1-877-741-BUGS(2847)
We Can Get Rid Of:
LIC.,BOND,& INSUR.
LIC# PR 6163
CONTACT US TODAY FOR YOUR FREE NO OBLIGATION QUOTE:
SUN SPIDER:
Solifugae is an order of Arachnida, containing more than 1,000
described species in about 140 genera. The name derives from Latin, and
means those that flee from the sun. The order is also known by the names
Solpugida, Solpugides, Solpugae, Galeodea and Mycetophorae. Their common
names include camel spider, wind scorpion, jerrymuglum, sun scorpion and
sun spider. In southern Africa they are known by a host of names including
red romans, haarskeerders and baarskeerders, the latter two relating to
the belief they use their formidable jaws to clip hair from humans and
animals to line their subterranean nests.
Solifugae are not true
spiders, which are from a different order, Araneae. Like scorpions and
harvestmen, they belong to a distinct arachnid order.
Most Solifugae
inhabit warm and arid habitats, including virtually all deserts in both
the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, excluding Australia. Some species
have been known to live in grassland or forest
habitats.
Diet
Solifugae are carnivorous or omnivorous, with most
species feeding on termites, darkling beetles, and other small arthropods,
although Solifugae have been videotaped consuming larger prey such as
lizards. Prey is located with the pedipalps and killed and cut into pieces
by the chelicerae. The prey is then liquefied and the liquid ingested
through the pharynx. Although they do not normally attack humans, these
chelicerae can penetrate human skin, and painful bites have been
reported.
Reproduction
Reproduction can involve direct or indirect
sperm transfer; when indirect, the male emits a spermatophore on the
ground and then inserts it with his chelicerae in the female's genital
pore. To do this, he flings the female on its back. The female then digs a
burrow, into which it lays 50 to 200 eggs, depending on the species. These
are guarded until they hatch. Because the female will not feed during this
time, it will try to fatten itself beforehand, and a species of 5 cm has
been observed to eat more than 100 flies during that time in the
laboratory.
Anatomy
Solifugids are moderate to large arachnids, with
the larger species reaching 7 centimetres (2.8 in) in length. The body is
divided into a forward part, or prosoma, and a segmented abdomen. The
prosoma is divided into a relatively large anterior carapace, including
the animal's eyes, and a smaller posterior section. Like other arachnids,
they have eight legs, but the first pair are small, and used to feel the
animal's surroundings, so that only the other six legs are used for
running.
The most distinctive feature of Solifugae is their large
chelicerae, which are longer than the prosoma. Each of the two chelicerae
are composed of two articles forming a powerful pincer; each article bears
a variable number of teeth.
Solifugae also have long pedipalps, which
function as sense organs similar to insects' antennae and give the
appearance of an extra pair of legs. The pedipalps terminate in eversible
adhesive organs, which are used to capture flying prey, and for climbing.
They stridulate with their chelicerae, resulting in a rattling
noise.
Like pseudoscorpions and harvestmen, they lack book lungs,
having instead a well-developed tracheal system that takes in air through
three pairs of slits on the animal's underside. In some species there are
very large central eyes that are capable of recognizing forms, and are
used for hunting. Lateral eyes are only rudimentary, if present at all.
Males are usually smaller than females, with longer legs.
Urban
legends
Solifugae are the subject of many urban legends and
exaggerations about their size, speed, behavior, appetite, and lethality.
They are not especially large, the biggest having a leg span of perhaps 12
centimeters (5 in). They are fast on land compared to other invertebrates,
the fastest can run perhaps 16 km/h (10 mph), nearly half as fast as the
fastest human sprinter. Members of this order of Arachnida apparently have
no venom, with the possible exception of one species in India (see below)
and do not spin webs.
In the Middle East, it is widely rumored among
American and coalition military forces stationed there that Solifugae will
feed on living human flesh. The story goes that the creature will inject
some anaesthetizing venom into the exposed skin of its sleeping victim,
then feed voraciously, leaving the victim to awaken with a gaping wound.
Solifugae, however, do not produce such an anaesthetic, and they do not
attack prey larger than themselves unless threatened. Other stories
include tales of them leaping into the air, disemboweling camels,
screaming, and running alongside moving humvees; all of these tales are
dubious at best. Due to their bizarre appearance many people are startled
or even afraid of them. This fear was sufficient to drive a family from
their home when one was discovered in a soldier's house in Colchester,
England. The greatest threat they pose to humans, however, is their bite
in self-defense when one tries to handle them. There is essentially no
chance of death directly caused by the bite, but, due to the strong
muscles of their chelicerae, they can produce a proportionately large,
ragged wound that is prone to infection.
Venom controversy
While the
absence of venom in Solifugae was long thought a fact, there is a single
published study of one species, Rhagodes nigrocinctus, carried out in
India in 1978 by a pair of researchers who did histological preparations
of the chelicerae, and found what they believed to be epidermal glands.
Extracts from these glands were then injected into lizards, where it
induced paralysis in 7 of 10 tests. While this study has never been
confirmed, and while other researchers have been unable to locate similar
glands in other species, this particular species does appear to possess
venom, although it is not known if there is any mechanism for introducing
it into prey (recall that the researchers manually injected it into
lizards).
