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| Description: Though both are arthropods and may live within a few meters of each other, cicadas and scorpions take sharply contrasting approaches to living in the desert. The scorpion's approach is to slow down, conserve, and stay out of the sun. Scorpions are relatively large and long-lived arthropods with very low metabolic rates. A low rate of metabolism means that they can subsist on low rations of food and lose little water during respiration. In addition, scorpions conserve water by spending most of their time in their burrows, where the humidity is higher than at the surface. They come out to feed and find mates only at night, when it's cooler. In addition, desert scorpions are well waterproofed; hydrocarbons in their cuticles seal in moisture. With this combination of water-conserving characteristics, scorpions can easily satisfy their need for water by consuming the moisture contained in the bodies of their arthropod prey.
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