A. bicolor

Finally got some of these, i picked up 3 of them, 2 aeneas morphs and a "matte" black morph, super cool scorpions. More pictures up later. A. australis will be here monday...if anyone has an A. Crassicauda for trade?



these were in deli cups when i bought them..kinda dirty :/

Beautiful scorp!. I really like the looks of these. How big do they get and how aggressive (and active) are they? How mature is this one you think?

Thanks dude! These are my personal favorites. They are a medium/large scorpion, and can reach lengths of up to 10 cm. thats about the size of your average emperor scorpion!

Personality really varies, as this depends on temperature, hydration, sex, and the time of year (mating season is typically more stressful for arachnids, especially males).

This particular specimen is nicknamed "Nightmare" because that is exactly what "she" is (pectine "finger" count @ 24...well, thats looking upside down through a delicup, up the skirt of a minitank rampaging like it wants a rent check with a cheap magnifying glass lol, Im going to scan them soon. not in a rush to risk an envenomation). she has 2 hides, marked her territory, and is consistantly perched on her front porch. She has a terrible attitude, absolutely no cooperation.. She flicks venom, and is fast as heck...total nightmare.

Shes 3cm long, I am assuming 7-9instar. these are slow growers

PuzL wrote:

They are a medium/large scorpion, and can reach lengths of up to 10 cm. thats about the size of your average emperor scorpion!

Hey PuzL

It's misleading that you would compare Androctonus bicolor to emperor scorpions (Pandinus imperator).

Androctonus bicolor actually belong to small/medium species of scorpions, at 7.instar, they usually measures about 6-8cm while a 7.instar Pandinus imperator typically falls between 10-16cm +/-, belonging to the larger species of scorpions.

I'm not ruling out the possibly of a "giant" A.bicolor, hence, if you do have A.bicolor specimens reaching 10cm in length. Is it possible for you to take a comparison picture of it beside a ruler?

PuzL wrote:

Shes 3cm long, I am assuming 7-9instar. these are slow growers

Any typo in this?

They usually matures at 7.instar. Growth rate varies according to the keeping conditions. They can mature within 1 year.

If you meant, 3cm of total length (including tail), it could be 3-4.instar
If you meant, 3cm of only body length (mesosoma length), it could be 6-7.instar

3cm mesosoma length, I have seen some large bicolors before, perhaps it has to do with region? I do love your contest. It is very professional, I admire that indeed.

Yes it is very misleading to compare an A. bicolor to an emperor scorpion, In my defense i stated "average" emperor which (where I am from) is usually 10cm. This was mentioned more or less to state an example on how large an Androctonus scorpion (under the right conditions) can grow in length.

I do agree that growth rates vary and conditions apply.


<3

Sexually mature yes, full grown? No, will she reach 10cm? More than likely not, Can she? Under the right conditions? Oh yea

Thanks for the comments on the contest thread.

Yes, size difference is definitely possible across regions but it might be better to compare in similar levels, e.g. largest possible size to largest possible size or average size to average size etc.

Unless you meant that your average A.bicolor is about 10cm, just like the average P.imperator of 10cm found in your area?

Of course, I do not rule out the possibility of an 8.instar A.bicolor female and neither do i own all the A.bicolor across regions hence it'll definitely be an eye opener for me as well, if you are able to post pics of comparison pics or links leading to such comparative info (regarding 10cm A.bicolors)

Nevertheless, they are some awesome additions.

Not looking at pectine count, i would guess that the picture you just posted is a 7.instar adult female.. i could be wrong of course

Lol I would be stumped but not surprised if i saw a 10cm bicolor, I generalized Androctonus as a whole. And as such, based on average data collection, you win hands down. dude have you seen some of the feeding videos on youtube/ these things are huge at least 6-7 cm, Military stationed in iraq took videos on youtube where they catch these and duel them vs sunspiders in 5 gallon buckets, Insane arachnid footage. These are big scorpions. although those pedipelps kind of resemble A. crassicauda, Check the vids, and correct me if I am wrong...sure wouldnt be the first time.


The largest androctonus scorpion (subspecies varies) has the potential, to grow to the size of 10 cm, which is the size of a small/medium emperor scorpion 8-10cm

camel spider VS black scorpion on youtube. thats a big scorp. I wanna say thats an A. crassicauda, or an A. mauretanicus, but the highlighted setae throw me off.

i've seen p. trans almost as big as emps but never a. bicolors

toidy wrote:

i've seen p. trans almost as big as emps but never a. bicolors

All depends on the size of each specimen and if they are considered massive in comparison with scorpions from the same spp.
I do agree with you that P. transvaalicus get much larger than any A. bicolor will ever be. If an A. bicolor did reach a massive size I would still say that they would lose to an averagely sized P. transvaalicus and Emp.

I agree with everything everyone is saying, I also agree that A. bicolor will rarely get that large, however it can. but perhaps an Emp was a dramatic comparison :p