Camel spiders

[mastersmurfie]

don't know how long this has been circulating, but I just got it today in an email...

makes me wonder what sort of "creepy crawlies" are runnin around here in swampeast Missouri...

*disclaimer: If you don't do spiders, don't click here:

http://www.geocities.com/mastersmurfie/camelspider.html

just a thought

mastersmurfie

[duffyr83]

those are big spiders! thats two their showing in the picture isnt it. i never knew spiders or any insect could be that big.

alright

[888888]

Don't mean to be a smartass but I don't think a spider is an insect. That picture is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time though.

[holistic]

Spiders are not insects and that picture is fake. A trick of the lens.

Believe what you want..........divx is quality.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp

[tweedledee]

This is a trick photo taken with the normal sized spider nearer the camera, similar to how the hobbits were filmed in lord of the rings.
proberly. Camel spiders are not that big.
More details here,
Urban legends about the camel spider (properly termed a solpugid or solifugid) are as old as the proverbial hills, but they made a huge resurgence when vectored by American troops in Kuwait during Desert Storm. They're not quite as big as your hand (unless you're a five-year-old), and very shy and secretive. They do like to hide in the shadows, and they do run very, very quickly for a critter (they can reach about 10 MPH, the fastest known non-flying arthropod). They make no noise whatsoever, they have no venom whatsoever, and they do not eat flesh--they eat small desert arthropods like crickets and pillbugs. The rumors of their attacking camels, or crawling onto sleeping GIs' faces, apparently stem from one of two things, both of which may be true to some extent: (1) they may use hair to line their burrow when they are about to lay a batch of eggs, said hair being clipped from dead camels or other dead mammals (and a sleeping GI is not much different), and/or (2) dead camels are covered with flies, and crawling over a camel corpse may make for a convenient way to get a good meal of flies.

[BJ_M]

Camel spiders, also known as wind spiders, wind scorpions, and sun scorpions, are a type of arthropod found (among other places) in the deserts of the Middle East. They're technically not spiders but solifugae (although, like spiders, they belong to the class Arachnida). Camel spiders are the subject of a variety of legendary claims.

According to most spider experts, these claims are all false. Camel spiders (so named because, like camels, they can be found in sandy desert regions) grow to be moderately large (about a 5" leg span), but nowhere near as large as dinner plates; they can move very quickly in comparison to other arthropods (a top speed of maybe 10 MPH), but nothing close 25 MPH; they make no noise; and they capture prey without the use of either venom or anesthetic. Camel spiders rely on speed, stealth, and the (non-venomous) bite of powerful jaws to feed on small prey such as other arthropods (e.g., scorpions, crickets, pillbugs), lizards, and possibly mice or birds. They use only three pairs of legs in running; the frontmost pair (called pedipalpa) is held aloft and used in a similar manner to the antennae of insects. Camel spiders shun the sun and generally hide during the day, coming out at night to do their hunting.

Although whatever is depicted in the photograph above appears to be far too large for camel spiders, the creatures might just look unusually large because they were held close to the camera, creating an illusion of exaggerated size. However, since we don't know the source of the picture, we can't yet rule out the possibility that some other misdirection was involved (e.g., digital manipulation, a misdescription of what the photograph depicts, some soldiers goofing around with plastic figures or something else spider-shaped, etc.).



http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/camelspider.html

[duffyr83]

sorry, spiders are arachnids, i forgot about that, i did some searching and found some video of the camel spider here the link:

http://www.ecologicproductions.com/video_projects/TSCK/endangered/TSCK_spider.html

alright

[mastersmurfie]

Spiders are not insects and that picture is fake. A trick of the lens.

Believe what you want..........divx is quality.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp

I don't care (but thanks for the snopes link...never woulda thought to look there-informative)...it's still SPIDERS!!! To me, the creepiest, crawliest, scariest of all "bugs"...I can handle cockroaches and such...but spiders just make me lose it...even the littlest ones...heck, even "Daddy long legs"...can't stand em...!!

I see a spider on the wall, first thing I do plan my strategy to KILL it...sneak up under it and smack it with whatever happens to be handy..Once, I put on my shoe, and guess what was in it? A FREAKIN spider!! Crawled out before I got it tied...

Once read (don't know where so don't ask) that the average human SWALLOWS an average of 7 spiders while sleeping!! I know this is probably not true..but the thought...

just a thought

mastersmurfie

[BJ_M]

now this is a real 10" spider



here some more stuff

[888888]

Why do you have a giant centipede in your possesion???

[sitlet]

who says it his centipede?

[888888]

Touche salesman.