This Is Why You Will Never See Me In The Middle East (pic)

[shartley]

Good links.

[Cryer]

Originally posted by Jack_Dubious
heres what happens when they get too close to you...

I was waiting for someone to post something like that

[Yamz]

Those are camel spiders. Which have been reported as big as 2ft counting the legs. If I see it in my tent when I get there monday I am gonna shoot it

[logamus]

for the most part, spiders dont creep me out much. but there is an exceptiong for every rule.

[poolshark5226]

as soon as i saw the title of the thread I knew I'd see a pic of a camel spider. they scare the bejeesus out of me. theyre not actually spiders though, theyre very closely related to scorpions. i acutually have seen a few videos of camel spiders running up and eating scorpions and small birds...its rediculous and scary as hell
i seem to recall someone who was staioned in the middle east saying that they would chase the Humvees sometimes.. that would spook the crap out of me

[NJPaint]

Not camel spiders, sun spiders. Contrary to popular belief on every forum online, not EVERY large spider is a camel spider... These are sun spiders...

[poolshark5226]

Re: This Is Why You Will Never See Me In The Middle East (pic)

Camel Spiders

Camel spiders are one of the fastest running arthropods. Although they have four pairs of legs, they run using only three pairs. The first pair of legs or pedipalpi are held up in front of them and used in a similar manner to the antennae of insects. They have very long, silky setae and are constantly moving in order to locate and pick-up prey. Despite their fearsome appearance and their strong bite, solifugids are unlikely to harm humans. In the past they were considered venomous and extremely dangerous but it is now thought that the only risk of injury resulting from them is caused by shock or infection following a bite. There is no evidence of venom in any part of their body.

Camel spiders are nocturnal predators of other arthropods including scorpions and are voracious feeders. Some species kill and feed on lizards and it is speculated that others kill mice and birds. They rely solely on their speed and stealth to catch their prey. In desert areas they are often attracted to lights at night in search of food and their appearance can cause alarm if they enter tents. It is rare to see them during the winter months and they are thought to hide or hibernate during cold periods.

from www.frgnews.com/spider.htm




edit: camel spiders and sun spiders are the same thing. theyre also known as wind spiders i believe

[NJPaint]

They are in the same family, they are different spider species.





Sun spiders ^^^ notice the different size heads between Camel and Sun spiders. The other big difference is that Camel spiders hunt at night where as Sun spiders are notorious for running around in broad daylight at extremely fast speeds. As such they get their name "Sun" spider.

[FactsOfLife]

> Spider.

[Cryer]

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[dansim]

looks like a camel spider to me, i saw quite a few in egypt when i was stationed there and there are dangerous to humans, they inject a toxin(like novicane) and eat the flesh around the area, very nasty(of course thats just what uncle sam told us)

[NJPaint]

ehhhh, Camel nor Sun spiders are poisonous or have toxins... Did a little research on both... I have had numerous sources tell me "They are assumed to be venomous because they are scary looking and have a very strong bite, but in reality they pose no threat to humans except from infection."

[sharpshooter1286]

spiders give me goosebumps

[LittlePaintballBoy]

I saw this thread on PBN, it said that they aren't venomous like poison, but they inject a novocaine-ish thing that numbs flesh (in most cases a camel belly) so that camels or whatever dont even notice what is happening until they are missing a fat chunk of flesh That would scare the crap out of me if I saw one in my house...

[NJPaint]

oh, argh, now I'm scared of them taking out a chunk of my leg or something =/