vaga007
Baby Bark Scorpions
These four Southern Devil Scorpions[amended to Bark Scorpion] (Vaejovis carolinianus) babies were found a couple days ago in the woods behind my apartment off Racine Drive (near UNCW). Although, at this stage of life, they are commonly found resting on top of their mother as their exoskeletons harden, these little Arachnids were by themselves. Perhaps their mother was eaten and they escaped. Luckily, scorpion species have strengthened their ecological niche by producing up to 30 babies at a time. This allows for a large amount of survivors, even with predators picking them off.
Currently, these critters have been crawling all around the pet carrier I put them in, not trying to hide at all. I love creepers and crawlers and have a pet tarantula (Shelob), but these guys will be returned to where they were found as soon as their exoskeletons harden. At that point, they would have left their mother anyways, and ventured out on their own. An incredibly interesting fact about scorpions is that they glow under a blacklight due to a chemical found in their hyaline layer, a coating on their exoskeleton. This is thought to help them see at night, when most of the light is the blue/green coming from the moon and stars.
Sources:
entomology.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/scorpions.htm
askabiologist.asu.edu/scorpion-facts
blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/12/23/wh...M
Baby Bark Scorpions
These four Southern Devil Scorpions[amended to Bark Scorpion] (Vaejovis carolinianus) babies were found a couple days ago in the woods behind my apartment off Racine Drive (near UNCW). Although, at this stage of life, they are commonly found resting on top of their mother as their exoskeletons harden, these little Arachnids were by themselves. Perhaps their mother was eaten and they escaped. Luckily, scorpion species have strengthened their ecological niche by producing up to 30 babies at a time. This allows for a large amount of survivors, even with predators picking them off.
Currently, these critters have been crawling all around the pet carrier I put them in, not trying to hide at all. I love creepers and crawlers and have a pet tarantula (Shelob), but these guys will be returned to where they were found as soon as their exoskeletons harden. At that point, they would have left their mother anyways, and ventured out on their own. An incredibly interesting fact about scorpions is that they glow under a blacklight due to a chemical found in their hyaline layer, a coating on their exoskeleton. This is thought to help them see at night, when most of the light is the blue/green coming from the moon and stars.
Sources:
entomology.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/scorpions.htm
askabiologist.asu.edu/scorpion-facts
blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/12/23/wh...M