Editing Scorpion (section)

===Birth and development===

[[File:scorpionwithyoung.JPG|thumb|''[[Compsobuthus werneri]]'' female with [[Offspring|young]] ]]

[[Gestation]] in scorpions can last for over a year in some species.{{sfn|Polis|1990|p=161}} They have two types of [[embryonic development]]; apoikogenic and katoikogenic. In the apoikogenic system, which is mainly found in the Buthidae, embryos develop in yolk-rich eggs inside [[Ovarian follicle|follicles]]. The katoikogenic system is documented in Hemiscorpiidae, Scorpionidae and Diplocentridae, and involves the embryos developing in a [[diverticulum]] which has a teat-like structure for them to feed through.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Warburg |first=M. R. |year=2010 |title=Reproductive System of Female Scorpion: A Partial Review |journal=The Anatomical Record |volume=293 |issue=10 |pages=1738–1754 |doi=10.1002/ar.21219 |pmid=20687160 |s2cid=25391120 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Unlike the majority of arachnids, which are [[oviparous]], hatching from eggs, scorpions seem to be universally [[viviparous]], with live births.<ref name="Warburg">{{cite journal |last1=Warburg |first1=Michael R. |title=Pre- and Post-parturial Aspects of Scorpion Reproduction: a Review |journal=European Journal of Entomology |date=5 April 2012 |volume=109 |issue=2 |pages=139–146 |doi=10.14411/eje.2012.018 |doi-access=free }}</ref> They are unusual among terrestrial arthropods in the amount of care a female gives to her offspring.{{sfn|Polis|1990|p=6}} The size of a brood varies by species, from 3 to over 100.<ref name="Scharff"/> The body size of scorpions is not correlated either with brood size or with life cycle length.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Monge-Nájera |first=J. |year=2019 |title=Scorpion Body Size, Litter Characteristics, and Duration of the Life Cycle (Scorpiones) |journal=Cuadernos de Investigación UNED |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=101–104}}</ref>

Before giving birth, the female elevates the front of her body and positions her pedipalps and front legs under her to catch the young ("birth basket"). The young emerge one by one from the genital opercula, expel the embryonic membrane, if any, and are placed on the mother's back where they remain until they have gone through at least one [[ecdysis|molt]]. The period before the first molt is called the pro-juvenile stage; the young are unable to feed or sting, but have [[Sucker (zoology)|suckers]] on their tarsi, used to hold on to their mother. This period lasts 5 to 25 days, depending on the species. The brood molt for the first time simultaneously in a process that lasts 6 to 8 hours, marking the beginning of the juvenile stage.<ref name="Scharff">{{cite book |last=Lourenço |first=Wilson R. |author-link=Wilson R. Lourenço |title=European Arachnology |chapter=Reproduction in Scorpions, with Special Reference to Parthenogenesis |year=2000 |editor1-first=S. |editor1-last=Toft |editor2-first=N. |editor2-last=Scharff |publisher=Aarhus University Press |isbn=978-877934-0015 |pages=74–76 |chapter-url=http://www.european-arachnology.org/wdp/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/071-085_Lourenco.pdf |access-date=14 December 2020 |archive-date=31 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531031223/http://www.european-arachnology.org/wdp/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/071-085_Lourenco.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Juvenile stages or [[instar]]s generally resemble smaller versions of adults, with fully developed pincers, hairs and stingers. They are still soft and lack pigments, and thus continue to ride on their mother's back for protection. They become harder and more pigmented over the next couple of days. They may leave their mother temporarily, returning when they sense potential danger. Once the exoskeleton is fully hardened, the young can hunt prey on their own and may soon leave their mother.{{sfn|Stockmann|2015|p=54}} A scorpion may molt six times on average before reaching maturity, which may not occur until it is 6 to 83 months old, depending on the species. Some species may live up to 25 years.{{sfn|Polis|1990|p=161}}