15 Facts about Scorpions

15 Facts about Scorpions 1) There are about 2,000 species of scorpions; about 40-50 of them have poison strong enough to kill people. 2) Scorpions are arachnids (not insects) and the scorpion is most closely related to spiders and ticks. Scorpions are sometimes referred to as ancient animals as scorpions have been on Earth for over 400 million years, meaning that scorpions already existed on Earth when the dinosaurs arrived. 3) The Scorpion doesn't have good vision in spite of the fact that it has so many eyes. They have at least 6 but they can have as many as 12. 4) The average Lifespan in the wild for the Scorpion is 2 to 10 years. Some have lived as long as 25 years in captivity. 5)The scorpion tail has a stinger with venom glands. 6) Scorpions have florescent materials on their shell. With ultraviolet light, they can glow in the dark. 7) Scorpions give birth to live young which then spend the early stage of their life on the back of their mother. 8) The most dangerous Scorpion species is the Arizona Bark Spider which is also called the Bark Scorpion. 9) They don't have bones. Instead they have an exoskeleton that is made out of the same substance as human fingernails. 10) There is only an anti venom for treatment with certain types of Scorpions. 11) Migraine headaches that last for a week or longer can be the result of the after effects of a dangerous Scorpion sting. 12) Antarctica is the only place on Earth where you won't find the Scorpion living. 13) Scorpions do not mate directly, but the male deposits a packet of sperm on the ground, and guides the female by holding her pincers with his pincers to move over the ground and the sperm package is picked up by the female genital opening during this 'dance'. 14) Scorpions become nocturnal when they are old enough to hunt and feed. They invade predators' homes such as birds, centipedes, lizards, mice, opossums, and rats. When hunting for a prey, they use their chelae, or pincers, to either crush or inject their victims with neurotoxic venom, which actually paralyzes or kills their prey. They use small, claw-like structures that protrude from their mouth for eating. Scorpions can only chew their food in a liquid form and will dispose any solid matter before ingestion. 15) Researchers have even frozen scorpions overnight, only to put them in the sun the next day and watch them thaw out and walk away.