What IS it??
Location: Polokwane, South Africa
December 21, 2011 3:29 pm
This was in our house. Ran quickly. Looks like a huge ant but has 8 legs like a spider.
Signature: DJ
Solifugid appears to be victim of Unnecessary Carnage
Dear DJ,
This is a species of Solifugid, a member of the Arachnid order Solifugae. Though they are related to both Spiders and Scorpions, Solifugids do not have venom and they are not considered dangerous to humans. Solifugids are sometimes called Sun Spiders or Wind Scorpions. Solifugids are generally found in arid climates and species from the Middle East which are known as Camel Spiders can grow quite large. It appears that your Solifugid might have been smashed as evidenced by what appears to be bodily fluids at the end of the abdomen. If this is the case, we would like to educate you regarding the benefits of this harmless, nocturnal hunter. Though they appear to be frightening, Solifugids are not harmful to human or pets, unless you keep small arthropods as pets. It is possible that a Solifugid might bite a human if they are carelessly handled, but since there is no venom involved, the bite is harmless. If they are present in or near your home, Solifugids will help to control the population of Cockroaches and other creatures that you might find undesirable.
bug found in az resort in sedona
Location: sedona az
August 8, 2011 11:32 pm
Would like you to let me know what this bug is. Found about 6 of them in our resort room in sedona az this past weekend.
Signature: ? not sure what you mean
Solifugid Carnage
Dear not sure …,
We frequently get negative feedback when we plead for tolerance against the unnecessary carnage of stinging insects like Cicada Killers and Great Golden Digger Wasps, which theoretically might sting a person. The justification we seem to always hear is that a person might die from an allergic reaction to a sting. We are uncertain when so many people became deathly allergic to stings and we are beginning to believe that half of the [educated?] world is suffering from hysterical and imagined allergies. When it comes to Solifugids, commonly called Sun Spiders or Wind Scorpions, there is no justification for the carnage. It truly is unnecessary since Solifugids do not have any venom and they do not sting. We suppose they might bite a person, but that would merely be a skin pinch that is unlikely to even draw blood. The same harmlessness does not apply towards other arthropods with regards to the Solifugids. They are vicious hunters and they will easily dispatch most insects and spiders that cross their paths. They are fast and their jaws are quite formidably adapted to hunting. According to Charles Hogue in his excellent book, Insects of the Los Angeles Basin: “All of our species are nocturnal, wandering by night in search of the small invertebrate animals that are their prey. They are extremely voracious carnivores and crush and tear captive organisms to shreds with their huge jaws.” While we understand that prior to our response, you knew nothing of the potential danger that Solifugids might present, we hope that in the future you will let them wander about the resort so that they can feed on cockroaches and other night time foragers that may also be sharing your room.
5
jerusalem cricket like bug/spider/scorpion
Location: Central Oregon (Redmond)
July 22, 2011 12:09 am
Hello mr. Bugman,
I am just about as tolerable of bugs as they come but this guy made me jump. It moves very fast and is colored like a jerusalem cricket but has pincer like appendages in the front but without claws. It also has eight additional legs, excluding the pincers. It also has four ”fangs” two on top and bottom. It hasalso two body segments the rear one being longer, about 1/2 an inch. Let me know if you need more info.
Signature: bugboy
Solifugid
Dear Bugboy,
Your description of a Solifugid is so thorough, we could have identified it without a photo. Common names for the Solifugid include Sun Spider and Wind Scorpion, and like its arachnid relatives, Solifugids are predators, but unlike those arachnids, Solifugids do not have venom, which is lucky for humans as they are such fierce predators. Should a Solifugid try to bite a human, it would probably hurt, and possibly even draw blood, however, since they do not have venom, they should be considered harmless despite a frightening appearance.
¶ Posted 22 July 2011 § ‡ ° Strange insect found in back yard
Location: 39°31′38″N 119°49′19″W
July 12, 2011 11:54 am
My daughter found this strange insect in my parents back yard this morning.
It has 6 legs attached to the thorax, and long thin antenna and what appear to be large mandibles. At first glance we thought it may be some over-sized wolf spider but upon closer inspection that is clearly not the case.
The temperature out side was 42* and we are in a high desert valley at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. We are currently in our summer months.
Signature: Justin K
Solifugid
Hi Justin,
This is an arachnid, not an insect, and it is a Solifugid, commonly called a Sun Spider or Wind Scorpion. Despite having venomous relatives, the Solifugids do not have any venom or poison. They are fierce predators, and they might bite a person if they were carelessly handled, but they are not considered dangerous. We are translating your coordinates to read the Reno area of Nevada.
¶ Posted 13 July 2011 § ‡ ° Sun spiders
July 9, 2011 10:53 pm
Thank you for your website! I may be able to sleep tonight since finding the picture of the insects that completely creeped me out for the last couple of nights. And, they would thank you if they could type because I promise I will stop vacuuming them ASAP. A friend told me they were “earth babies” but although I looked at every potato bug pic on the site, they just weren’t a match. For some reason I clicked on Solpiguds (because they look exactly like that word sounds!) and there they were! Thx again!
Signature: KYMBERLIE DREYER
Solifugid
Hi Kymberlie,
We dug up an especially frightening photo of a Solifugid (newer accepted spelling) to illustrate your comment. Though they look frightening, Solifugids do not have venom despite having common names that reference other venomous arachnids like Sun Spider or Wind Scorpion. Since they are adept nocturnal hunters, they will help keep the home free of unwanted guests like Cockroaches.
¶ Posted 10 July 2011 § ‡ ° Some Kind of Spider Thing
Location: Colorado Springs
July 8, 2011 11:10 pm
This little guy scared us something scary tonight! Have no idea what it is.
Signature: Sincerely, Me
Solifugid
Though they are scary looking, Solifugids, commonly called Sun Spiders or Wind Scorpions, are not dangerous because they have no venom, either in fangs or stingers. They are adept nocturnal hunters that will keep the Cockroach population in control. It is possible that larger Solifugids might bite, though that would only happen if they were carelessly handled.
¶ Posted 09 July 2011 § ‡ ° what the hell is this?!?!?!
Location: so cal
May 28, 2011 1:10 am
what the hell is this?!?!?!
Signature: dave
Wind Scorpion
predatory and harmless Solifugid
Doesn’t look harmless….. Lol
Well, not at all harmless if one is a Cockroach. A Solifugid will keep your kitchen free of Cockroaches and most other things you might not want there.
good to know, thank you very much for your help!!!
Ed. Note
We are only able to post a small percentage of the identification requests we receive, though we do provide short responses like this example to as many requests as time will allow. Occasionally the dialog that results from our short response gives cause to post the identification request on our site, like this example. Closer inspection of the photograph indicates that there is debris covering this Solifugid, which leads us to believe it may have succumbed to Unnecessary Carnage. We hope our further clarification has ensured the survival of any future Solifugids that Dave encounters.
now i feel bad for smashing the little guy 
next time i run into one of them, they’ll be relocated outside to eat all the other bugs around the house.
Solifugid
Location: Al Khafji, Saudi Arabia
May 23, 2011 10:07 am
Here is a photo of a Solifugid for your collection. Photo was taken this past week (May 2011) in Al Khafji, Saudi Arabia. The Solifugid was dead when we discovered it.
Signature: cashflyer
Camel Spider
Dear cashflyer,
Thank you for sending us your photo of a Solifugid or Camel Spider as they are known in the Middle East. Also the inclusion of the currency note for scale is very helpful.
¶ Posted 23 May 2011 § ‡ ° 
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