Photos: Modeling Scorpions' Lairs in 3D

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Burrow builder

(Image credit: © Stuart Summerfield)

Read the full story on these tiny architects and their underground lairs

Burrow entrance

(Image credit: © Amanda Adams)

The entrance to a burrow dug by a scorpion, Scorpio palmatus, in the Negev desert in Israel.

Dwelling deep

(Image credit: © Amanda Adams)

A closer view of a burrow entrance, dug by the S. palmatus scorpion. An international team of researchers investigated how scorpions design their burrows to provide refuge from the desert heat.

Burrow cast before digging

(Image credit: © Amanda Adams)

To cast scorpion burrows, the researchers heated aluminum to more than 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit (649 degrees Celsius), poured it down the burrow entrance (after first catching the scorpion), and allowed it to solidify for about 20 minutes.

Casting setup

(Image credit: © Amanda Adams)

The kiln setup that the researchers used in the field to heat aluminum to more than 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit (649 degrees Celsius) so it could be used to cast scorpion burrows.

Digging burrow cast

(Image credit: © Amanda Adams)

The researchers dig out a metal cast of a burrow made by a scorpion, Scorpio palmatus, in the Negev desert in Israel.

S. palmatus 3D burrow

(Image credit: © Amanda Adams)

A 3D scan of a cast of a burrow dug by a scorpion, Scorpio palmatus, in Israel.

O. wahlbergii 3D burrow

(Image credit: © Amanda Adams)

A 3D scan of a cast of a burrow dug by a scorpion, Opistophthalmus wahlbergii, from the sand dunes of the Kalahari desert in Namibia.

S. palmatus resin cast

(Image credit: © Berry Pinshow)

A resin cast of a Scorpio palmatus burrow and the scorpion located in the terminal chamber.

S. palmatus UV

(Image credit: @ Stuart Summerfield)

A scorpion, Scorpio palmatus, under ultraviolet light.

Read the full story on these tiny architects and their underground lairs

Mindy Weisberger
Mindy Weisberger
Live Science Contributor

Mindy Weisberger is a science journalist and author of "Rise of the Zombie Bugs: The Surprising Science of Parasitic Mind-Control" (Hopkins Press). She formerly edited for Scholastic and was a channel editor and senior writer for Live Science. She has reported on general science, covering climate change, paleontology, biology and space. Mindy studied film at Columbia University; prior to LS, she produced, wrote and directed media for the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. Her videos about dinosaurs, astrophysics, biodiversity and evolution appear in museums and science centers worldwide, earning awards such as the CINE Golden Eagle and the Communicator Award of Excellence. Her writing has also appeared in Scientific American, The Washington Post, How It Works Magazine and CNN.