Introduction: Good afternoon! I am going to provide some information to you about the tailless whip scorpion. It is a very frightening arachnid but do not worry, it is harmless to you and me. Let us look at some characteristics of the tailless whip scorpion together.
Where Do I Live? I live in multiple types of climates such as here in the Sonoran Desert, but I prefer tropical and humid habitats. I am a shy creature, so I am usually hiding under tree bark, leaves, rocks, hollow logs, and tree trunks during the day. At night, I come out and hunt for food.
 What Do I Eat? I am a carnivore, which means I eat meat. My diet consists of crickets, worms, and other bugs. One of my bigger family members can even eat a frog! Although I eat meat, I cannot eat you for dinner.How Do I Reproduce? The males place spermatophores on the ground and with their pedipalps, guide us (the females) over to the sperm. After collecting the sperm, I lay fertilized eggs into a sac carried under my belly. After my babies hatch, they climb onto my back and any that fall off before their first molt will be eaten by me.How Do I Look? My body can measure anywhere between .3 to 2 inches, depending on which species I am. I look like a cross between a crab, spider, and scorpion. My body is wide and flat, I have six walking legs with two “whip-like” feelers, and two pedipalps that are used to capture prey. One feeler points in the direction I am moving while the other feels around my sides. I move very fast and sideways, so you will have a hard time catching me.  Fun Fact About Me! Although my name is tailless whip scorpion, I am not a scorpion or a spider. People have made up all sorts or rumors that I can cause extreme harm to humans, but I am actually harmless to you!
Let's now add some fun to what we just learned!
Kindergarten: Find a picture of me on the internet with adult supervision, print it out and explain what I am to your parents. Or, if you do not have ink or paper, you can locate a picture on the internet with adult supervision, and explain to your parents what it is.
First grade: Find a picture on the internet with adult supervision of me, print it out or display it on the computer screen and write/tell your parents one fact about what you learned about me.
Second grade: Find a picture on the internet with adult supervision of me, print it out or display the picture on the computer screen and write/tell your parents four facts about what you know about me.
Third grade: Create your own drawing of me, color it similar to my markings, and write a story underneath. Your story should include who am I, where I am from, what I like to eat.
Find out more information about me below!
This is an amazing site that has a lot of useful information about the tailless whip scorpion. It also has links to find out information about the black widow, hobo spiders and other insects. The tailless whip scorpion's diet, habitat, and location can also be found on this web page. http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_whipscorpions.php This web page has an interesting diagram of the tailless whip scorpion and the sun spider. It provides a simple description of the whip spider and sun spider and how they reproduce. This webpage has the tailless whip scorpion's family, class, and order listed at the top of the page. http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/speciesprofile/species/amblypigid.html This is one of my favorite web pages about the tailless whip scorpion. This is because it has videos of the whip spider in a habitat, multiple links regarding the tailless whip scorpion and their history. If you are a Harry Potter fan, it mentions the tailless whip scorpion being used in the movie. This web page has more in-depth information about this desert critter. http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/arachnids/tailless_whipscorpion/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amblypygi Wikipedia always provides excellent in-depth information on any topic that you would want to research. This webpage of the tailless whip scorpion or amblypygi, gives great detail on what this creature looks like, how it reproduces, where it can be found, how many families there are, and so on. For students who want to know the origin of the word, Wikipedia provides the root words and external links that students can use to access additional information about the tailless whip scorpion. http://www.oaklandzoo.org/site/animals/arthropods/tailless-whip-scorpion This website lists information on the tailless whip scorpion and provides a picture of what this weird, little creature looks like. The format of the page is simple yet gives a lot of information that a student of any grade may use. |
