Watch Out Lubbock! Have You Seen This Super Fast Arachnid Around?

Recently I was at a Lubbock hotel to take a mini vacation to get away but there was one hotel guest I didn't expect to see. One of the hotel employees went running and jumped into the air landing very hard on what she described as a creepy crawly scorpion. Once she lifted her shoe there it was with jaws wide open and lifeless with two sets of jaws, a weird type of arachnid.

The arachnid was a sun spider, or better known as a camel spider or wind scorpion, and I had never seen one before. This little creature caught me by surprise as it looked like a scorpion but had the quickness of a baby bunny rabbit without all the fur. Sun spiders are arachnids but aren't actually spiders or scorpions and, according to the American Museum of Natural History, are known as Solifugae.

These arachnids almost have a face like a baboon and a crab mixed together and the weirdest sets of jaws that are not venomous to humans. While not being venomous their bite can cause quite a punch and could leave a hole in a humans skin that could lead to infection. If you are ever bit by one it's best to seek medical care immediately so you can avoid any infection. They can be found almost everywhere in Texas where it's hot and/or humid and can be identified by their weird jaws.

If you are like me and had never seen a sun spider in Lubbock despite living here for years then you might be asking are they new? Well the answer is no they're just not common and should not be mistaken with the camel spiders from the mid 2000's. The camel spider was made popular by an image floating around on the internet being held up by a soldier and they were extremely big but the variety in Texas and Arizona shouldn't grow to those massive sizes.

If you do see a sun spider do remember that they are nocturnal and will try to hide in the shade, even if that means your shadow. They also eat small lizards, bugs, and spiders as well as other small creatures.