The scorpion

📖 In short

The scorpion is a small animal of hot countries, with eight legs, two big pincers at the front and a long tail curved over its back with a venomous stinger at the tip. It isn't an insect but a relative of the spider.

🤩 Did you know?

A scorpion has between 6 and 12 eyes.
A scorpion glows blue-green under a special light called ultraviolet!
A scorpion can live for months without food.
Scorpions have lived on Earth for millions of years.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 Pincers and a stinger

A scorpion grabs its prey with its strong pincers, then stings it with the stinger at the end of its tail if it needs to. It eats insects, spiders and sometimes small lizards.

🔍 Out at night

By day a scorpion hides under stones, in cracks and in the sand to escape the heat, and it comes out at night to hunt.

💡 A mother who carries her babies

A mother scorpion gives birth to live babies, which climb onto her back and stay there for several days until they're big enough to live on their own.

🎯 Be careful!

Some scorpion stings are painful and dangerous, especially for children. So don't put your hand under stones in the desert, and shake out your shoes before putting them on where there are lots of scorpions.