The Scorpions

The solitary desert scorpion may look like an insect, but actually it belongs to a group of animals called arachnids. Arachnids have eight legs, while insects have just six. Scorpions come in all types of different colours and sizes: from the 3/4 inch black ones to the 8 inches yellow ones. They are one of the most dangerous and deadly creatures of the desert. Out of all desert animals, scorpions are probably best adapted to desert life. They can bear higher temperatures than any insect or spider, and they have the lowest water-loss rate in the desert. They can even go without water for a few months and survive without food for more than a year! Scorpions are almost totally nocturnal creatures. In the daytime, they usually hide in large, cool, damp underground burrows. Some bury themselves in shallow holes or loose sand, or hide under rocks and plants. At night, they come out to hunt for food.

DID YOU KNOW?

Special fluids in the stomach help the scorpion digest its food. Then it sucks up the juices of the insect. Sometimes, after mating, the female scorpion eats the male scorpion!