Camel Spiders, yum!

[Radar]

Trip to the Middle East anyone?

1213

[Red Giant]

I would have to squish those with my work boots.

[beren]

Wow never knew such a creature existed, nature is amazing but in this case be amazed from a distance

[Adrianf]

They look bigger in the picture than they really are. The Camel "spiders" legspan is only about 5 inches across. They make it look much bigger by bringing the subject closer to the camera compared to the people in the background.

Adrian

[CanisMajorTom]

Are these things for real or what? I'm thinking that these spiders are just a joke? do they really exist? Are you guys joking? If you aren't joking, that's a serious insect, I can't see myself going to the middle east anytime soon.

tom

[wakaleo]

Bloody hell! Here's another urban myth well on its way to becoming a reality!

These are not venomous spiders and as Adrian correctly points out, grow to about 130-150mm across. And by the way Tom, spiders are not insects, differing by having two main body parts, eight legs, simple eyes and piercing jaws (fangs) where insects have three main body parts, six legs, compound eyes and chewing jaws.

While there are certainly some pretty dangerous spiders, most of them are harmless, and as with snakes, our fear of them is mainly due to their having had bad press for so long. Crikey, which of Earth's animals do you think an extra-terrestrial visitor would say was the most vicious, treacherous, sadistic, dangerous, and unfriendly? Us humans, of course!

Give the poor spiders a break!

ps While I might be a defender of spiders and snakes, I'd prefer not to share my swag with any of them! ;-)

Jim

[Adrianf]

"While I might be a defender of spiders and snakes, I'd prefer not to share my swag with any of them! ;-)"

Me either.

Adrian