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Solpugids!

Nastyjabs

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3 Year Member
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40
Went on a short hike with my daughter today and found 2 small solpugids under a log together. They're slightly larger than a quarter and one is definitely larger than the other. I'm guessing they're a mating pair because they were only inches from each other. Pretty cool backyard find!
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Denny Dee

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1,082
I am fascinated by these guys. I have tried multiple times to keep them in my collection. They never last very long. If anyone has any tips, would love to hear them.
 

Nastyjabs

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
40
I am fascinated by these guys. I have tried multiple times to keep them in my collection. They never last very long. If anyone has any tips, would love to hear them.

I did some reading up on them and it seems like they are a bit more difficult to keep. I'm gonna do my best till I either sell them or they kick the bucket...or pass naturally because I got it right
 

kormath

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Interesting -
Like all arthropods, solpugids must periodically shed their exoskeleton in order to grow. Solpugids probably "live fast and die young," with the average lifespan hardly exceeding one year.

Myths
The source of most recent falsehoods about “camel spiders” has come from United States servicemen and women stationed in the Persian Gulf, during both the first Gulf War in 1991 and the present conflict. Camel spiders are abundant, conspicuous arthropods there, but contrary to popular reports the animals do not reach the size of dinner plates (North American solpugids rarely exceed one inch in body length), they don’t literally run screaming across the dunes at 25 mph (they are voiceless, and can only sprint at about 53 centimeters per second for short bursts), and they certainly don’t eat the stomachs of camels or the faces of sleeping soldiers. Camel spiders cannot jump, either. A widely-circulated image of a pair of camel spiders strung together purported to show a single, multi-legged animal; and the forced perspective greatly exaggerated the size of the arachnids.



Read more: http://www.desertusa.com/insects/solpugids.html#ixzz4hRmul8eX
 
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