It is generally not an easy task to identify the sex of a scorpion, as many dimorphic features are seen only in adult individuals. But as for mating, this animal is anything but discreet.
For reproduction, the male holds the female in his pedipalps and performs a courtship ritual, which consists of drag and swing it on all sides until the release (on the ground) of a tube containing sperm, called spermatophore. After these actions, the female positions herself in it, penetrating her genital operculum. In some species, such as the yellow scorpion, there is reproduction by paternogenesis.
The puppies, after birth, are taken one by one by the mother to the back, where they remain until the first moult and start to live independently.
As for spiders, the male usually spins a web, called a sperm web, and deposits his sperm there, injecting it into the female afterwards. For mating, the male also causes rhythmic vibrations in the web or other place where he is located with his palps, attracting the female. This one, after copulation, as many already know, rips off the head of its partner and eats it - and the most surprising thing is that many stronger offspring, when they are born, feed on their siblings.
Many males, to avoid being eaten – and it is worth remembering that it is not only the black widow who practices cannibalism – wrap a fly or some other "snack" in a silk package and presents the female and, when she is unarmed, approaches and, after mating, runs away.
Other males take advantage of the moulting moment to approach immediately, as it is a time when the female is more vulnerable and, consequently, less aggressive.
A surprising form of ritual is for the male to skillfully touch a particular thread in the web of the female, indicating that it is not a potential prey – or a predator, but rather an individual of its species with intentions of copula.
Finally, in a style that many would consider crude, some males tie the female to silk threads. before mating so that they can pass on their genes, but escaping in time to not be devoured!
By Mariana Araguaia
Graduated in Biology
Brazil School Team
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animalia kingdom - Realms of the Living World - Biology - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
ARAGUAIA, Mariana. "Mating of scorpions and spiders"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biologia/acasalamento-escorpioes-aranhas.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
