QuestionArizona bark scorpion
Do Scorpions Carry Their Babies? Live Birth and Scorpion Mothers
Yes, scorpions carry their babies. Scorpions give birth to live young, and right after birth the babies climb onto their mother’s back and ride there, protected, until their first molt about one to three weeks later. This kind of care is unusual among arthropods and is found in every scorpion species studied.
Contents
How do scorpions give birth?
All known scorpions are viviparous, which means they give birth to live young rather than laying eggs. Pregnancy is long for such small animals: it lasts several months in many species and more than a year in some.
There are two main ways embryos develop. In the family Buthidae, which includes the Arizona bark scorpion and the deathstalker, embryos grow inside yolk-rich membranes within the mother. In families such as the Scorpionidae, embryos develop in pouches in the mother’s body and are fed through tiny teat-like structures, a little like a placenta.
When she is ready to give birth, the female raises the front of her body and folds her pincers and front legs beneath her to form a kind of “birth basket”. The young emerge one by one from the genital opening under her body. Each one breaks free of any thin membrane and climbs up her legs onto her back. Delivering a whole brood can take several hours.
Why do baby scorpions ride on their mother’s back?
Newborn scorpions are pale, soft and helpless. At this stage, called the pro-juvenile stage, they cannot eat or sting. Their outer skeleton has not hardened, and they would dry out or be eaten quickly on their own. Small suckers on their feet help them hold on to the mother’s back.
Riding on the mother keeps them away from predators such as ants, spiders, centipedes and other scorpions, and close to a parent that can defend them with her pincers and stinger. The young live on the yolk reserves they were born with while the mother rests in a sheltered, humid hiding place.
How long do they stay on her back?
The young stay on the mother’s back until their first molt, when they shed their first skin. This takes about 5–25 days, depending on the species and temperature. In the Arizona bark scorpion it usually takes up to about three weeks. The whole brood molts at roughly the same time, often within a few hours.
After that first molt the young look like small, pale versions of adults, with pincers and a working stinger. They usually remain on or near the mother for a few more days while their new skeleton hardens and darkens. They may climb down and return if danger threatens. Then they disperse and begin to hunt small insects on their own.
How many babies do scorpions have?
Brood size varies greatly. Some small species have only a handful of young, while large broods can exceed 100. The Arizona bark scorpion typically has about 25–35 young.
| Stage | What happens | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Courtship | Male and female “dance” while the male looks for a place to leave sperm | Minutes to hours |
| Pregnancy | Embryos develop inside the female | Several months, over a year in some species |
| Birth | Young climb onto mother’s back | Several hours |
| Riding stage | Young cannot feed or sting; stay on mother | About 5–25 days, until first molt |
| Juvenile stages | Young hunt alone and molt about five or six more times | From several months to several years |
Scorpions grow slowly. Depending on the species, they reach adulthood at anywhere from about 6 months to nearly 7 years old. Some species can live for up to about 25 years.
The scorpion mating dance
Before birth comes one of the strangest courtships in the animal world. A male finds a receptive female by detecting her scent with comb-like sense organs, called pectines, on the underside of his body. He often begins by jerking or shaking his body, which may send vibrations through the ground.
He then grasps the female’s pincers with his own and leads her back and forth in a dance known by the French name promenade à deux, “a walk for two”. The dance can last from minutes to hours. In some species the pair also lock mouthparts, rub tails together, or the male gives the female a brief sting whose purpose is not fully understood.
When the male finds a firm spot, he deposits a small sperm packet called a spermatophore. He then pulls the female over it so that it enters her body. Afterward the two separate quickly. Despite the popular idea, there is little good evidence that female scorpions regularly eat males after mating.
Do scorpions have family life?
Most scorpions live alone, and older young leave their mother within weeks. In some species, however, family ties last longer. A few large tropical burrowing scorpions, for example, have been observed living in family groups in which older juveniles share a burrow with the mother and sometimes share food.
Arizona bark scorpions show another kind of social behavior: in winter they gather in groups in sheltered crevices, as explained in can scorpions climb walls?. This is not true family life, but it shows that scorpions are less solitary than often assumed.
Other animals that carry their young
Scorpions are not the only arachnids that carry babies. Female wolf spiders carry their egg sac and then their spiderlings on their backs, and whip scorpions do something similar. You can read about this in why wolf spiders carry their babies.
A scorpion carrying young should be left alone. A mother defends her brood and may sting if disturbed, and some species, including the Arizona bark scorpion and the deathstalker, have venom that can be dangerous to people.
Frequently asked questions
Do scorpions lay eggs?
No. All known scorpions give birth to live young. In some families the embryos develop inside thin egg membranes within the mother, but the young are still born alive rather than laid as eggs.
How many babies does a scorpion have?
Brood size ranges from as few as 3 to more than 100 young, depending on the species and the size of the mother. An Arizona bark scorpion usually has about 25–35 babies at a time.
How long do baby scorpions stay on their mother's back?
They stay until their first molt, which takes about 5–25 days depending on the species. After molting they may stay a little longer, then leave to live on their own.
Do scorpion mothers eat their babies?
Mothers normally protect their young while they ride on her back. Later, once the young are independent, scorpions may eat smaller scorpions, including their own offspring, if they meet them, especially when food is scarce.
What are baby scorpions called?
Baby scorpions are usually called scorplings, or simply young or nymphs. Newborns are pale and soft and cannot feed or sting until after their first molt.
Are baby scorpions more venomous than adults?
No. This is a common myth. Young scorpions are not more venomous than adults, and they carry far less venom, although young of dangerous species should still never be handled.
Sources and further reading
- Polis, G. A. (ed.), The Biology of Scorpions, Stanford University Press (1990)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Scorpion"
Cite this page
“Do Scorpions Carry Their Babies? Live Birth and Scorpion Mothers.” Animal Atlas, https://animals.bigworldlist.com/questions/do-scorpions-carry-their-babies/.
