They crawl in the night, stinger held high, poised and ready to strike. Their pincers threatening attack, while their animal instincts size up the unwilling target. The scorpion is a mysterious creature. Often featured in horror movies and shiver-inducing dare shows, the scorpion holds fear and curiosity in the minds of men and women across the world.
The scorpion is part of the arachnid species. According to the World Encyclopedia, it typically thrives throughout the world in warmer regions, growing up to 7 inches long. The scorpion has two body sections, a pair of pinchers, and a tail that ends in a poisonous stinger. Unlike its spider cousin, the scorpion only has two eyes in which to spot its prey.
The diet of these creatures is quite diverse. They have a diet that largely consists of invertebrates and small lizards. These invertebrates, or insects, are widely available to the scorpion, making it easy for the scorpion to adapt to many living conditions. Human homes provide plenty of prey for the scorpion, providing a comfortable habitat as well.
To find their pray in the desert, the scorpion uses its extremely sensitive detectors. Unsuspecting prey, mutual inhabitants of the desert, make vibrations as they crawl across the sand or thrive underneath the surface. The vibrations lead the scorpion to its next meal, and the prey’s impending death.
Zoologists have discovered amazing metabolic adaptations of the scorpion. The metabolic rate of a scorpion is approximately at the same rate of a tick. Ticks are able to sit on tree branches for months without the slightest hint of food. The scorpion is able to eat very minimal amounts of food as well and survive like the tick. In fact, it only has to eat one insect and it can survive for an entire year without a second meal. When conditions become extreme, the creature can burrow down, use very little oxygen, and survive the harshest weather and habitats. When conditions change, the scorpion can easily switch into the severe hunter that he is, once again on the hunt.
The scorpion has been the subject of many ancient stories and nightmares. In ancient Greece, the scorpion was the punishment sent by Gaia (Mother Earth) to the boastful and proud hunter Orion. His deadly sting brought instant death to the hunter, ending his vanity and his bold proclamations of his power. Orion and the scorpion were sent to adorn the night skies in constellations, forever to depict the tragedy and deadly beauty of the mighty scorpion. Living on forever in the stars and on the land of several regions of the world, the painful sting and mysterious looks of the scorpion will forever capture the attention of not only the ancient Greeks, but of today’s men, women, and children.
