Solifuges are the victim of a number of urban legends which exaggerate their size, speed, venom (they don’t have venom glands), and danger to humans and other animals. One of these urban legends is the basis of one of their common names, “camel spider”, as they were purported to hunt and chase camels. Yeah. Camels. In truth, solifuges are not especially large (the largest having a length of 15 centimetres [5.9 in]), and, while they are impressively fast on land compared to other invertebrates, their top speed is estimated to be 16 km/h (10 mph) while camels can run at 65 km/h (40 mph). Claims that solifuges aggressively chase people are also untrue, as they are merely trying to stay in the shade/shadow provided by humans in hot climates.

In some species, female solifuges will guard their eggs until they hatch. During this time, she will not eat, so she typically tries to fatten herself up before laying her eggs.

Solifuges undergo periods of diapause (variously referred to as dormancy, torpor, or hibernation) in times of harsh conditions. Despite multiple observations of this behavior, like many aspects of Solifugae, it remains understudied and requires further research.

Before eating, solifuges will meticulously prepare their food by removing any parts they find unfavorable. In arthropods, these are typically areas that have high amounts of chitin (heads, antennae, wings, etc). Solifuges eat in different ways based on the shape of their food. Prey that is long and narrow is held perpendicular to the chelicerae and chewed from one end to another (corncob-style). More round prey is chewed by rotating the body all at once. Folks, we may have found the true Autism Beasts…

British troops stationed in Libya in World War II staged fights between solifuges and scorpions to keep themselves entertained. You just can’t keep them Brits from blood sport.

Many species of solifuge are considered beneficial as they feed on species humans consider pests, such as termites.

In case you missed it in the list of families, let me repeat, Hexisopodidae (“teddybear solifuges”). Ahem. Teddybear solifuges:

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