Wind Scorpion

Solfugids

This is quite confusing. Wind scorpions here, Turkana, Kenya, are known to be venomous. I have not had the experience of being bitten by it, but its bites are common here and victims have ptosis like symptoms. They complain of a heavy tongue and body feel as if full of stone pebbles. I am currently thinking of a research design to help me prove or disapprove that the sofugids have no venom. Until this is done, Solfugids are venomous.

… Ken Yego, 26 August, 2018 - 3:06pm

There are no known venomous species of solifugid

I've been bitten by a small one found in New Mexico (because I was young and handled it roughly) and it wasn't painful and had no swelling or sensations of invenomation. It's possible that a similar looking creature such as a spider might have been incorrectly identified as a solifugid but from whats known about their anatomy they don't have venom glands and are generally harmless unless provoked or handled roughly. However some large species do have strong serrated Jaws or chelicera so could give a painful bite and potentially break skin.

… gs112201@gmail.com, 6 May, 2021 - 3:55am

wind scorpion

I have lived here in California my whole 54 year old life, and I have just been encountering these creepy looking AGGRESSIVE "little" boogers in my home! They seem to like folded packed away clothing and blankets. They are definitely agGressive when you encounter them, however, if they are just toodling around and end up CRAWLING ALL OVER YOU AND YOU WAKE UP AS IT IS CRAWLING ACROSS YOUR FACE...shudder and gag....they just want to get away. if you try to chase them down to kill them, well, then they come after you very quickly and reared up with "arms" up high in a defensive way. I cannot seem to kill them quickly. One lasted 48 hours after being repeatedly smashed with 3lb piece of petrified rock! I went back after 24 hours, still alive, smashed it again.
Another 24 hours, STILL kicking. After ANOTHER 24 hours, I found something even flatter and heavier and finished the job. just encountered another one today crawling all over my foot! Grooooosssss
I flung it off my foot across the room, got up to kill it and that's when it reared up and CAME AFTER ME! ???? So... I smashed it with my shoe, full weight, three times, and it's still kicking and trying to roll over. Sprayed it with 409, still managed to flip itself on it's back, and that's when I covered it with a glass. Then I placed a weight on top of it. It's is soaking wet, now, under glass, and staring at me for the past two hours. Creepy. Can't wait until my husband or son wake up and get rid of it for me, then fumigate this house!!! Gaaaaa! I HATE spiders, and I especially HATE this kind!! Creepy Creepy Creepy
Why are they so hard to Kill? This one was bigger than the last one, at approx 1.5 inches in length. For those of you that think that is not so big, well, you have never seen one, then.
Why have they just shown up in the past four years here? Like I said, after 54 years here I know I would have seen one of these, I mean I have encountered these two live ones and then about 5 dead ones. But...never before this??? Gotta be something to the fact that they are here, and most of us have never seen one before? Even us "old" folk? I even had an extensive bug collection and I've never seen this, nor has anybody that I know.

… kelleher989@gmail.com, 7 June, 2015 - 6:40am

These are harmless

They actually aren't spiders at all.
They are in the same group called arachnida along with spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, harvestmen and a few others but are in their own order. Most species feed on other invertabrates like insects and other arachnids. They are harmless unless you try to pick them up, so although you might find them creepy they won't hurt you. They have a pair of chelicera that form small scorpion-like pincers which are fixed to their head or prosoma, unlike scorpions and don't have venom so they can't really hurt you but may possibly bite if provoked or handled roughly. So although they may be creepy I suggest you scoop it up or trap it in something and put it outside but just know they won't cause a problem.

… gs112201@gmail.com, 6 May, 2021 - 3:14am

Wind scorpion

Hi I live in montana is it normal to see those here? Scared me have to death couldn't figure out what it was and to top it off my cat was trying to eat it! Thank goodness I found this site or I would be awake all night trying to think of what it was! Probably will be anyway! As far as I'm concerned these things are gross and we could definitely do without them!!!

… Ann1998, 22 August, 2015 - 11:52pm

Yes they're found throughout the US

There are over 1000 described species and they're found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. They can bite but are nonvenomous and only will when provoked so they are virtually harmless

… gs112201@gmail.com, 6 May, 2021 - 3:30am

Montana Wind Scorpions

I helped curate the Montana Entomology Collection, they are somewhat common in eastern Montana. They look strange, but they are harmless.

… Charles J. Hart, 23 August, 2016 - 10:23pm

Don't kill them

They are not venomous, and it is sad that you are killing these beneficial little arthropods, in slow and horrific ways, for no good reason. If you can catch them using the glass jar/postcard method and take them outside, they will go back to eating insect pests like cockroaches. I wouldn't want one crawling across my face either, but would chase it down and release outdoors instead. They're just trying to eat bugs, not us.

… Cindy M., 20 July, 2015 - 11:12am

"Camel Spider"

The spider in this picture is what is known as a Solifugae. More commonly, it's called a wind spider, camel spider, or sun spider. Contrary to popular belief, it's not typically aggressive and out of over 1000 known species, only one is believed to be venomous and that is in the central asian region. These little guys are very fast indeed and sport very large and powerful jaws. Their bites can be very painful, but not venomous. In fact, most spider bites, while they may be venomous, do not produce necrosis, or more famously known as a condition where the tissue dies and falls off. When that occurs, it's typically attributed to a staph infection. Another common misconception is the size of a camel spider. The larger varieties can get up to 6 inches, including legs. It's easy for people to adopt frightening beliefs about spiders or even bugs in general because of the associated fear. I live in the Pacific Northwest and I hear people argue all the time that they saw or was bitten by a brown recluse here and that's just not true. They have never been in this area. As for me, I am a professional pest control technician and also studying pest management through Purdue University. I hope this helps and please, do not immediately believe others when discussing pests like spiders because it leads to very reactive thinking and it can be hard if not impossible to bring people back to a correct understanding of pests. Thanks.

… ahren81, 1 November, 2013 - 1:59am

Wind Scorpian

I live in Central Oregon. Last night I was watching the Olympics when I saw one of these creepy wind scorpions crawling across the Carpet. I caught the thing in a red plastic cup and stared at it trying to conceive what it could be. I started to rattle the cup a little to see what the thing would do. When it was first frightened, it pulled up its front most appendages as if to strike. When it realized that there was nothing to strike at aside from the solid white wall around him, the freaky thing vibrated. As the entire cup shook as a phone would when receiving a call, I screamed and jumped in surprise. Once the vibrating stopped I tried to provoke the thing again, but only got much smaller reactions. If anyone could explain to me why this might have happened it would be much appreciated.

… 15armitagem, 29 July, 2012 - 12:44pm

"Among the most distinctive f

"Among the most distinctive features of the Solifugae are their large chelicerae, which in many species are longer than the prosoma. Each of the two chelicerae has two articles (segments, parts connected by a joint),[7] forming a powerful pincer, much like that of a crab; each article bears a variable number of teeth, largely depending on the species.[5][6] The chelicerae of many species are surprisingly strong; they are capable of shearing hair or feathers from vertebrate prey or carrion, and of cutting through skin and thin bones such as those of small birds.[8] Many Solifugae stridulate with their chelicerae, producing a rattling noise.[2]"
"Stridulation in several of these examples is for attracting a mate, or as a form of territorial behaviour, but can also be a warning signal (acoustic aposematism, as in velvet ants and tarantulas). This kind of communication was first described by Slovenian biologist Ivan Regen (1868–1947)." via Wikipedia

Had to look this up after reading comment. Apparently there are some species of wolf spiders and tarantulas that do this too.

… Kiz, 22 July, 2016 - 10:17pm

Wind Scorpion/Sun Spider

Local exterminators here in western Colorado call these guys Sun Spiders. I don't know where all of the talk of a connection with Iraq, because we've been seeing a lot of them since 1998 when we first moved here from North Carolina. We thought they were scorpions initially as we had a lot of scorpions in the adobe hills where we lived and we saw them in the same environment as the scorpions, i.e. out at night apparently hunting for food. They seem to be able to get inside the house much easier than other bugs and are proving to be quite a nuisance. They run pretty fast and seem to be a little aggressive, but I've not seen any larger than 2" long. Lately there have been 6-8 of them in the house, in clothes, on the stove etc. They are only dangerous to me because if I can't stop them from getting in the house my wife will kill me.

… Steve Rowe, 8 July, 2012 - 3:03pm

Pueblo West, Colorado

We have found 5 around our house. They are fast and creepy!!! But now they are dead! My daughter says kill it, it may be a mommy!

… kcmellis, 7 July, 2012 - 5:58pm

They're actually harmless

They aren't venomous and will only bite if provoked or handled roughly. They only end up in the house because they find their way in and can't get back out.

… gs112201@gmail.com, 6 May, 2021 - 4:12am

Wind Scorpion/camel spider? Uvalde Texas

I had found one of these in the filter of my parents pool on may 4 2012. I am from wisconsin and had only seen these in pics from iraq. I had asked my mom if she has ever seen one in the 4 years she has been living here and she had not. So i brought up the pics from iraq of the camel spider or giant camel spider as they are sometimes called and they look identical. It is said over in iraq that these things can run up to speeds of 10mph and can be found charging at people out in the desert only to stop as they get in your shadow as they are seeking shelter from the sun in your shadow. Google iraq camel spider and you will see the resemblence between what is called a wind scorpion here in the states and the camel spider in iraq it is said not to be venomus but when you see the pics of the bites it makes you wunder. Ive watched videos of these things killing scorpions and the scorpion never had a chance to sting it not saying it always wins againts a scorpion but it goes to show these little bastards mean buisness. over in iraq they claim to get has big as a human hand and im sure there are some freaks of nature that might get a bit bigger. My only question was have these always been a native species to texas or the hotter climates of the united states. Regardless of what you want to call it or where they might come from they can be intimadating. I did how ever pin it and dry it at the time not knowing just exactly what it was.

… searay 276, 5 May, 2012 - 7:34am

Don't believe everything you read on the internets....

.
The "Giant Camel Spiders in Iraq" are a HOAX
.

… Mike Quinn, 6 May, 2012 - 7:40am

Mid-size in Oregon...

We live in Redmond, Oregon fairly central in the state and we live in a particular remote high desert area. My wife and I have found three Camel Spiders, .5" to 1" in length. They are usually trampled on by one of our dogs by the time we find them, but tonight my wife found and very large specimen in the laundry room and I was able to catch him. They are fast on a non-carpeted surfaces or short carpet. They are, according to most credible sources I have read, to be of little threat to beings larger than itself unless threatened. However, I have also read posts declaring that IF bitten, you deal with swelling and infection. Not fun. I have had much curiosity into the theory that these little guys are being brought back from Iraq by our soldiers, in large equipment crates, duffel bags, etc. I was unable to find any conclusive findings of the Camel Spider in our area of Oregon and wonder if the Army training area and National Guard armory near by have anything to do with their sudden appearance. Something to battle our Scorpions we find every year. Overall, avoid these critters, and remember, if their in your home, most likely their just lost, so be decent.

… murrmi2, 21 August, 2010 - 1:12am

FUZZY?

HI! I live in Reno, NV and i found one of these in my sunroom. I couldnt identify it at first, but i realized it was covered in little sensory hairs. After doing some reaserch I found some information that people should know.1) The set of "legs" that make the spider look like it has ten legs are actually pedipalps and are used as hands. They have little sticky organs at the end that allow them to climb glass so putting it in the bottom of a glass jar or cup with no lid simply wont do. 2) the jaws take up at least 1/3 of the insects body so be carful when catching one. and 3) These spiders eat alot!! Be extra carefull if you own, tarantulas, small lizards or frogs because those are part of the insects daily diet.

… bluenano, 25 June, 2010 - 1:48am

I live in southern utah and w

I live in southern utah and work in the early hours of the morning next to 20 acres of raw desert land besides the occassional vagrant, and saw one of these ugly things. I was on my hands and knees cleaning when it poked its haed out of a deep crack in the sement, I screamed. it then continued to follow me, at least it felt like it until finaly the sun came up and it went back in hiding waiting for its next unsuspecting victum..:) seeing a spider or whatever it is like that you feel like it is big news and continue to tell the story about it for the rest of the day, but no one really is that impressed with what you are telling them, but you know if they had saw it they would have been all about it.

… lindsey20, 27 May, 2010 - 12:05am

Park city Utah

What an interesting and impressive little guy/girl! I was shocked to find one inside my house at around 4am it measured around a little bigger than an inch. I have lived here for 30 years and only saw them outside starting about 2012. I have seen quite a few outside since, they are usually scurrying about at night running around with their chelicerae partially in the air like a scorpion. From what I've read they are beneficial and eat insects, rapidly metabolizing making a bottomless pit for a stomache and the need to quickly dash about hunting anything it's own size and smaller. This latest specimen was in the tub so naturally I thought it couldn't climb out, surprisingly not only did it easily scale the slick tub wall but it was quicker than lightning. I kept knocking it into the tub to slow it down and no, it wasn't aggressive. I caught it and looked it over unfortunately while scaring the bejeezus out of it. All it wanted was to get away from me but I do have a policy that if anything is in the house or around it then I get to catch and study it, for a reasonable amount of time. The only time I kill is if it severely causes damage to my vegetation, or can aggressively kill pets and humans. I hope you can all let your catches safely go in places that you want insect control, it seems a waste of life to just kill anything scary looking that got lost and only wishes to be miraculously transported out of our dwellings and somewhere safe where they can find food and possibly a little water. With this latest find I had hoped it would eat the bugs eating my plants so I let it go next to them.

… In what sect, 2 July, 2021 - 8:54am

wind scorpion

My husband just got bit by one of these, it's deffinately no joke. It's been 5 days now he's on a antibiotic and something for pain. the bite (or should I say bites..he seems to have been bitten multiple times in the same spot), now is the size of a softball about a 3/4 inch high and a deep red purple, the bite has gotten infected and we are doing what the Doc told him, soaking in hot tub n such but it doesn't want to heal. The bite has excreted large amounts of puss and bad tissue. beyond useing a hot compress keeping the wound clean, I don't know what more we can do. Does anyone have advice on what more we could do to help it heal?

(and we are about to bomb my house in case anymore are roaming about)

… Debra brooks, 19 September, 2009 - 12:07pm

Saline soaking

Also are you sure it was one of these that bit him? They are solitary, I doubt you have a nest of them. Aggressiveness seems to depend on which subclass but most should not be. If you have pus in the wound and it won't heal try the Epsom salt and if it won't help the infection then go back to your doctor for ointment, if the doctor won't assist you then get another doctor to check it out. Just because they have md for a title doesn't mean they weren't the 'last in the class' or cheating. Anyway I've never been bit by one and they are all around my house. I would check for a spider if he didn't actually see it bite him, it could have been about to eat a spider hiding in the same location, solifugae do like to chow spiders and he could have accidently scared the spider into biting while scaring the solifugae. They don't have poison and they rarely rest or stay in one place unless they have found prey or is time for them to sleep, most are nocturnal and burrow.

… In what sect, 2 July, 2021 - 9:26am

Golden Valley Arizona

i just found one of these in my daughters clothes hamper

… jvsmt2, 25 August, 2009 - 12:36pm

wind scorpion

i just found one of these.it is aproximately 2n a half inches long..it ran infront of my flip flop and i have never seen anything like this and i have lived in kingman going on 21 -22 yrs.this was huge and scared the hell out of my whole family.it was very aggressive when we caught it in a huge am pm big gulp cup.it attacked the sides of the cup with serious force.i don't know anything about these but i have been watching the videos on youtube and this is so dangerous around small animals and not very good around human beings either.just found out they can reach up to 12 inches long....i think i wanna move now....

… jojoe1, 8 July, 2012 - 3:06am

In Parker Colorado

We are not anywhere near the desert and found one in the living room wall a few years back... had no idea what it was until we went to a pet shop and a guy working there showed us some images another lady had brought in of the same little guy asking, as we did, "What on earth is this thing?" The fact that this guy looks as if he has 10 legs is what threw us off. He, however did not seem to be agressive or fast. He was almost 2 inches in length and stayed patiently in one place as we stared at him for about half an hour trying to figure out what he was. And yes, my mom killed him, with a broom, and she is not apologizing...

… darielle, 31 March, 2009 - 5:13pm

In Parker Colorado

I have found at least 5 some dead some alive.they were all in my basement in the summer.i also found one today in my sisters room and she claims she smashed it but it was still alive. we take all of them to the Museum of Nature and Science in Denver Colorado where a lady who studies them proudly collects them.nobody else we know has ever heard of them.

… tonymc80138, 9 July, 2009 - 12:19am

In my living roon in Africa!!

I was on a posting in Namibia, southern Africa and there was one in my living room. I was able to catch it with a transparent bowl. I didn't know if it was poisonous or not so I made a little pool of RAID next to the bowl and moved it to kill it (sorry for those who like them, understand the context here) and it went completely nuts, super aggresive and even cut its own front legs with its jaw. Very scary. When the mouth is open it looks like that thing in the movie Predator. I didn't know their jaw was so powerful though... Some other time I found a baby in the bathtub but it was already dead then.

… martinallaire, 17 November, 2008 - 10:01pm

Solifugid so far, please...

I had a huge female as a pet when I lived in Southern California. Caught her in her burrow when I lifted a large piece of metal plate up to look under...there she was looking horrifyingly ferocious. These creatures have no poison, but they do have the dubvious distinction of having the most powerful jaws (in relation to their size) of any animal on earth. A large one can easily bite your finger right down to the bone! Mine was no speed demon though, she moved slowly and she would eat anything I put into her enclosure, including both large and small scorpions. I have seen them dining on lizards and even large centipedes(!!) These are cool creatures!
Fred

… Fred Berry, 25 February, 2008 - 5:13pm

wind scorpion

I found one of these in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. He was sure defensive when I caught him. I had never seen one before in our area.

… Tyson, 27 September, 2007 - 8:22pm

wind scorpion

i found one in our pool in lake havasu and one later in the night there fast little guys but are they posionous? ive never seen one before pretty odd

… fateinc, 25 August, 2007 - 12:26am

In LAKE TAHOE!!!!!

Found one in my garage tonight. It's very small, but have scorpions been introduced to the alpine lake enviornment that is Lake Tahoe, California?

… Bribri, 29 July, 2007 - 10:59pm

Found one today...in Lubbock

Found one today...in Lubbock Texas

… luvwater, 15 August, 2007 - 12:40pm

Wheeler texas

Found one last night on our porch. It was on its back so I guess it was already dying

… christineR, 15 June, 2010 - 3:15pm

Aggressive? I should hope to shout......

I've probably seen around 50 of these little critters in the Phoenix Az area over the past 15 yrs or so. I will confirm the 3-5" eventual size as reported previously and will also confirm the aggressive behavior. We came across one in a munitions storage building at Luke AFB some years ago. When the ammo troop couldn't ID the thing after studying it for a couple minutes, he decided to approach it more intently to get to an an ammo can I needed. Well, it seemed intent on guarding it (or not moving at the very least), it backed up a little like it was setting a stance, raised up it's front half and those weird dark colored arms/feelers even higher as the ammo troops boot came down on it. Defiant to the end.....I will never forget that confrontation....as to their venom/hazards, I cannot speak, I have heard they're harmless to humans but that's only the rumors I've heard. I spend a lot of time on the floor of my garage working and when you spot one those little suckers scurrying around on the floor with you, only one of two things can happen, stop working or go after the bug. Unless of course they don't both you......

… MediumLeftOpens, 28 June, 2007 - 5:07am

Hey, I'm in California and I

Hey, I'm in California and I have found 3 so far at my house. They are really creepy looking lol.

… shmether, 25 June, 2007 - 12:02pm

Moved

Moved from Wind Scorpions.

… Mike Quinn, 2 December, 2006 - 2:15pm

WIND SCORPION

I FOUND ONE AT MY FRONT STOOP WHEN I CAME HOME LATE ONE NIGHT, HE TURNED ON ME AND CHARGED ME. I CAPTURED HIM AND SHOWED HIM AT WORK.
HE SURE IS FEISTY, I LET HIM GO IN A DESERT AREA NEAR MY HOME.

… C C OF NEVADA, 27 July, 2006 - 2:59am

Wind Scorpion

We've had a run on these lately. Although we aren't in the desert. They do behave aggressively! We've found specimens that are as small as 1cm up to 3cm. Don't want to find the 3 inch guys! Thanks for your website, it was the most helpful in our investigation!!

… valdelhard, 23 October, 2006 - 12:51pm

This is what we call a camel

This is what we call a camel spider not venomus but it will give a nasty bite if it gets a chance they get bigger to about 5 inch

… genrat, 5 May, 2006 - 5:21pm

Solpug, Sun spider

This looks very much like a Camel spider, but are found in the southwest desert areas of the USA. Camel spiders are found in the middle east. There was a photo on the net a year or two back that showed two Camel spiders latched by their jaws and held in the air by a sodlier's hand on one of the hind legs. They are HUGE! However, the Solpug is venomus. It's bite is simular to a scorpion sting. I speak from experience, not pride. Activated charcoal and/or Benadryl usually work well to counter the effects of either.

… deltacharlie41, 21 May, 2006 - 12:41am

the image of the camel spider is fake

I looked up the image of the camel spider and its fake!!

… patrick, 16 March, 2010 - 1:40pm

Camel Spiders

I've seen the photo you mentioned. The Camel Spiders (really just another common name for the Sun Spider/Wind Scorpion) in the photo aren't as big as they appear. The photo is a hoax. Pretty convincing though.

… John Scharpen, 20 April, 2007 - 7:07pm

not a hoax

that photo is not a hoax...my buddy is the one that took it. ive seen camel spiders in excess of 6 in over here in iraq and yes they are aggressive. theyre not aggressive in the im gonna eat you aggressive more the your not gonna get passed me cause iwanna stand in your shadow cause its cool there then in the sun. i had one fallow me accross a desert parking lot(about 300 yds) it stayed about 2 ft behind me the whole time.

… jon, 4 September, 2008 - 7:11pm

Fast and Fierce

We live adjacent to the desert and found a good-sized Wind Scorpion under a street light. It was pretty exhilirating trying to catch one and fit him into a Gatorade bottle.....HUGE Pinchers on this guy, watch out!

… Curbo Cycles, 6 September, 2005 - 1:42am

I found a few of these in my

I found a few of these in my basement, and I live in North Dakota!!!!!!!!

… julied722, 19 September, 2004 - 5:45pm

You guessed it

That's a solifugid, AKA windscorpion.
Info from Texas Cooperative Extension

… Troy Bartlett, 17 May, 2004 - 6:38am

Windscorpion?

Hi, I just posted a new image (called "mystery bug") of what may be a windscorpion, but I've not found its exact replica on this site. Would you mind taking a look?

… annakristin, 18 June, 2008 - 1:11pm

AKA sun spider

which is always the danger of common names ;) (sun spider == wind scorpion == wind spider)

Sun Spider at "Spiders on the Web"

… John Matese, 10 June, 2004 - 3:00pm

I'm a 5 year old from the Sie

I'm a 5 year old from the Sierra Nevada foothills in California and my grandma found one of wind spiders under all the clothes in the dryer. It was dead. I am still studying it though.

… quinn wimer, 28 May, 2010 - 7:23pm

I have a four inch wind scorpion/camel spider/ solifugae picture

from last week on my account - enjoy!

… Faye Sloan, 17 August, 2010 - 4:02am