4/8/2004: Big-ass spiders

Razorfish sends along this beaut, forwarded from Iraq, a big-ass image of two big-ass spiders in Iraq. At first it looks like one, but it's most certainly TWO spiders attached to each other. Looks like one attacked the other. Looks like each one is about as big as that guy's palm.

When you think about it, that means if it settled on your face it would cover both your nose and mouth. Yeah, I'd use pliers to pick that up.

Oh, you're not going to have nightmares now, are you?

They are <a href="http://www.frgnews.com/spider.htm">camel spiders</a>. Apparently they can run really fast too, no kidding around here. They run using 6 legs, and hold their two front legs forward like antennae, <i>almost as if they are holding their arms out like zombies, coming to get you</i>.

OK I'm sorry.

"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."

I'm alarmed, and this is only a picture and I'm thousands of miles away.

Those camel spiders look pretty bad, but my Marlboro spiders can kick their asses!:blunt:

A friend of mine who was called up to build bases said you always put your socks over your boots at night. GAH!!!!!

They give me the creeps. No. The creeps and the heebs.

Where's Leah? She will LOVE this picture.

Ahh, what cute little fuzzy animals, would have made a great friday image :-)

Any mention of how dangerous they are to humans? Are they in the same category as a tarantula, or closer to a black widow?

Originally posted by linknoid

Any mention of how dangerous they are to humans?

He said they were just gross and everywhere, not dangerous.

Originally posted by Griff


He said they were just gross and everywhere, not dangerous.

I don't see where Undertoad says any of those three things. Maybe the comment about picking them up with pliers could be construed to mean "gross," but I think the tone of his post was more along the lines of being freaked out by zombie like voracious giant spiders that you would only pick up with pliers. But maybe I'm reading into things. :)

Originally posted by glatt
But maybe I'm reading into things. :)

Or maybe mis-reading...

;)

Originally posted by linknoid
Any mention of how dangerous they are to humans? Are they in the same category as a tarantula, or closer to a black widow?

From the article :

" 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."

What are those 10 little doo-hickeys on the abdomen of the lower spider. They look like those annoying plastic tabs that get into your underwear whenever you put on a new shirt.:confused:

Originally posted by glatt


I don't see where Undertoad says any of those three things. Maybe the comment about picking them up with pliers could be construed to mean "gross," but I think the tone of his post was more along the lines of being freaked out by zombie like voracious giant spiders that you would only pick up with pliers. But maybe I'm reading into things. :)

Heh, I meant my friend who was over there. :)

Damn my curiousity!!!! Damnit all to hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why why why did I have to look??? LOL!! YIKES!!! :eek: :D

What, no references to Alien?

great photo, ut....great description, too.....wooo, zombies!


I wonder if they're tasty steamed with old bay seasoning?

urg

This species possesses no poison and relies on strength and speed. It is carnivorous and lives on a diet of insects, spiders, scorpions and small lizards. It is so voracious that it will feed until it is too bloated to move effectively. Prey is held between the forceps of the Chelicerae and chewed with such vigour that a solifugae eating a beetle can be heard over a distance of several metres...

OH dear:

Mating habits are different from those of other arachnids. The male courts the female by stroking her with his pedipalpi and forelegs. This reduces her to a passive state, as if anaesthetized, whereupon the male lays her on her side. Raising his body he ejects a mass of spermatozoa onto the ground, picks it up with his chelicerae and forces it into the vagina. He closes the opening and waits a few moments and then hurriedly departs before the female has a chance to grab and eat him.

I've used that technique before.

quote:Mating habits are different from those of other arachnids. The male courts the female by stroking her with his pedipalpi and forelegs. This reduces her to a passive state, as if anaesthetized, whereupon the male lays her on her side. Raising his body he ejects a mass of spermatozoa onto the ground, picks it up with his chelicerae and forces it into the vagina. He closes the opening and waits a few moments and then hurriedly departs before the female has a chance to grab and eat him.

I've used that technique before.

:haha: Oh my...the visual I just got...:D

Well damn! That male spider had BETTA run after doing that shit! :eek:

I've used that technique before.

Beautiful!:thumb:

snopes has a page on these critters


http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp

While they are arachnids, camel spiders are not spiders, they are solifugae.


It also says they can run 25 MPH.
Great, so they are like the speed junky zombies out of Dawn of the Dead.

And they like kinky sex.

Originally posted by Slartibartfast
It also says they can run 25 MPH.

That article says they are claimed to be able to run 25 MPH but in actually can only run about 10 MPH tops.

Still thanks for posting the link. Very cool

For those who are still curious: here's the full-resolution image.

Why oh why did I have to look?

Originally posted by Jaxxon
For those who are still curious: here's the full-resolution image.

dig...dig...dig... boy, Japanese people sure look funny when they take pictures. :)

EWWWW.
so, not only are they nasty 8 legged spiders, but the legs are covered with icky hairs.......
bletch!

Originally posted by wolf
Why oh why did I have to look?

Uhuh!! I'm not doing that again! :eek: Once was enough!

Originally posted by jdbutler
They look like those annoying plastic tabs that get into your underwear whenever you put on a new shirt.:confused:

**still working on a joke about camel jockeys** but n/m

I bet they can do 25 km/hr :)

They inject a venom into your skin that is a pain killer than they start to eat your skin.

While on one deployment to the sand box, one of my DH's squadren mates had half his ear eatten off while he slept.

They are also very aggressive they will attack you and chase after you.

NOW the bad news. They have been hidding aboard military cargo planes back to the US for years.

Originally posted by Joy
NOW the bad news. They have been hidding aboard military cargo planes back to the US for years.

So, in a fight between a New York City rat and a camel spider, who do you root for?

BTW, if you get half your ear eaten off, do you get sent home?

I would bet on the spider. If it can scare the hell out of grown men and make him run screaming like a little girl. lol

And yea he got sent home.

Ahhhhhhh! I hate bugs I tell ya'.


The way Indiana Jones hates snakes.

I'm here glatt.
I've been away so can happily say I never saw this picture until today, and holy shit that's horrid.:eek:

Originally posted by Joy
They inject a venom into your skin that is a pain killer than they start to eat your skin.

While on one deployment to the sand box, one of my DH's squadren mates had half his ear eatten off while he slept.

They are also very aggressive they will attack you and chase after you.

NOW the bad news. They have been hidding aboard military cargo planes back to the US for years.

OH FUCKING HELL!! :eek:

Kinda like the killer bees and cargo ships???? FUCKFUCKFUUUUUUCKKKKK! :p

Lesser Black Bird-Eating Spider

Pink-toed Bird-eating spider

Salmon Pink Bird-Eating Spider admiring a frog...

Salmon Pink Bird-Eating Spider eating the frog...

I have seen some Bird-Eating Spiders before at a spider exhibit. They were pretty cool. I took a Wolf spider to show and tell when I was in kindergarten. For those that don't know a Wolf spider looks kinda like a tarantula (sometimes with less hair), but is often times a little smaller. My mom used to "milk" venomous spiders for her job. They would place the spider on its back, make it go to sleep and then extract its venom. They then used the venom for research on a specific decease which I cant remember right now. So as a child I was around spiders a lot.

Okay, I've GOT to ask...

Exactly how does one put a spider to sleep?

Lullabyes?
Bed Time stories? (Miss Muffett maybe?)
Camomille tea?
Warm Milk?
And do they wear 8 little slippers or just their socks to bed?

omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg. omg.

I hate spiders. I fucking hate spiders. :worried:

bluesdave, are you on a first name basis with any of the Bird-Eaters?:eek:

Originally posted by Dagney
Exactly how does one put a spider to sleep?

If I remember correctly they put the spider in a sealed container with some carbon dioxide that would then put them to sleep. I would have to ask my mom to verify that as I was young when she worked there. They milked all types of spiders from large tarantulas to black widows, even the common brown house spider. I remember a room filled with terrariums full of spiders. I even had several spiders as pets growing up.

[size=1]EDIT: just talked to my mom and they did indeed use carbon dioxide to make the spiders go to sleep.[/size]

I'm right up there with you mrnoodle. I hate spiders :eek: :rattat:

Originally posted by xoxoxoBruce
bluesdave, are you on a first name basis with any of the Bird-Eaters?:eek:

No, but I would love to meet one. Spiders are lovely animals, and very misunderstood. That doesn't mean that I would be stupid enough to stick my finger in one's mouth, BTW. ;)

Big Ass Spider in action.

***Spoiler Alert****

This thing captures and eats a full-sized scorpion in much the same way that a wolf would capture and eat a baby lamb. :eek:

Good find, Beestie. If the spider in that clip is as big as the one in UT's pictures, then the scorpion is big enough to saddle.:eek:

HOLY SHIT!!! that is all i have to say....

I like spiders, my daughter had one and I ended up taking care of it. However I do belive if I woke up and had one of those guys looking me in the eye my poor old heart would give out. Wouldn't have to be poisonous to kill me, the damned thing would scare me to death! That's a LOT of spider!:eek:

Welcome to the Cellar, dragonett.:) I don't even like the little ones, so I agree about waking up to one.:worried:

There you go we could start up our own "I hate spiders fan club"
Begs be president. :p

:eek: Oh, my heavens. I think I will have nightmares tonight...