Anne Roach, aged 10, of Lindale, Texas, for her question.

What does a scorpion eat?

The most important thing about a scorpion is his sting. We should know all we can about this weapon before we try to feed him. We should also remember that he carries a pair of sharp nippers. True,a scorpion does not go out of his way to attack human beings. But he will defend himself with sting and nippers if he feels threatened.

There are some 400 members of Scorpionida ‑ the scorpion family. The giant of the family is the black eight‑inch scorpion of the tropics. As a pet, this fellow needs expert handling. For his sting has been known to kill a person mho is not in good health. The sting of most scorpions is somewhat worse than a bee sting. Most scorpions carry stings, All of them carry nippers. So ‑ watch out:

Mr, Scorpion looks like a baby lobster ‑ except that he has a long thin tail. He scuttles along on eight legs and often carries his tail arched over his back. His thorny sting is in the end of the tail. It is a hollow curved needle. And he is usually careful to ,dab it into a soft spot of his prey. He might break it on the hard coat of a beetle;

There are about 35 kinds of scorpion in our land. Scorpionida is a warm climate family. So our scorpions are natives of the south and southwest. They spend the dp.y lazing under stones and rocks. Hunting is done at night. They hunt for all kinds of insects and spiders. They may even attack small mice and shrews. Some people say they will eat frogs and toads. But at least one kind of toad dines on scorpions:

Almost any one of our scorpions would make an interesting pet ‑ if you are careful to dolge his weapons. He is a meat eater and it is better to deliver his prey alive to him. He will enjoy a fat spider. He will grasp a juicy cricket. He will set about a shiny beetle more carefully ‑ in order not to damage his stinger. In fact he will eat and enjoy almost any kind of insect or spider. If he is a stinging scorpion, he will sting his prey before eating it.

One scorpion especially makes a fine pet. He is called a vinegaroon, because he smells a bit like vinegar. He is really the whip‑tail scorpion. His body may be three inches long and his whip tail another three inches. He is dark brown in color and he has no sting. But watch out for his nippers.

The vinegaroon is probably the best pet scorpion to keep. Not only is he safer, since he has no tail sting, but he tends to be more friendly than the stinging scorpiohs. He gets to recognize you and to like being a pet. In time, and with great care, you can get Mr. Vinegaroon to accept his dinner from your fingers. He too will eat almost any kind of insect or spider. Any lady scorpion has one horrible habit ‑ she will even eat a gentleman scorpion: