Can Camel Spiders Come to the United States?

When we sent troops to the Iraq desert we expected soldiers to return with stories about the horrors of war. What the American people didn't expect were nightmarish stories of a different kind - tales of giant spiders straight out of horror movies.

The Camel Spider first made its entry into Iraq legends when U. S. soldiers hit the desert in the early 90s for the Gulf War. As more U. S. citizens are going back and forth to the Middle East, carrying luggage and possessions between the regions, the chance of these gigantic spiders migrating to North American soil is being questioned. BBC recently reported on a six-inch spider which supposedly stowed away in a British soldier's luggage from Afghanistan to Colchester, Englad. The soldier's family claimed the spider then chased and killed their dog. Their claims have been unproven, however, by a vet follow-up.

As a matter of fact, certain species of these solpugids already exist in the southwest United States and Mexico.

Camel Spiders, which are arachnids but not true spiders, do not have silk glands to produce webs. They also lack the ability to produce venom and have to digest their food internally, not externally like true spiders. They resemble spiders with eight legs and a center body, but only use six of their legs. The front pair of legs operates as an antennae to detect prey.

Camel Spiders can run up to 10 miles an hour when necessary and make a noise giving them the nickname "Screaming Spiders." No official records exist of any Camel Spider over eight inches long, but both Middle Eastern natives and U. S. soldiers claim to have seen specimens much larger.

These creatures resemble giant, hairy tarantulas and look as menacing as their Internet reputation claims. However, since they lack venom they are usually not a threat to humans. Camel spiders can only consume prey small enough for their jaws to crush. The Camel Spider diet consists mainly of scorpions and cockroaches with the occasional mouse or lizard thrown in. They can bite larger animals, like humans, but only when they are cornered.

These sopulgae specimens have already been thriving in the desert regions of the United States without migrating or adapting to other regions. There is no chance of these solitary, desert dwellers suddenly taking up in the common household as a terror to humans and pets. Camel Spiders avoid both extreme cold and harsh light, which means they usually stay in self-dug holes until they need to leave to hunt. After eating, they become engorged and slow moving, so they hide again until their meal has digested.