Potato Bug in Phoenix, AZ
Location: Phoenix, AZ
May 17, 2011 2:12 pm
Thanks for this site!!! My 4-year-old found this. I thought it was so scary/dangerous looking. So glad I could find it quickly and know what to do. It was on our driveway in the sun moving very slowly and looking almost dead. We put it in a jar and I brought it inside to look up what it was. I assume I am correct in identifying it as a Jerusalem Beetle. After finding out that it’s a digger, I wondered if maybe it was just too hot/dry on my driveway. Took it back outside let it go. It was fine (not dying at all). Here are some of my photos in case you’d like to post them.
Signature: chickendar
Solifugid
i was wrong
Location: Phoenix, AZ
May 17, 2011 2:16 pm
Just sent you some photos of what I thought was a potato bug….looking again, i’m thinking i was wrong. SO….
yikes! what is it??
Signature: chickendar
Solifugid
Dear chickendar,
You are absolutely right that you were wrong, though this was an easy mistake to make. Superficially, the Jerusalem Cricket or Potato Bug does resemble your Sun Spider or Wind Scorpion, though they are quite different creatures. Your Sun Spider is an Arachnid, not an insect. It is a wonderfully engineered predator, and though its common names imply that it is venomous, it contains no poisons. Though the Sun Spider poses no venomous threat, it has mandibles fully capable of delivering a painful bite if it is carelessly handled. It belongs to the order Solifugae. More scientific common names that reflect the changing taxonomy through the years include Solifugid, Solfugid and Solpugid. Here is a link to information posted to BugGuide.
thanks so much! my husband has lived in phoenix his whole life and had never seen one of these! scary looking, but we had a lot of fun watching it. so glad it’s not venomous.
thanks for your time and help. what a great resource/website.
darcee
¶ Posted 18 May 2011 § ‡ ° What in the world is this???
Location: Arizona
April 13, 2011 10:53 pm
I found this critter just inside our front door. We live in Arizona, so at first I though it was a baby scorpion. Upon closer inspection, I realized that there was no stinger. It’s about 3/4 of an inch long and seems to either have 8 legs and a pair of antennae or 6 legs, a pair of antennae and a pair of feelers. My daughters are totally grossed out and hope there are no more in the house. Help!!!
Signature: Kids Are Freaking Out
Solifugid
Dear Kids Are Freaking Out,
This is a Solifugid, and though they are commonly called both Sun Spiders and Wind Scorpions, unlike their distant relatives spider and scorpions, they do not possess venom. They are nonetheless magnificent hunters. Your kids have nothing to fear from this diminutive species, though if carelessly handled, it is entirely possible that they might bite.
¶ Posted 14 April 2011 § ‡ ° weird spider scorpion thingy :S
Location: Canada, house
March 7, 2011 12:21 am
i was working in the bathroom today removing old grout, and on a piece of sticky tack, i found what i think were spiders (3)…. they had 6 legs and 2 pincers similar to a scorpion or i guess a crab it was idn about 1/8 of an inch and brown obv they were dead n had been there for some time, but i have seen them in my house alive before
what is it?? and should i be concerned
Signature: The Frannuman
Solifugid
Dear Frannuman,
Most of the North American reports of Solifugids, commonly called Sun Spiders or Wind Scorpions, that we receive come from the arid Southwest. BugGuide indicates sightings from British Columbia. Solifugids are fierce predators, but since they do not contain venom, they are not considered to be dangerous to humans, though we imagine they might produce a painful bite if carelessly handled.
¶ Posted 09 March 2011 § ‡ ° scary bug found in shower
Location: Key West
February 17, 2011 11:31 am
Help me bros, this bug scared the bejeezus out of me this morning! I was taking a shower all calm and that’s where I found it. Luckly I was already in the shower or I would’ve messed my pants!!!
It was able to walk up tile and walls until condensation formed and it couldn’t climb no more. Drowned itself in shower water.
Has antennas, 6/8 legs. And a little over 1/2” long.
Please tell me was this nightmare is?!?!?!?!?!
Signature: Thanks bros, Key West Kenny
Solifugid drowned in shower
Dear Key West Kenny,
You encountered a harmless Solifugid which lacks venom of any sort despite its common names of Sun Spider and Wind Scorpion. We were not aware that Solifugids were found in Florida as we think of them as being desert species, but BugGuide substantiates that they have been reported in Florida. Solifugids are Arachnids like Spiders and Scorpions, but while Spiders and Scorpions both have venom, the frightening Solifugid lacks the means to poison either its prey or its predators. That said, they are formidable hunters. We are tagging this posting as Unnecessary Carnage because its drowning was avoidable. If you think this little creature is a nightmare, you should check out its massive Middle Eastern relative known as a Camel Spider. The Camel Spider image we have in our archives went viral on the internet several years ago and there is much web chatter including a considerable amount of misinformation regarding the danger it poses to humans and camels.
Solifugae spotted in the Waterberg
Location: Waterberg, Limpopo, South Africa
January 16, 2011 10:25 am
Hi WTB
Spotted this little guy having a meal while hiking in the Waterberg this December, South Africa. We spent quite some time watching him literally devour his meal.
Signature: TwistedLizzard
Solifugid Eats Cricket
Dear TwistedLizzard,
Thank you for sending us these marvelous Food Chain images of a Solifugid eating a Cricket.
Solifugid Eats Cricket
Brown Widow catches a solifuge
Location: Masai Mara, Kenya
January 11, 2011 11:44 pm
Hi Daniel,
A while ago, I sent you a picture of a tiny little solifuge that we weren’t able to identify. The other day, I watched the same solifuge (or at least one of the same species) running across the floor of my tent to the corner behind my toilet. It was the wrong corner to run to, as there’s a resident Brown Widow (Latrodectus geometricus) that lives behind my toilet. This was the result. I got a few more pics, but they were all out of focus as I was to excited to hold the camera steady.
Signature: Zarek
Brown Widow eats Solifugid
Hi again Zarek,
Thank you for sending us documentation of this awesome Food Chain encounter, a Brown Widow ensnaring a Solifugid.
More spiders
Location: Masai Mara, Kenya
December 22, 2010 5:30 am
Hi Bugman,
More spider close-ups from Kenya!
…
Picture 3: Technically not a spider – A Sun-Spider, Red Roman, Solifuge, etc. Usually quite large and scary-looking, this particular guy was only about 2cm long. Catalogues and field guides for solifuges are hard to find. The best guess I can come up with is Family Solpugidae, but I’m far from sure.
Any clues??
Signature: Zarek
Sun Spider
Hi Zarek,
With our limited scientific background, we don’t even attempt to classify Sun Spider, AKA Wind Scorpions, beyond the level of the order Solifugae. We are intrigued with the common name Red Roman that you have provided as it is a new term for us.
¶ Posted 23 December 2010 § ‡ ° Poisonous spider?
Location: Zambia, Africa
December 8, 2010 11:08 pm
I encountered this aggressive spider in Zambia, Africa, in October. It lunged out at me from within my suitcase. I quickly sidestepped it and instinctively killed it by giving it a swift kick. I took a picture of it next to a British ten pence coin, which was all I had near me at the time. (A ten pence coin is roughly the size of a US quarter, or 24mm in diameter.) I’d estimate the length of the spider’s body to be about 60mm from head to thorax. It seemed to only have 2 eyes. One of the local villagers saw the picture and told me that the spider was poisonous, and that a bite could cause my leg to swell up twice its size (or more). Can you identify this specimen?
Signature: Dave
Solifugid: Dead after discovery in suitcase
Hi Dave,
Though we are tagging your posting as Unnecessary Carnage, we want you to understand that we do not blame you for your instinctual reaction, but we want to educate you should you ever again encounter a Solifugid, commonly called a Sun Spider or Wind Scorpions, or in the Middle East, a Camel Spider. Tropical specimens can grow quite large. Despite the common name, Solifugids are neither Spiders nor Scorpions, but they are members of the same taxonomic class, the Arachnids. Unlike Spiders and Scorpions, Solifugids do not possess venom, so they are not poisonous. Despite what you have been told by the local villager, if you are bitten, the bite will not result in a swollen leg unless it gets infected. Solifugids are aggressive predators that are capable of eating small vertebrates including lizards and possibly small mice. They have amazing jaws that open in multiple directions, and we would not want to be bitten by a large Solifugid.
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