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If you are someone who doesn’t have much experience with scorpions, you might be wondering why your scorpion sometimes appears to be shaking.
Male scorpions shake or sway from side to side when looking for a mate. And even those males that live alone in captivity may do this when ‘looking’ for a female to mate with.
How Scorpions Mate
In the wild, scorpions
mate during specific seasonal periods, dependent on where they live. Those from temperate regions tend to mate during spring and summer while those hailing from more tropical parts of the world usually mate during the rainy season.
Shiny Burrow Scorpion 
Giant Hairy Scorpion 
Malaysian Black Scorpion
Male scorpions must be incredibly careful when looking for a mate because if it is not done correctly then they could end up being eaten by the female their advances are directed to. Part of this caution manifests by the male shaking its body and swaying its tail from side to side. This process sends vibrations through the ground, alerting the female. Males also emit pheromones to attract female scorpions. If the female in question is interested in the male and his advances, she will signal to let him know it is safe to approach her.
The mating ritual consists of a dance between the male and the female in which they lock pincers and rotate. The male deposits a sac on the ground which contains his sperm. He will then work to guide the female over the sac to make sure it attaches to her genital opening. The mating ritual can take a while, but once over the two scorpions will go their separate ways. Nevertheless, in some instances the female will attack the male and devour him.
Emperor Scorpion 
Flat Rock Scorpion 
Large-Clawed Scorpion
Mating in Captivity
If you have both male and female scorpions in the same enclosure, you may notice your male scorpion shaking from time to time. You might also get to witness the mating ritual. If you have more than one male in the enclosure, you might see that they get into skirmishes when vying for the attention of the female. This is something that rarely happens in the wild as populations of scorpions are few and far between.
Note though that even if you do not have both male and female scorpions, you may notice your scorpion shaking. It is likely that he is looking to mate, but if this behavior continues or if you are concerned for its health, it might be best to seek out some expert advice.
Photo Credits:
- Featured Image (Black Fat-Tailed Scorpion): Speedphi – This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
- Shiny Burrow Scorpion: Bernard DUPONT – This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
- Giant Hairy Scorpion: Robb Hannawacker – This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
- Malaysian Black Scorpion: Hectonichus – This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
- Emperor Scorpion: Mike Baird – “Mike” Michael L. Baird – This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
- Flat Rock Scorpion: Ryanvanhuyssteen – This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
- Large-Clawed Scorpion: Guy Haimovitch – This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.