Marvels of the Universe 



277 



night. Next morning, if the stone be turned over, the female is found to be in sole possession, 

 with possibly a fragment of her spouse beside her. The details of the awful tragedy are not fully 

 known, but it appears that the lady, who has hitherto remained perfectly passive, suddenly takes 

 the government of the household into her own hands and has her husband served up for breakfast. 

 Exactly how she manages to overpower him, especially considering that he had hold of her hands, 

 is not kno\\Ti, but the result is alwa3-s the same, 



\Miatever may be thought of her conduct as a wife, the female Scorpion forms an exemplary 

 mother. About fourteen months after the tragedy of niating she deposits her eggs. It was 

 formerh' believed that Scorpions brought forth their young fully formed, but M. Fabre's researches 

 have proved that they are really deposited as eggs, though the eggshell is an extremely delicate 



riiolobij] ir./I. Falire. 



A FRIENDLY' GREETING. 



Two Scorpions meeting stand face to face with claws extended. Each raises its hinder part, as if it were trying to 

 stand on its head, until their tails cross, when they hook the tips round each other. 



membrane, from which the soft, helpless young are unable to free themselves without the aid of 

 the mother. As soon as the eggs are laid, .the mother proceeds to tear open the membrane with her 

 pincers and carefully detach it from the young ; as soon as all are free she collects the debris and 

 swallows it. The little creatures are now about one-third of an inch long, white, and almost helpless ; 

 they climb with difficulty to the back of the mother, where they lie closely packed together for a 

 week. At the end of this time, during which they have taken no nourishment, they undergo a kind 

 of moult, but instead of the old skin being left intact, as happens at later moults, it peels off in rags 

 and tatters, which remain as a kind of blanket over the mother. The young Scorpions are now 

 about half as long again as before, and become more lively, climbing about the mother and some- 

 times starting to wander off by themselves, only to be caught and brought back again. In another 

 week they are able to catch food for themselves ; the mother now ceases to take any interest in 

 thern, and the family soon becomes dispersed, each member wandering off to fend for itself. 



