Scorpions are predators that belong to the class of Arachnida which includes ticks, mites, and spiders. They possess eight legs, a tail that often curves, and pair of pincers. On the end of the segmented tail, it has a stinger that is venomous. The scorpion often avoids bright daylight like direct sunlight and looks for the darkest spot to hide. Giant hairy scorpions are known to quickly grab their prey with their pincers and then paralyze their opponent with their venomous sting. The tail sting of this giant hairy scorpion is also used as a strong defense against predators.If you loved this article, why not also read about how many legs a scorpion has or the deadliest scorpion here on Kidadl? How often do scorpions lay eggs?Scorpions are unusual among the invertebrates as they give birth rather than laying eggs. Fertilized eggs remain inside the body of the mother scorpion, where they hatch, and babies are born. So it appears as if the scorpion is giving live birth. It is because of this behavior a scorpion is considered viviparous.The scorpion reproduction cycle or life cycle starts with mating between the male and female adults, which usually occurs in the warm months. During courtship, adult scorpions hold each other’s pincers and move around in a dance-like manner where the male tries to move the female scorpion onto his laydown sperm packet and releases sperms into her genital opening called gonopore. Sometimes females kill and eat male scorpions after mating. Scorpian babies hatch from the fertilized eggs inside the body of the female. Embryos are taken care of inside the female body for 7-12 months. Most temperate scorpion species give birth in summer or spring, while tropical species can give birth throughout the year. A female scorpion can mate several times, and in some species, females are ready for mating soon after giving birth to a clutch of baby scorpions. In some species, the sperm from a single mating is stored inside the female’s body, and multiple clutches are produced throughout the year without actually mating again. They do not lay eggs outside like other insects but can have an average litter size of 25 and can have up to 100 babies in a single brood.Once the babies are born, the female scorpion protects the baby scorpions by carrying them on its back till the shell of the scorpion babies becomes hardened. The female scorpion selects the safest and most protected places for giving birth to her offspring and remains in such place until the baby scorpions are old enough to take care of themselves.How many eggs do scorpions lay at a time?Scorpions do not lay eggs. In fact, the fertilized eggs or embryos develop inside the female’s body. The female scorpion gives birth to the babies several months after mating. Scorpions reproduce by a viviparous method wherein the babies are born live and developed from fertilized eggs inside the female’s body. The scorpion babies are not hatched by laying down eggs outside the female body like insects.The female scorpion gives birth at different intervals, in various distinct periods, with a mediate rest time of at least ten hours. The whole birth process may last for a few hours or sometimes a few days also. Depending on the species, the litter size can range from 1- 100, with the average standing at 25.As soon as they are born, baby scorpions have a very soft outside shell. They crawl upon their mother’s back and remain there for 10 to 20 days. They crawl until their outside shell gets firm and rigid. A female scorpion can give birth to 20 to 47 nymphs depending on the species. One interesting scorpion fact is that the mother scorpion can hold back conception after mating and give birth to babies when conditions are perfect or suitable.At an immature stage, it is impossible to distinguish between male from female scorpions. The male scorpion has relatively long and slender chelipeds, and in the female scorpion, it is significantly stouter, shorter, and broader. Almost certainly impelled by the scarcity of food, the mother scorpion can eat its young ones.Do tarantulas lay eggs in cactus?After the conception, the eggs are maintained in the female’s body, where the embryos are survived in utero for intervals varying from several months to a year. They are different from insects like tarantulas.Female tarantulas could lay eggs in an egg sac that contains two to more than 100 eggs. They live in burrows and hence also lay their eggs there. They then rest the eggs there and cover them with spider silk to make an egg sac to protect them. The fact that tarantulas lay eggs inside the cactus, which makes the cactus explode once the young ones are born, is a total myth. Tarantulas usually lay eggs in their burrows, and even if they lay eggs near the cacti, they would be on the cactus and not inside it.Do scorpions live in cactus?Most scorpions can eat a vast amount of food in one meal. They commonly prey on insects, especially spiders but occasionally can also prey on snails, lizards, rodents, snakes, etc. Their enormous food storage organs, together with a low metabolism rate and an inactive lifestyle, means that if required, they can survive 6-12 months without eating again.Some insects like spiders and scorpions are often seen hanging around cacti. But scorpions generally like dark places and prefer to live in burrows, cracks, under the rocks, or barks. Emperor scorpion, which is one of the largest scorpion species, is often seen burrowing in termite molds. This emperor scorpion is seen in the rainforests of West Africa. Citrus trees are the plants that attract scorpions which give a source of shade for scorpions. As they must be hidden and protected from the heat and direct sunlight, we can often see scorpions under the tree shades, especially during the hotter months of the year. Some species of scorpions are highly adaptable and can withstand freezing temperatures as well as scorching temperatures. Some can stay alive even after being submerged in water for a day or two. These kinds of adaptations increase its survival rate.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for do scorpions lay eggs, then why not take a look at most venomous scorpions, or can scorpions kill you?
Scorpions are predators that belong to the class of Arachnida which includes ticks, mites, and spiders.
