Posted on 04/10/2004 2:38:36 AM PDT by RonDog
Edited on 04/12/2004 5:04:15 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
"Soldiers over in Iraq are fighting off more than the bad guys. They've got to deal with these huge spiders that look more like space creatures than anything we normally see in the U.S. They are called camel spiders and, boy, are they nasty looking! There is a site that has an article about them from one of the soldiers over in Iraq. Check it out here: (http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/2988974/detail.html) Somebody get me the bug spray!!"
...One guy said he killed about a dozen of these things because they kept coming into their tent.Ya think?While they knew they weren't poisonous, they still freaked out the soldiers -- especially the new ones...
Op.Infinite Freep: Fresno Support our Troops/President Rally for 04/09/04:The Mid-East Camel Spider.
AS if our troops didn't have enough to worry about, they have to be concerned with these things.
I did not realize there were spiders this large anywhere.
Notpoliticallycorewrecked has some details about this thing since one of her friends was briefed prior to going to the Middle East.
The things you're searching for.
Camel Spiders: The Official Arachnids of Gulf War II
April 7, 2003
With the war on, we expected to get searches for different kinds of military hardware. We expected searches for the nations of the Middle East. We expected searches for war news and pictures. But we had a hard time figuring out what was the reason for a very odd term that showed up in the middle of last week: camel spiders. Looks like this was the big war-related April Fool of 2003. No, there really is such an animal as the camel spider, but its powers of ingestion have been highly exaggerated. An email was going around the Internet last week that claimed that the troops in Iraq were encountering camel spiders and discovering all kinds of amazing facts about the creatures.
They run over 25 miles per hour. They make squealing noises like a child screaming when they scamper about. Worst of all, they are called "camel spiders" because they climb onto the bellies of camels and eat their stomachs from the outside, numbing the flesh by secreting a natural anesthetic. The camels don't even notice until their intestines fall out.
In reality, camel spiders aren't some mysterious Arabian creature -- we have them in the United States and in Mexico, where they are called matevenados. They are slightly smaller than the human hand, and while they do run quickly, their top speed is 10 miles per hour, not 25. But they also make no noise, they excrete no venom, and although they can be voracious nocturnal predators, they don't eat camels. They eat delicious crickets and pillbugs, and sometimes scorpions.
Camel spiders are nocturnal predators of other arthropods including scorpions
If I were there Id encourage them to hang around. I was nailed by a tiny ( about 1 ½) black scorpion - a lot of pain, and I was immobilized for quite a while.
More of this story Apr 07, 2004
Furthermore, there were other elements to contend with like sweltering heat, camel spiders, mosquitoes, and sand fleas. The latter was probably the worse, he said, because the sand fleas were similar to, but smaller than flies. (West Memphis Evening Times, AR)
Area soldiers prepare for Afghanistan Apr 04, 2004
It also touches on the exotic terrain where soldiers might encounter creepy-crawly strangers -- from camel spiders the size of dinner plates to the venomous snake known as Cleopatra's asp. The battalion includes companies from St. Cloud, Duluth, Brainerd and Mankato. (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune)
Stockton native talks to students about serving in Iraq Mar 23, 2004
Noll also told the students that camels are the most common animal in the region of Iraq, but went to tell them about the huge camel spiders that he also has had to deal with. Telling a classroom of mostly wide-eyed students, he told how the camel spiders are about eight inches in diameter and rear up on their hind legs when approached. (Freeport Journal-Standard, IL)
Soldier visits young pen pals Mar 13, 2004
"There not a lot of snakes. Camel spiders are pretty dangerous," Taylor told the students. It is just starting to get warmer in Kandahar, Taylor said. (Hammond Daily Star, LA)
Local woman returns from nine months in Kuwait Jan 28, 2004
Troops also encountered less pleasant critters such as giant scorpions and sand-colored camel spiders.Kuwait is an endless flat plain of sand, almost devoid of color. (Coalfield Progress, VA)
Full Story? Jan 22, 2004
After considering the desert temperatures over 100 degrees, the snakes and camel spiders the troops had to contend with, and the risks, Crossley said he doesn t regret that decision at all.He is now working on trading his experience driving military big rigs for a Rhode Island trucker s license. (Woonsocket Call, RI)
Morrow Co. soldier expects change in Iraqis: 'They feared Saddam ... Dec 19, 2003
They had chests of ice and camel packs brought in to cool the water, but they were still able to cook Ramen noodles in 3 minutes. The huge camel spiders actually chase you and there are sand fleas that get into the beds and bite," said Middleton, as she used her hands to describe the 8-inch circumference of one spider that bit her. Middleton felt the culture shock going to a country that had clay houses and poor sanitation with sewage and feces in the streets. Animals graze through garbage... (Marion Star, OH)
Returning soldier visits his Orange Elementary pen pals Dec 06, 2003
But what really left the children wide-eyed was hearing about camel spiders. "The real big ones get about as big as this," said Schaver, tracing the top of his wide-brimmed hat (Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, IA)
Counting our Blessings Nov 27, 2003
"It's poor and it's nasty. There's big disgusting rats and camel spiders. The men are also super mean. I'm thankful I live in Bremerton.". Jessica Heiner apparently read the same intelligence reports: "If a Camel Spider get's on a camel, when it's laying down, the Camel Spider will be munching on the camel's flesh," she said (Bremerton Sun, WA)
Returning GIs give thanks as time abroad deepens appreciation of ... Nov 27, 2003
It?s about more than soft carpet between toes or even not having to dodge mortar fire and camel spiders. (THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON) Navy PO 3rd Class Daniel Yost is thankful for his new fiancee, Trisha Bahlke, to whom he proposed last week after arriving at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (Toledo Blade, OH)
Sgt. Bob Ott presents OHS flag that flew over Baghdad Nov 19, 2003
Scorpions are also common, as well as 'camel spiders. "Those spiders are as big as your hand," he noted (Ogden Reporter, IA)
Female veteran honored Nov 10, 2003
And the story about camel spiders -- a cross between a spider and a scorpion as big as her hand and fast as lightning -- drew responses like "Cool!" and "Yuck!". Bugay had been an active duty soldier before, from 1981-85, but never had been in a combat zone (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA)
Read voices from the front Nov 06, 2003
Rocks. Sandflies. Snakes. Scorpions. Camel Spiders... We are still firing back. I swear the tanks and artillery pieces are right across the street. ... (Sangre de Cristo Chronicle, NM)
Soldier, home on all-too-brief leave, tells of life in Iraq Oct 31, 2003
When he isn't busy patrolling, he sometimes pauses to scoop up a camel spider in a water bottle with a hole cut in the side. Brickman holds his hands apart as though cradling a creature the size of a guinea pig when he describes the camel spiders so named because they supposedly can eat camels, he said (Springfield News Sun, OH)
Lilienkamp back at Fort Riley after serving overseas in Baghdad 9 Oct 2003
He encountered huge camel spiders, whose body and legs span 6 inches or more. They are very aggressive spiders that will pursue people and animals to bite them, rearing up on their back legs and hissing (Arapahoe Public Mirror, NE)
QC women share worry of soldier sons 4 Oct 2003
One mother says she?s freaked out by reports of Camel Spiders ? huge arachnids which the service men and women have been writing home about. I heard they?ve been putting scorpions and camel spiders in jars and betting on which one will last the longest,? Anderson said of the troops? otherwise futile quest for entertainment (Bettendorf News, IA)
Marine meets with young pen pals 26 Sep 2003
After rolling out a military-issue bed roll, Smith said, "Sleeping in the sand is not too much fun, because they have things like scorpions and camel spiders.". The group of 20 Moody students bubbled over with questions about tanks, training, sandstorms, weapons, enemy movements and Saddam Hussein s decoys (Middletown Press, CT)
Desert Shadows students letters kept morale up
East Valley Tribune, AZ - 16 hours ago
... Behrendt, who returned home March 9 from 11 months in Iraq, flew in Thursday on ... Baghdad, bombed-out bridges, a falcon he rescued and a camel spider larger than ...
CC grad on real duty in Mideast
Bucyrus Telegraph Forum, OH - 20 hours ago
... course with our shower shoes because you don't want to step on a camel spider or scorpion ... The first time I entered Iraq on a mission, the sight I saw was one of ...
Touch 'Em All: The 'EWWWW!' Factor
WBAL Channel.com, MD - 21 hours ago
... This is a camel spider -- one of the indigenous creatures in Iraq. The following is from an e-mail my brother sent me with the picture: ...
Pilot drops in on kids
AZ Central.com, United States - 23 hours ago
... The 60 students gasped at the sight of a camel spider. ... year, Erwin asked her students to write a letter to Behrendt while he was stationed in Iraq with the ...
Rest for the weary: Soldier relishes time off after tour in Iraq
Kingston Daily Freeman, NY - Mar 30, 2004
... Stade said bugs, spiders and scorpions are common in Iraq, and while sleeping one night, a non-poisonous Camel spider bit his left cheek. ...
Reservist Returns After One Year In Iraq
Morning News, AR - Mar 20, 2004
... One of the guys got bit on his knee by a camel spider and it swelled up huge," Mayes said. "Those can be treated.". Mayes said when he left Iraq, there were ...
1st Cavalry Division Soldiers Encounter Texas - Sized ...
KWTX, TX - Mar 14, 2004
... While they wait in Kuwait to deploy to Iraq, they are not only acclimating to ... Kuwait is home to the Camel Spider, aptly named for its light coloring and large ...
Milestone for Maine soldiers
Press Herald, ME - Mar 14, 2004
... other soldiers, Damon Lehnig has experienced remarkable things in Iraq, some of ... here, over there it's camels." Then there was the camel spider, bigger than a ...
Holy cow! My cats would be impressed.
They're too big to squish with my shoe.
And the scorpions can just stay out of my way, too.
I've seen dik-diks, jackals and some pretty cool lizards, though.
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