Sting in the tale
1 They are thought to be the oldest land animal, dating back around 420million years. Fossil records have shown during the Silurian Period, which ended 419m years ago, they started to venture on to dry land.
2
Part of the arachnid family like spiders, scorpions have eight legs and pincers. The largest breed is Asia’s giant forest scorpion, which can grow to around 23cm long and weigh approximately 56g.
3
The yellow-tailed scorpion arrived in the UK around 200 years ago by accident after hitching a boat ride from the Mediterranean. They are commonly found in Kent and Hampshire but have been put off travelling elsewhere due to our damp weather. With climate change making our summers hotter, they could be encouraged to move around.
4
When they’re in the mood for getting jiggy, scorpions face off against each other and raise their tails above their backs in an apparent mating dance known as a promenade à deux (walk for two in French).
5
They then hold each other’s antenna-like appendages called pedipalps, which they use for sensing what is around them, and proceedings end with the male leaving his sperm in a capsule on the ground for the female. In captivity, females have been known to eat the male once the deed is done!
6
Boasting low metabolic rates, scorpions can go for long periods without eating – even as long as a year. They use enzymes to digest their prey externally then suck them into their throats as their tiny mouths means they can only eat in liquid form.
7
Fluorescent chemicals in their exoskeleton allows scorpions to glow in the dark under UV light. It is also thought this helps them with hunting and finding each other. Even millions of years after their death, they keep glowing.
8
Buthidae are the largest family of scorpions. They have large tails with smaller pincers and there are around 1,339 species.
9
Every scorpion has venom, with the deadliest types said to be the Indian red and Arabian fat-tailed critters.
10
Baby scorpions, known as nymphs, are born live rather than in eggs and will live on their mother’s back until old enough to fend for themselves.
11
The purpose of the venom is to subdue prey and to protect themselves from attackers. But they prefer to kill their meals with their pincers as making venom is an energetic task.
12
Boffins have discovered scorpion venom can help create cures for human diseases. Chlorotoxin found in the venom of the deathstalker species has inspired new ways of diagnosing and treating some cancers, while the anti-microbial peptides found in Asian scorpion venom have got anti-inflammatory properties which could be used to treat arthritis.