Errant
Errant or 'wandering' scorpions are those species that actively move during foraging is not as universal as the other categories. Errant scorpions are described as those that routinely use only pre-existing objects for their retreats, perhaps cleaning and enlarging the shelter. Scorpions in this category may be crevice-dwelling generalists, e.g., bark scorpions like Centruroides, which will use any kind of crevice for a retreat, or they may prefer only certain types of crevices. Some species are capable of burrowing, e.g., Liocheles australasiae , but are normally found in crevice environments. These are usually generalised as facultative burrowers. Specific adaptations in this group do not follow any strict rules and seem to be affected by size and geneology. Larger crevice-dwelling scorpions like some ischnurids and euscorpiids exhibit marked dorso-ventral flattening of the body and lateral flattening of the metasoma, which may be very short. On the other hand, large buthids, e.g., some species of Centruroides, may be very slender with long metasomas and are not particularly flattened. Most errant scorpions appear to be generalists. They may be found under a rock on one ocassion, under the loose bark of a tree on another, inside of a rotten log on another, or even on the walls of a human dwelling. It is more difficult to identify crevice dwelling specialists because the habits of most species are not well known.
