What is a Scorpion-
Imagine being a cricket, out for a night of jumping and chirping to see if you can find other crickets. Without warning, you realize you found something, but it’s not another cricket. Immediately, you are in the grip of strong pinchers and you see a giant stinging tail hovering above you. You have just become a scorpion snack!
A scorpion has two front pinchers, a long body and a stinging tail. There are around 1,500 kinds of scorpions that scientists know about, but a lot more that haven’t been found yet.
Just like you have relatives, scorpions are related to spiders and ticks, and all are arachnids, which means they have eight legs, no antennae and their body is divided into two parts. The longest scorpion can grow to be over eight inches long, while the smallest is less than half an inch long.
If you look at scorpions in natural light, you would never know that they are one of nature’s glow sticks. But, if you put a scorpion under a black light, it glows a turquoise color
scorpion venom
Where do Scorpions Live-
Scorpions live on every continent in the world except Antarctica and hang out in different places like deserts, rain forests and grasslands. They set up their houses in underground burrows, under leaves or up in trees, and usually go hunting at night.
Some people think that all scorpion stings can kill people, but that isn’t true. Of all the different kinds of scorpions in the world, only 25 kinds are harmful to people. Only one of those dangerous scorpions lives in the United States and it is the bark scorpion. And though most scorpions can’t kill you, they should be left alone because their sting still hurts.
1. Scorpions are as old as dirt.
Scorpions have been giving people the heebie-jeebies for a very, Very, VERY long time. They have been on earth for more than 400 million years. That’s longer than humans and dinosaurs. And in that time, they haven’t changed a whole lot.
Scientists know of about 1,500 species of scorpions, but there could be another 1,000 undiscovered types.
2. They are tough as nails
This tiny arachnid can go an entire year without food! If that isn’t impressive, they can also live underwater for two days.
You can even freeze a scorpion and it won’t die! Some scientists have frozen scorpions just to watch them start moving and walk away after they thawed. Most scorpions live for about two to 10 years, but some can live as long as 25 years.
3. The most dangerous kind lives right here in Arizona (naturally).
The Southwest, particularly Arizona, is home to the bark scorpion, the most dangerous type out there.
Their venom is very potent and can, in some
scorpion venom
scorpion venom
