I came across a picture of a Camel Spider the other day and wanted to do some research about them and thought I would share some with you. These spiders are native to the Middle East and seem to be most prevalent in Iraq. Be careful all you soldiers out there! These Camel Spiders can also be found in the southwest part of the U.S. and Mexico. In Mexico, these spiders are known as Matevenados which means “deer killers”.
These Camel Spiders can run up to 10 miles per hour which is extremely fast. They are reported to grow up to 8 inches but pictures and soldiers tend to report seeing much larger ones. These spiders are very aggressive and will chase a person for miles for no reason. These spiders also like to hide in sleeping bags/shoes and similar places.
The Camel Spiders bite can be very bad. They are not poisonous but get infected very quickly from the Spiders bacteria and can cause terrible pain and damage.
Last but not least, they are called Camel Spiders because they live in the desert. J
Female camel spiders lay eggs in burrows usually under rocks, logs, or burrow into sand/soil to escape the heat. After she digs a burrow they can lay anywhere around 50 to 200 eggs. Some females will guard them until they hatch. When females are guarding their eggs they usually hang around (obviously) but don't eat so have to fatten up before to survive. The eggs are pretty distinct are fairly large.
