Biology        

Scorpions generally give birth to small amounts of young. By investing time and effort into caring for their young, they make up for their small brood sizes. Many spiders lay hundreds of eggs and then leave them to hatch, and the young spiderlings must fend for themselves. Very few spiderlings survive to adulthood but because of their sheer numbers populations perpetuate.

The female scorpion closes up her shelter prior to giving birth. She stands on her two pairs of back legs, while forming a birth basket with the first two pairs of legs. She arches her body as each scorpion is born alive. The new born scorpions emerge from her genital opening and fall into the birth basket created by her legs. They then climb onto her back.

The new born scorpions are not fully developed and are considered to be in their larval stage. 9 to 12 days later they will moult and become fully functional miniature scorpions in both colouration and anatomy. They then disperse into adjacent habitats and eke out an existence for themselves.

Long gestation periods and an extended period of brood care ensure that fatalities in new born scorpions are few. Gestation periods may be up to 18 months. An incredibly long period for any arthropod. Scorpions may give birth seasonally or all year round.

Many are habitat specialists, inhabiting very specific areas. Locating scorpions is achieved by first understanding their habitat requirements. Once the factors influencing their distributions has been determined, specific species can be located with relative ease.