Misconceptions

Ever heard of a camel spider? I heard it was supposed to be the biggest, baddest, and fastest of all the spiders in the world. A science teacher in high school once told me that you could hear them running as each big furry leg came into contact with the sand or pavement. He also told me how they were the size of a dinner plate, and how they would bite soldiers in their sleep or lay their eggs inside of humans' ears since it was warm and protected.

When I first heard this I was frightened and definitely terrified of having an experience with one of these monsters in my sleep. However, I later found out that these spiders don't even live in the United States and are typically found in the deserts of Iraq. This helped me deal a little more with my fear but I still hated thinking that these were some of the creatures our U.S. soldiers encountered in Iraq. When searching the internet there were numerous stories and pictures of soldiers with these spiders. 

                                

                                                                                          Most famous picture

When reading The Earwig's Tail by May R. Berenbaum I found out that camel spiders do truly exist but thankfully they are not nearly as horrible as people make them seem. It turns out that my high school science teacher was merely forwarding on to us misconceptions about these spiders he had previously been told about. 

Camel spiders don't actually run at an unbelievable speed of 25 mph but rather 10 mph meaning that the average human is much faster than them.  In fact, the main reason for camel spiders to run is actually to not attack but rather because they are seeking the shade. They also don't attack humans in their sleep and only bite as a form of self-defense. If ever bitten, the bite isn't even venomous as many think but only acts as an anesthetic numbing the victim. 

Camel spiders also don't lay their eggs inside of camels or inside of humans' ears but rather in soil. Perhaps the biggest misconception about these spiders is their size. Camel spiders are said to get as big as a frisbee or even as long as a foot but realistically they only achieve a size of 6 inches at the best. The "most famous picture" of them (found above) is not a spider but two of them and the image had been altered in order for the spiders to appear 8-10 times their actual size. 

Knowing all of these misconceptions about camel spiders makes them seem not as scary but their appearance alone is still pretty frightening. 

                                    

Images found from:

www.ebaumsworld.com

www.camelspiders.net 

http://www.camel-spiders.net/myths.php

Information found from:

http://www.camel-spiders.net/myths.php

http://www.burkemuseum.org/spidermyth/myths/camelspider2.html

The Earwig's Tail by May R. Berenbaum