Solpugid gives you his Thanks!
Just wanted to let you know I am so very thankful for your site. As a newly single mom of 3 kids I have now taken over the BUG duties. My kitten found this guy in the house tonight, and not wanting to kill something I didn’t know about I caught it and took it outside where I took this picture. Thank goodness I found your site and now know what this solpugid is. I am relieved to know I didn’t harm a great hunter, no matter how ugly it is! He will now help get rid of some more of the undesirables in the neighborhood! LOL! Like a personal bodyguard against the bad bugs! He could intimidate me!! Thanks again!
Jennie
Mesa Arizona

Hi Jennie,
We must say that we qre quite impressed you possessed the wherewithall to research the identity of your Solpugid after discovering it in your home, but before doing it harm. It is quite intimidating looking and most people would kill first and question later. We are so happy we could be of service to you and your Solpugid, also known as a Sun Spider or Wind Scorpion. As you have indicated, they are fierce and fearless hunters, but thankfully, we humans, due to our size, are not on their menu. Woe the day that big government harnesses the gram per gram hunting potential of Solpugids and unleashes it as a weapon of mass destruction.

spider query
I was watching TV when I saw this spider walking across my hardwood floor. From a distance it looked like a small scorpion. It walked with its two large front legs in the air and the other legs in close to it body. Im happy to se it not a recluse but I cannot find anything that exactly resembles this spider. I took these photos after it was dead. I had to spray the it just incase it got away. I have never sen a brown recluse and with two small boys in the house.

This is a Solpugid, sometimes called a Sun Spider or a Wind Scorpion. It is perfectly harmless as it has no venom. Solpugids are hunting machines, hence they are beneficial predators. Solpugids will quicly dispatch the scorpions you fear, as well as spiders, cockroaches and other crawling things you may not want in your home. Perhaps the next Solpugid you meet will not be gassed to death.

Another Carnage Letter that ends on a Positive Note
(04/19/2008) I panicked…thanks for the help with identification
Dear Lisa Anne and Daniel,
Though you may not be entomologists, I appreciate this “pet project” a great deal, and have included it in my favorites list. There’s no site quite like it. I intend to come back anytime my field guide fails me .like tonight when I was sitting on the floor and a solpugid (as it turns out) took me by surprise as it came running down the hall toward me. Though my first reaction is usually to trap and release most insects after I’ve identified them, when in a blur it looks like a scorpion, I swat. I’ve got babies in my house. My first thought tonight when I looked at the carnage (only squashed the back of the abdomen, so the head and legs on one side were pretty intact) was ” but it looks like a 10 legged (what the!!!) spider? with some pretty serious fangs” Next time I won’t kill my solpugid, and save it for the boys to see in the morning before releasing. Other interesting crittiers we’ve found in our family room– The Jerusalem Cricket that slowly crawled down the same tile hallway making a mysterious clicking sound for about 15 min. till we discovered the alien like source. Glad I didn’t accidentally step on that spiky exoskeleton with my bare feet. Definitely have plenty of house centipedes (thanks for that ident. I knew it was a centipede, but it had such long hairy legs). And the bright green and hairy Wolf Spider I came across a few years back was really quite something.   Living in relatively the same geographic region, I wonder if you have ever experienced the amazing appearance in fall of a distinctive dark brown (almost black) spider with orange stripes? Appropriately clad for Halloween in October…which is when they made their first appearance, en masse, on our patio (which has a roof). My husband who was irritated that he couldn’t get to the BBQ to make dinner one night announced to them all “so if you are here tomorrow night, I’m getting my torch out (the chef kind-mini one).” They must have listened, as from that night on, they only spun their webs after dinner, and had rolled up/eaten/torn loose their webs by morning. I even attempted to videotape one spinning it’s web one night. I see them appear about the same time every year (never as many as that first year in the house)…I’ve seen one over at the Huntington too. Oh, and our 6 foot tall friend walked up to one that was spinning one night, and the little guy put up his front legs in defense as if to say “bring it on big guy.” Definitely not a timid spider.” That year they would hide out in the creases between ceiling boards/the occasional knot in the wood during the day. Now I only find them in the outlying bushes, rarely under the patio roof anymore. Any idea what title I can attribute to the photos I’m sure to one day find again?  Another mom over in Mt. Washington says she has had a similar experience.
Amelia
Glendale , CA

Hi Amelia,
Your spiders are probably Araneus Orb Weavers, or perhaps a Neoscona species. The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has a spider identification service. Just capture a spider and take it in for identification.

Insect found in Tanzania
Hello,
I made this picture (by nightshot) in the kitchen in Tanzania It was 8 cm long Color was light brown/Grey Do you know what this is??? Allready thanx for your reaction
Gr. Bert Dekker

Hi Bert,
This is a Solpugid, a group of Arachnids, sometimes known as Sun Spiders or Wind Scorpions. They are related to both spiders and scorpions, but are harmless venomless creatures. Solpugids in the Middle East grow to five inches across and are called Camel Spiders. There is much incorrect information about them circulating on the internet They are shy and harmless.

what is this?
Found in a garage in victorville , ca. Thanks
Jose "Joe" Fernandez

Hi Joe,
Your submission has us a bit puzzled. You are requesting an identification, but your photo was titled Vigaroon. There is a creature known as a Vinegarone, but this is not it. You have a Solpugid, commonly called a Sun Spider or Wind Scorpion. They are harmless predators with strong jaws but no venom.

whats that bug
Hi Bugman
I found this bug outside my house on the wall. so I knocked it down with a broom to the ground. It freaked me out when it lifted his two front legs up and tried to bite the broom. I think it is a non tail scorpion family or part of the potato bug family not sure, because we have those here in Rio Rico. It also had the clamping fangs in the front like a pinching bug.
Danny Gaxiola

Hi Danny,
This is a Solpugid, also commonly called a Sun Spider or Wind Scorpion, and in some locations, a Sand Puppy. They are harmless predators. You might get a painful nip, but they have no venom. You photo is quite amusing.

Afghan Solpugid
I found your site while looking up info on my favorite group of bugs that creep me out, solpugids. I found this one in my command post here in Afghanistan and it scared the crap out of me. Of all the things in Afghanistan to be scared of. Anyway, there are tons of them around here, here being in Laghman province at about 900 feet elevation. This one was pretty small, I think the body couldn’t have been more than an inch and a half long, but the legs make them look a lot bigger. Even small, though, they’re still pretty creepy looking. Thanks,
Jim, CPT USA 710TH BSB

Hi Jim,
Thanks so much for sending your image our way. In the past, we have posted several letters and images of Solpugids from the armed forces that have caused paranoia among our readers. It is refreshing to have your objective letter.