Juvenile emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator) over its freshly shed exoskeleton, December 11, 2013. Click/double click image to enlarge.
My biology lesson of the day on December 11, 2013 involved a holiday gift that unwrapped itself! I came home to a freshly molted baby emperor scorpion, directly over its shed exoskeleton. It was a distinct purple and expanding at the time of the photograph. As you can see, the previous exoskeleton was light brown and much smaller. Pre- and post-molt images of the same scorpion follow.
Pre-molt image of the same scorpion, September, 2013. Click image to enlarge.
Emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator) three days postmolt. Note the distinctly enlarged pedipalps. Click/double click image to enlarge.
Things Biological 