FIGURE 11 The schematic representation of the proposed
construction of a pitfall trap (according to our results) for collecting
scorpions. The traps used in the present study did not contain
preservative fluids.
The present study also showed that pitfall traps are most productive in
capturing burrowing scorpions. S . maurus , B .tadmorensis , and O . bidentatus are burrowing
species, while only H . lepturus is non-burrowing, although
the reason for this observation remains to be investigated. This result
is consistent with the work of Shehab et al. (2011), in which more than
90% of the scorpions captured belonged to burrowing species. Therefore,
pitfall trapping may not be a reliable method for estimating the overall
species richness/density of scorpions in an environment inhabited by
scorpions with different nesting habits or different life histories.