author(s)
Rouhullah Dehghani, Hossein Sanaei-Zadeh, Gholamreza Mostafaii and Leila Iranshahi

abstract
Annually, scorpions sting a large number of other animals and humans. Given the importance of scorpions in medicine, this study was carried out to investigate the feeding behavior of dangerous Iranian scorpions in the laboratory. In a descriptive study, Hemiscorpius lepturus, Androctonus crassicauda, Mesobuthus eupeus, and Odontobuthus doriae species were captured from their natural habitats, held in solitary in laboratory conditions, and fed with the German cockroach, woodlouse, locust and larvae of flies and beetles. To observe their cannibalism and carnivorism behavior, different species were put together. Feeding behavior of these species was then compared to each other. Under laboratory conditions, hunting was similar between H. lepturus, A. crassicauda, M. eupeus, and O. doriae. They sting their victims to control bigger and more resistant preys. Overeating in O. doriae, carrion-eating in M. eupeus, cannibalism in M. eupeus and O. doriae, carnivorism in A. crassicauda and O. doriae and newborn-eating in H. lepturus and O. doriae were observed. A. crassicauda did not use water. Feeding behavior of the Iranian dangerous scorpion species are different. This can be used for their control.