For a long time entomologists have known that female scorpions are much more apt to use their stingers, and are just altogether more vicious than their male counterparts. However, the reason why has always been a matter of dispute.
One reason researchers used to think that the female was just not as nice as the male scorpion was because the female’s tail is not as long and skinny as the males. The long skinny tails of the male scorpion make them more difficult to wield at prey with accuracy. Actually this is not the reason, and, for the sake of accuracy, the “tails” are actually the abdomen, which in scorpions is simply elongated.
It turns out female scorpions use their venomous stingers more often because they have a greater need to protect themselves, due to the fact that they cannot move as quickly as males. The reason for the female’s slower pace is likely because they are carrying extra weight from pregnancy.
So females are more aggressive because they are pregnant? And want to protect themselves and their offspring? It is surprising that this was not the first hypothesis.
Does this remind you of human pregnant females? Are pregnant women more likely to lash out in anger than their male counterparts? (I think this one is pretty obvious.)
