Photo Gallery
A windscorpion, or sunspider, resting on
a rock.
Top view of a windscorpion, note the 4 prominent chelicerae, or jaws.
The windscorpion holds its pedipalps up
in a defensive posture. There are no pincers.
The 4 jaws work independently, one pair
holds the prey, while the second chews.
Solpugids range in size from 5/8 to 1-3/4 inches (15 to 45 mm). Their color is mostly brownish or yellowish and they are often covered with short hairs. The body is divided into three distinct body regions - a segmented head region with two distinct eyes, a three segmented thorax and a 10 segmented abdomen.
The most striking characters are the enormous, two-jointed jaws with the pincers hinged up and down. There is no poison associated with the mouthparts.
The pedipalps, or first pair of arms, are slender and do not have pincers, this is different than scorpions. These arms are sticky at the tip and are used to hold prey and scoop water to the mouth. The first true pair of legs are longer than the others and are used as feelers. The last three pair of legs are used for walking.
The abdomen, distinguished by the waistline constriction, is rounded. The abdomen has no tail or stinger of any kind, further distinguishing it from scorpions.
The females lay about 50 eggs in a burrow dug into the soil. She then guards the burrow until the young hatch. Upon hatching, the young are active at night. Adults are most active at night but can be found moving about during the day.
Host(s):
Windscorpions are predators. Their prey consists of insects and some small vertebrates, such as lizards. The solpugids are aggressive hunters seizing their prey with their arms. They have no poison to help them capture food.
Damage/Symptoms:
The sun spiders are occasionally found inside homes. They enter homes while searching for insect prey. Homes with many entries, such as poor fitting door seals, may be invaded more frequently. When found, they are usually alone. All sun spiders are independent hunters.
Chemical controls specifically for sun spiders are not recommended. Windscorpions are regarded as beneficial because they feed on insects. Their harmless nature to man further discourages any control. The best management is to limit the number of possible entry points into the living area. Use caulking and weather stripping to block these areas. These same procedures will limit entry of all home invaders including crickets, spiders, millipedes, sowbugs and others.
Comments:
Upon seeing these arachnids, a person's first impression is often, "Anything this ugly MUST be poisonous." This is the unfortunate reputation that follows the sun spider .
The truth is quite different. The sun spider's appearance is quite fierce, yet they are perfectly harmless to man. Many superstitions are told about these creatures. In Mexico and the Southwest it is one of two different creatures referred to as nina de la tierra or child-of-the earth.
Solpugids live where arid and semi-arid conditions occur. In the United States, they are found from Arizona to West Texas and as far north as North Dakota and adjacent areas of Canada.
