Haunting Camel Spider Myths

The camel spider is one of the hundreds of species that belong to the arachnida family. It is specie from the Solifugae order. Camel spiders are also known as wind scorpions. These scary looking arachnids are not venomous and its bite is not that harmful as many spiders. They are usually found in deserts all over the world. What is so interesting about it is that it lives in murky places because it loves to have shade. These night crawlers are the marvels of the sand that posses long feet and strong claws for chopping its prey.

Due to their terrifying and aggressive appearance, camel spiders have been wrongfully accused as daunting creatures of the sand. There is much information out there that has left camel spiders on the archives of the scariest living things of the desert. These myths range from the weird characteristics to the bloodcurdling abilities of the camel spider. These falsehoods began from tales made by soldiers and adventurers of the deserts of countries such as Iraq and Egypt.

One such myth states that camel spiders feed on humans. Most myths about this creature states, that camel spiders inject venom to its victims in order to paralyze them before they begin to feed. This is such an extravagant myth for such silent creatures. In fact, this is a very false detail. Camel spiders are the least harmful arachnids in the planet because they do not posses any venom. There claws may look intimidating but it does not have any paralyzing fluids. They are only used as pincers in order to kill and chop preys such as lizards, termites, and many other insects of the desert.

Another myth is that camel spiders scream. The reason behind this is that people become paranoid about it that they think the spiders chasing them are screaming. In the case of camel spiders, people in the desert scream to the extent that they feel like these spiders can eat them alive. Another fact is that camel spiders seem very hostile towards people walking in the desert. They appear inquisitive of anyone who walks on their sands because they are seeking for shade. They are actually following people’s shadows for shelter. Because they run fast, people may lead to the belief that they are being chased by these night crawlers.

Camel spiders are a foot long and they feed on camels when they are hungry. This is a wild claim. The truth to this matter is that camel spiders can only grow up to five inches to half a foot long and they do not feed on camels. People might probably think that its name is related to its prey. However, they are called camel spiders because they live in the desert just like camels. Moreover, they only eat termites, lizards, beetles, and some other tiny arthropods. These myths are only a few among the many myths surrounding camel spiders. There are other myths about it in every desert of the world.