Giant Whip Scorpian (Vinegaroon)

Mastigoproctus giganteus

Range: Southwestern United States, Northern Mexico,

and Florida

Habitat: Desert habitat for most of their range. They are

found in grasslands in Florida

Diet: Insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, moths,

beetles, cockroaches, and mealworms. They have also
been recorded eating frogs

Lifespan: 4-7 years

Description: They are members of the arachnid group, like spiders and scorpions, they
have 8 legs, 8 eyes, and 2 body parts. Their front two legs are held up and used for sensing
and they use 6 legs for walking. They have one pair of eyes on top of their head and three eyes
on each side of their head. They can grow up to 24” not including their tail. They look like
scorpions because they have a thin tail, but they cannot use their tail to sting.

Breeding: Breeding takes place at night during the fall. The female with approach the male
and the male with grab her with his pedipalps. They will engage in a “dance” for several
hours. Once the “dance” is complete they will stand side-by-side while the male releases his
spermatophore. The spermatophore takes several hours to form and they will remain
motionless while they wait. Once it is ready the male pulls the female toward it and she takes
it up into her gonopore. The males then spend two or more hours pushing the spermatophore
inside her gonopore.
Several months later the female will lay an egg sac with 30-40 eggs inside. She will remain in
her burrow with the egg sac attached to her abdomen for several months until the eggs hatch.
Once they hatch the young climb on the females back for about a month until their first molt.
After the young have molted the female will die of starvation.

Behavior/Adaptations: They are nocturnal and spend the day in their burrows. They will
sometimes build burrows with tunnels and several chambers. They can use the opening of
their burrow to catch their prey.
They typically move slowly, but can be quick when chasing prey.
Unless they are breeding vinegarroons are solitary and will cannibalize smaller individuals.
When threatened they spay an acid substance that smells like vinegar from the base of their
tail. They can release their spray up to 19 times in a row.

Predators: Large mammals, reptiles, other vinegaroons, hunting wasps, and they are
sometimes parasitized by nematodes or roundworms.

Conservation: Not listed

Empathy Stories and Messages:
Vinegaroons spend most of their time in their burrows underground. Pretend it’s
daytime and you are a vinegaroon sitting in your burrow. As the sun is setting it’s time
for you to find your food. You sit at the entrance to your burrow and wait for a bug to
come by. Since we aren’t bugs, we don’t have to worry about vinegaroons hurting us.
They prefer to try and get away when they feel scared. If that doesn’t work, they will
spray acid out of their tail. This acid is similar to vinegar and isn’t harmful to humans.
This is why they are called vinegaroons. As long as we give them space, they will give
us space. Arachnids, like vinegaroons, scorpions, and spiders, are good to have around
because they eat lots of bugs. We don’t have vingaroons in Minnesota/Wisconsin, but
we have other types of arachnids that are just as important. Giving them space is
important so they can eat bugs like flies and mosquitoes.

Lake Superior Zoo Conservation Message:

Story (ages 6 and up): The greatest threat to vinegaroons is habitat destruction
caused by agriculture, residential or commercial development, or drainage of
wetlands. There is also a demand for these animals as pets and collection of these
animals from the wild poses a threat to certain species.

What you can do: Learn more about vingaroons and other arachnids and share
what you learn with friends and family. Arachnids are often misunderstood and as
predators they play a very important role in our ecosystem. Sometimes they are
collected from the wild and sold as pets. If you are thinking about getting a pet, make
sure to do a lot of research and to purchase one that was born in human care and not
taken from its natural habitat.

Information taken from the following sources:

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Mastigoproctus_giganteus/
https://www.oaklandzoo.org/animals/giant-vinegaroon