Searched for 1 month, Cant identify this Insect with 8 legs
Location: Great Falls MT
November 27, 2010 5:20 pm
Well hello. My name is Dawn and I live in Montana, for now. We are in need of your assistance. My 8yr old Kyle and I have a great hobby of finding bugs and learning anything we can about them. We have been big fans of your site from about the time he was 2; even bigger fans of the bugs we find. Your site has helped us identify a pipe-wive swallowtail caterpillar, a horn worn, a green lynx spider, hobos, wolf, and brown recluse spiders. We have always had much success. But we are stumped. A coworker learned of our ”weirdness” she called it and brought me in a bug to help name. She found it in the packaging of her new washer and dryer-cardboard. I have had it in a mason jar with cardboard and chunks of paper for over a month. IT is still alive thankfully. So here goes: its got 3 main parts (head, thorax, and abs) but the thorax is small and questionable, ab is dark gray with darker horizontal stripes, head and 8 legs are fleshy tan in color, legs are thicker towa rds the ab, head is tear-shaped with eyes centered and close, it has long ”feelers” or antenna in front, AND HERE IS THE FINALE, it has a mouth (or two) like a bird, they look like pinchers like an earwig would have but its sarrated and it has two side by side and they can move seperately. Whew. Its hard to explain. we will try to attach a picture but its from my BB and is not the greatest. We are grateful for your help. And thank you for such a wonderful site, we use it often!
Signature: Mother&Son Bug Explorers
Sun Spider
Dear Mother&Son Bug Explorers,
Though your digital file is small and the image is quite blurry, we can see enough from the outline that when combined with your literal description (especially the description of the mouth) leaves little doubt that this is a Sun Spider or Wind Scorpion, an Arachnid in the order Solifugae.
¶ Posted 27 November 2010 § ‡ ° Desert Bug
Location: San Diego, CA
August 16, 2010 10:26 pm
i saw this bug on a night hike in southern california. A desert climate. Along side scorpions.
please help,
Jason RItter
Sun Spider
Hi Jason,
This harmless Arachnid is commonly called a Sun Spider or Wind Scorpion, though it is in its own order Solifugae. We are going to try to begin to break ourselves of the habit of calling it a Solpugid, an obsolete term, and begin using the more taxonomically correct name Solifugid. They are formidable predators and larger specimen might be capable of producing a painful bite that draws blood, but they lack venom. See BugGuide for additional information.
¶ Posted 17 August 2010 § ‡ ° Unknown Agressive bug
Location: So Cal Inland Area
July 26, 2010 12:56 am
While working security at a medical bldg I came across an unknown bug. It was tan/brown in color, body long-thin about 2 inchs. It had 6 legs about 1-1/2 inch long, and 2 feelers about 1-1/2 inch long (about twice as thick as the legs). It moved rather quickly. It stopped in a dark shadow where I took the picture using my cell camera and a flashlight (Sorry bad photo). As soon as I turned on the flashlight it ran fast in the direction of my feet. I followed it for a short time. When it came into contact with other bugs (2 cockroaches, and 1 blackwidow) it would atack and kill them, then move on. Very agressive, a I’ve never seen it before. Best described as a very large ant looking type.
Robert
Solpugid
Insect or Arachnid or Scorpion?
Location: Fort Collins, CO
July 26, 2010 2:33 am
Hey bugman,
I live in Fort Collins, Colorado, and one summer day, this odd bug came crawling at a rather quick speed across my living room carpet. I am beyond curious to know what kind of creature it is, and how/why I have not seen one before or since. It’s about an inch and a half long, was very fast an aggressive when captured, and has eight legs…very odd indeed. What is it and what else is there to know about it?
Andy in CO
Solpugid
Dear Robert and Andy,
You have both submitted nice descriptive letters describing the behavior of a Sun Spider or Wind Scorpion in the order Solifugae. Older texts refer to them as Solpugids, and newer texts use the more taxonomically accurate name Solifugid. These are predatory arachnids that do not possess venom, unlike either spiders or scorpions, other arachnids to which they are often compared. We probably have over fifty letters with images of Solpugids that we have received over the years posted to our site. You can read more about Solpugids on our site as well as on BugGuide. Since both of your letters arrived the same day and they are adjacent in our email box, we are posting them together.
3
¶ Posted 26 July 2010 § ‡ ° Solpugid question f/u — 2-image collage (large file) Inbox X
Reply
Denny Schreffler to me
show details 10:02 PM (5 hours ago)
June 14, 2010
Hi, Whatsthatbug,
As a follow up to a submittal from a couple of weeks ago regarding two distinct types of Solpugids here in southern Arizona (desert, about 3,000’) in which I offered the inexpert opinion that, “the critters which are stockier, have bigger heads, and shorter pedipalps could be in the Subfamily Eremobatinae (Family Eremobatidae) while the slimmer ones with longer palps could be in the Subfamily Therobatinae (same family),” I encountered both types last evening in the same place at the same time.
My recollection from seeing the much larger type (of which I saw only one) last summer was that it was as big as a small mouse — in fact, when I first saw it, I thought that it was a mouse — running on a wall.
The attached 2-image collage is closely representative of the size differential between the two types. I first noticed the smaller one and was struck by the dark markings, especially the pedipalps. When I tried to persuade him to move to a location that might be more photogenic, he skittered about two feet away and ran right into Monstro, who is as big as a mouse.
I’ve seen and photographed dozens of the smaller variety this (otherwise, so far, relatively bugless) summer so, in my neighborhood, the larger type is encountered much less frequently.
Any enlightenment from your readers or available experts would be appreciated.
Looking forward to the book!
Denny Schreffler
Southern Arizona
[personal non-post – Where in Ohio? Have you ever been there for the 17-Year Cicadas? I grew up in North Central Ohio where we’d have lots of cicadas for a little while every summer, and I experienced a 17-year eruption in Cincinnati in 1969 or ’70.]
Solpugid Comparison
Hi Denny,
You letter is the perfect letter to leave town right after posting. We don’t have an answer regarding the taxonomy of the two Solpugids in question, and we cannot take the time to research this at the moment because we awoke early so that we can write a piece about fresh peaches and peach cobbler for our local Mt Washington Homeowners Alliance newsletter. We can tell you that home in Ohio is a small city called Campbell which is just east of Youngstown and about 6 miles west of the Pennsylvania border. We lived through the 17 Year Cicada population explosion of which you write. At the age of 12 or 13, we golfed in a youth league and there were millions of Cicadas in the trees at Rolling Hills Golf Course. The din was ear splitting. We filled up the golf bag with Cicadas and brought them home because they didn’t emerge in nearby Campbell.
¶ Posted 15 June 2010 § ‡ ° Locals say a bite from this can change your gender!
May 7, 2010
Hi! I live in a rural, arid farm area in northern Ghana. In just the last few days, a friend who lives down the path from me has been visited at night by several of these arachnids in her home, a simple cement structure which is not very well sealed. They have ranged from 2-4 inches long, and I have seen them brown, reddish-brown, and black. They tend to run very quickly around the perimeter of the room, during which time they wave around their long, fat feelers that look like ‘fake legs’ when they are stationary. We showed this picture to some of the local people and got a range of responses, including the idea that if it bites a person, their gender will be changed! One suggested that it will come up to you while you are eating, and when you run away in fear, it will eat your food. More believable, though, is the idea that if it bites you, you can become sick, so if you see one, you just have to… well, get rid of it somehow:) We’d love to know what it REALLY is and if we really are in danger from it. Thanks for your input!
Valerie
North-eastern corner of Ghana, West Africa
Solpugid from Ghana
Dear Valerie,
Your letter gave us quite a chuckle. This is a Solpugid, a type of Arachnid in the order Solifugae which is profiled on BugGuide. They are commonly called Sun Spiders or Wind Scorpions, though they are neither spiders nor scorpions, nor do they have venom like spiders and scorpions do. In the Middle East, American soldiers refer to them as Camel Spiders, and the crazy stories about them have returned stateside. One of our most popular letters is accompanied by an awesome photograph that went viral about four years ago. [IDEA FOR FICTION: Titled The Gadfly: Bugman channels famous entomologists, theorists and authors including Kinsey, Darwin and Nabokov. This is the first piece of fiction written by Daniel Marlos with the exception of a short story with a biblical theme in The Curious World of Bugs.] We are highly amused by the sex change rumor, though we suppose it is a good excuse for anyone desiring corrective surgery for gender reassignment. We would not want to be bitten by a large Solpugid as we are certain the bite will draw blood, but since there is no venom, the only lasting harm is the pain.
¶ Posted 20 May 2010 § ‡ ° Unknown bug looks like some type of spider.
May 13, 2010
Hi, my name is nick and I live in the Inland part of California that is still very much so a desert despite the heavy population and unnatural vegetation and irrigation that comes with it. I was cleaning up after doing some automotive work in my driveway at about 9:00 PM and saw this little critter going up my driveway into my garage. At a glance I thought it may be a Katydid or Cricket but when I looked closer I knew that it couldn’t be either of those. I decided to capture him as I have never encountered such an insect before. To be quite honest I am quite intimidated by this jumpy critter. Haha If it is of any help at all, he was crawling along with a few earwigs, which are extremely common in this area. There is an expansive range of hills located within a blo ck of my neighborhood and it is home to many types of birds, insects and snakes. I would appreciate it very much if you could give me and my brother some insight as to what this interesting and frightening creature is. Thank you for your time.
Nick
Northwestern America United States California
Sun Spider
Dear Nick,
We absolutely love Solpugids, commonly called Sun Spiders or Wind Scorpions. The lighting and composition on your photo is quite elegant.
Sun Spider
Dear Daniel,
I appreciate your rapid response to my question, and thank you for complementing my camera work. The little guy certainly isn’t so scary now that I’ve learned the nature of these spiders. The solifugae order certainly has an extensive and interesting history, and I am glad to know that they are not venomous or flesh eating for that matter! Haha I had a hard time photographing the little bugger so I transferred him from the container I originally captured him with into a checkbook carton covered with plastic wrap, I then put a 15watt fluorescent desk lamp over the carton, and about 20 pictures later I had 2 that were usable. After I was done I let him go in my backyard, and watched him scurry away at an impressing rate of speed. I can fully appreciate him now that I know more about him, and I definitely look forward to seeing more of these guys as the weather warms up. I appreciate your time, and thank you for providing such a valuable resource to the world!
1
¶ Posted 14 May 2010 § ‡ ° Freaky orange thang with too many legs!
May 7, 2010
found this freaky bug scurrying on the ground in my house. we live in the desert of baja. it has a big pincher mouth, orangish yet translucent coloring, long legs, two beady black eyes dotted on top of the head, a smaller abdomen and too many legs and just 2 body parts! is this in the spider family? in total, the bug was about the size of a paperclip with long legs. my first instinct was termite, but i googled pictures of termites and it just seems to have a smaller abdomen than most and too many legs!
Baja Bug Girl
San Felipe, Baja California
Solpugid
Dear Baja Bug Girl,
This shy, nocturnal predator is a Solpugid, a fierce hunter that poses no threat to humans since it lacks venom, unlike its Arachnid relatives like spiders and scorpions. Solpugids have numerous common names including Sun Spiders, Wind Scorpions, Camel Spiders (in the Middle East) and Sand Puppies.
¶ Posted 07 May 2010 § ‡ ° I need help with an identification please…
August 11, 2009
Well, my Mom discovered this guy roaming the floor on the bedroom in Santa Fe, NM. It looks vaguely spiderlike, and she’s concerned that it may be something that bites. The abdomen looks like it’s jointed, which I don’t think is spiderlike, but it does seem to have pincers or something along those lines. What has she got here?
Who the heck is this guy?
Santa Fe, NM
Solpugid: Dead from unknown causes
This is a Solpugid, a harmless nocturnal predator. Despite its fierce appearance, the Solpugid has no venom and is no threat to humans or pets, unless your pets are cockroaches or other small creatures. We hope your mom will seriously consider the benefits of allowing Solpugids to live will afford her in the future.
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