foookin ell

[KarlM]

8 legged iraqi monsters....


They run 10 mph, jump three feet, are a nocturnal spider, so only come out
at night unless they are in shade. When they bite you, you are injected
with Novocain so you go numb instantly. You don't even know you are bitten
when you are sleeping, so you wake up with part of your leg or arm missing
because it has been gnawing on it all night long. If you are walking around
and you bump something that is casting a shadow over it, and the sun makes
contact with it, you better run. It will instantly run for your shadow, and
scream the whole time it is chasing you. PS. The one on the bottom is
eating the one on the top. These are Spiders found daily in IRAQ by troops.
Imagine waking up and seeing one of these in your tent!!

[pettsy]

[sbp]

holy sh*t

Karlm, I posted it on www.cleaned.be too,hope you don't mind..

[Tahrey1043]

naw.... that cant be real... tis either a pshop or something that flew past the lens.... novocaine is a synthetic substance after all isnt it? (derived from cocaine in a lab, hence novo..)

unless its some kind of genetically altered, artifically created lifeform that was created by saddams WMD team (no wonder they can't find any bombs - its bioweapons) to specifically hunt down coalition forces. probably if you dont smell 'right' it goes right for you.

hm!

[Mikedavbora]

naw.... that cant be real... tis either a pshop or something that flew past the lens.... novocaine is a synthetic substance after all isnt it? (derived from cocaine in a lab, hence novo..)

Its real...a camel spider I think its called. Pretty harmless unless you are casting a shadow over it then move - itll squeal and chase you to try and get back in the shadow, scary stuff

[Scorpio1]

If I saw that I would probably die before it actually touched me!

And to think it screams.. Horror..

[pettsy]

Camel Spiders

Camel spiders are one of the fastest running arthropods. Although they have four pairs of legs, they run using only three pairs. The first pair of legs or pedipalpi are held up in front of them and used in a similar manner to the antennae of insects. They have very long, silky setae and are constantly moving in order to locate and pick-up prey. Despite their fearsome appearance and their strong bite, solifugids are unlikely to harm humans. In the past they were considered venomous and extremely dangerous but it is now thought that the only risk of injury resulting from them is caused by shock or infection following a bite. There is no evidence of venom in any part of their body.

Camel spiders are nocturnal predators of other arthropods including scorpions and are voracious feeders. Some species kill and feed on lizards and it is speculated that others kill mice and birds. They rely solely on their speed and stealth to catch their prey. In desert areas they are often attracted to lights at night in search of food and their appearance can cause alarm if they enter tents. It is rare to see them during the winter months and they are thought to hide or hibernate during cold periods.

http://www.frgnews.com/spider.htm

[Tahrey1043]

Think we need to get in that crazy survivalist bloke from Tremors to wipe all the chunky varmints out!

oh, sorry.... forgot for one moment that i was a biology head ostensibly committed to preservation of all species in their natural (aarrgh! kill it! KILL IT!!!! -splat-) environment...

[Babe RuthLess]

Scary stuff.

Imagine waking up in your tent and seeing one of these on the canvas right above you, harmless as it may be:

http://www.enhg.org/b/b16/16_25.htm

Anyway, with arthropods (and arachnidae - is that the word? - in particular) the bigger they are, the less poisonous they're likely to be.

That's because a bigger animal can rely on its size and strenght to catch prey, whereas a smaller spider or scorpion is more likely to rely on strong toxins.

One good measure of just how poisonous a scorpion can be (though you should avoid all of them) is to take a look at their claws - if they're small and delicate, then it's probably a killer. If it looks like a lobster then it's less likely to rely on toxin alone to feed itself.

Don't take this as an absolute rule though - there are some exceptions, most notably in Africa where they have huge and extremely toxic scorpions. And, sometimes, a bigger animal will have a weaker toxin but will inculate more of it into the victim, or reach deeper into the skin etc.

In any case, there's another reason to avoid a trip to Iraq at the moment.