Shelter size and scent are factors that have an impact on shelter selection in females of two scorpion species

 

Shelter selection and shelters are important for the survival of most scorpions. Some scorpion dig their own burrow, others use naturally existing ones like cracks and crevices in rocks and stones, depressions under stones and burrows made by other animals.

Janina Hladik and co-workers have recently published a study investigation shelter selection (with focus on shelter size and scent) in females of Euscorpius italicus (Herbst, 1800) (Euscorpiidae) and Mesobuthus gibbosus (C.L. Koch, 1839) (Buthidae).

Females of both E. italicus and M. eupeus favor larger over smaller shelters, while they do not show clear preferences for conspecific scents. An impairment experiment showed that the scorpions could not detect size nor scent properly when either their pectines or pedipalps were impaired.

Abstract:
Shelter selection is an important task in an animal’s life. Concerning scorpions, little is known on the evaluation of potential shelters and the importance of chemosensation. To address these issues, we conducted a two-choice shelter test in rectangular open field arenas to identify properties rendering shelters attractive for female scorpions of the species E. italicus and M.  prey, aversive: rosemary oil). Contact with the shelters was video-recorded under red light for 13 h, including the whole night phase. Results revealed a preference for larger shelters, with conspecific scent having minor or no influence. Striking differences occurred with regard to prey and rosemary oil scents. Prey scent was more attractive to M. eupeus, while rosemary oil did not act as a repellent. E. italicus was not very attracted by prey scent, but was repelled by rosemary oil. These findings might reflect the different habitats, semi-arid vs. Mediterranean climates: prey and rosemary are scarce in the semi-arid climate (habitat of M. eupeus), whereas they are abundant in the Mediterranean climate (habitat of E. italicus). We carried out impairment experiments to identify the main sensory organs responsible for the above observations. These are the pectines and pedipalps which function as mechano- and chemosensors. Scorpions could not detect size nor scent properly when either their pectines or pedipalps were impaired.

Reference:
Hladik J, Bailer Y, Wolf H, Stemme T. Shelter selection in females of two scorpion species depends on shelter size and scent. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2024. [Open Access]