Emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator) molt
December 21, 2013 by allthingsbiological
Juvenile emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator) over its freshly shed exoskeleton, December 11, 2013. Click/double click image to enlarge.
My biology lesson of the day on December 11, 2013 involved a holiday gift that unwrapped itself! I came home to a freshly molted baby emperor scorpion, directly over its shed exoskeleton. It was a distinct purple and expanding at the time of the photograph. As you can see, the previous exoskeleton was light brown and much smaller. Pre- and post-molt images of the same scorpion follow.
Pre-molt image of the same scorpion, September, 2013. Click image to enlarge.
Emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator) three days postmolt. Note the distinctly enlarged pedipalps. Click/double click image to enlarge.
Those are some fine photos! Do you know anything about the mite on your scorpion’s carapace in the first image?
Even, the mite you see clearly when you double-click is commonly found on commercially produced crickets used to feed a variety of different species. Their impact is generally considered insignificant. Their numbers are best controlled by regular cage cleaning.