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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Camel Spider in NM?
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06/16/2004 07:22:37 PM · #1
I found a dead spider (huge) outside my front door when I came home todya. It looks just like the pictures I had seen of camel spiders in the United Emirates. I live in Alamogordo, NM and have lots of Air Force people around me. I know that some of them have been deployed in the Mid-East and am wondering if one of them accidently brought one home in their luggage.

Scared the crap out of me when I first saw it as it was a good 4 inches long. I started moving it around with a stick and it's legs straightened out like maybe it was still alive. But I flipped it over and realized it was dead.

Did some research and found that it really likes it hot and may actually hibernate during the winter in it's native lands. We had 100 degree heat today here. I wonder if that is winter back home and it is just hibernating?



Look at the size of those mandibles!


drg
06/16/2004 07:23:27 PM · #2
that thing is nightmarish!

06/16/2004 07:25:26 PM · #3
OMG!!!!!!! How...no....why on Earth did you pick that sucker up!?!?!?! I hate creepy crawly things, but I was just beginning to appreciate the aspect of photographing them...now this thing has knocked that out of me! Yuck!! I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole until I knew it was dead and not hungry! :o) LOL
06/16/2004 07:44:19 PM · #4
Man those things give me the creeps. Solifugae. I've seen tiny--3/4"--ones running around my porch. But that one looks huge. They're insanely fast. Nice pictures!

Message edited by author 2004-06-16 19:47:17.
06/16/2004 08:01:06 PM · #5
Hey, you have to respect any arthropod that needs a wide angle lens to get a photo of it! Nice change fom needing to up the magnification on a macro lens ;)

Awesome!

I was proud of the Praying Mantis my girlfriend bravely trapped for me yesterday, but now it sort of feels inadequate compared to that beast!
06/16/2004 08:09:52 PM · #6
Good shot. Yes there are camel spiders in NM and yes that is what these are. We have them here in Arizona too. They are actually more commonly called wind scorpions here. They are harmless, and actually eat bark scorpions, so they are good to have around. I also believe they are protected, so if you find one alive don't kill it.
06/16/2004 08:36:24 PM · #7
Originally posted by louddog:

Good shot. Yes there are camel spiders in NM and yes that is what these are. We have them here in Arizona too. They are actually more commonly called wind scorpions here. They are harmless, and actually eat bark scorpions, so they are good to have around. I also believe they are protected, so if you find one alive don't kill it.


Ummm they must be different than the ones in Iraq. Everyone I've heard talk about camel spiders in Iraq says that they bite and it hurts like hell.
06/16/2004 08:53:07 PM · #8
Actually a Solifugid
06/16/2004 09:21:02 PM · #9
From the link dacrazyrn posted..."This species can attain a leg span of 5” and a body of 2”. Wind spiders are fast moving aggressive hunters, capable of over powering much larger prey than itself. Its front pair of legs are modified as feelers to detect and pull its prey into its large over sized jaws. Its three pairs of legs are capable of speed making this creature a fast moving killing machine." That would be enough for me to bid farewell to the little (big) solifugid!!! :o)
06/16/2004 09:32:06 PM · #10
Originally posted by louddog:

Good shot. Yes there are camel spiders in NM and yes that is what these are. We have them here in Arizona too. They are actually more commonly called wind scorpions here. They are harmless, and actually eat bark scorpions, so they are good to have around. I also believe they are protected, so if you find one alive don't kill it.


Better not let Jacko get ahold of it.
06/16/2004 09:39:10 PM · #11
I was going to suggest shipping it to him...he could make room in his freezer, I bet. ;o)
06/17/2004 04:10:31 PM · #12
There's a big urban legend developed regarding these creatures. Whatever crazy stories you've heard are untrue. In fact, these creatures aren't even spiders.

//www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/camelspider.html
06/17/2004 04:18:28 PM · #13
Originally posted by wwwavenger:

There's a big urban legend developed regarding these creatures. Whatever crazy stories you've heard are untrue. In fact, these creatures aren't even spiders.

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


Yeah yeah, that's what the previous now-zombie victims are telling everyone. And could you take this large pulsing pod home with you to keep it warm please ?
06/17/2004 04:48:00 PM · #14
Quick - put it in a box and ship it to Jacko!
06/17/2004 05:09:09 PM · #15
Any spider-like crawly thing that can eat a camel is not something you want to mess with. Well... maybe one quick shot with a long macro lens, but no more! ;-)
06/17/2004 05:29:27 PM · #16
Well, I'm embarrassed to say that my arachnophobia got the better of me. I said it looked 4" long. I finally measured it and it was only 1 1/2 inches long. I know, I'm a big scardy-cat.

I took the bug to an entomologist on base (Holloman AFB) and he said that it was a "Pale Wind Spider" as we all know now, not a true spider, but still an arachnid. I'm feeling a bit better now though because he said it was the largest specimen they had ever seen and they asked to keep it for their collection. I let him keep it.

I put the rest of the pictures I took of it in an album on yahoo here Spider Shots

Sorry to overestimate the size, but spiders scare the H*** out of me. When I see one in the house, I call my wife. She pickes them up with her bare fingers and takes them outside.

drg
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