and the feed given lacks sufficient moisture, it will also affect the normal growth and development of the scorpions and may even induce mutual killing.

Scorpions like darkness and fear light, especially fearing stimulation by strong light, but they also need a certain degree of illumination in order to absorb the sun's heat, improve digestive capacity, speed up growth and development, and benefit the process of embryos hatching inside 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.

Scorpions have a strong avoidance response to various strong odors, such as paint, gasoline, kerosene, asphalt, and various chemicals, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, quicklime, and so on. It can be seen that their sense of smell is very keen, and the stimulation of these substances is very harmful to scorpions and can even kill them. Scorpions are also very sensitive to various strong vibrations and sounds, and sometimes these will even scare them away, causing them to stop eating, mating and reproducing, giving birth, and so on.