News From The Iraq Front

[quick dog]

I just got a note from my grand-daughter, who is with the Fourth Infantry Division in the Middle East. I'm not sure where she is. Anyway, my grandson apparently asked her if she had seen a specific type of Arabian wildlife. The story is amusing.

Well, Here's a story I'm sure everyone would like...i wrote it in response to my little brother's question "Have I seen a Camel Spider yet?" ....Sarah is my 5 month old beagle and The turtle I'm talking about is my little brother's; his name is Mr.T.


I was walking down the flight line, just minding my own business, when i see this thing blowing down the strip. At first, I thought it was trash and so i ran after it to go pick it up and it start going faster. So i ran faster until all of a sudden it just stop really quick and started moving round in one spot. When i started catching up to it, I realized that I was chasing a Camel Spider, a little smaller than when sarah was baby (a little smaller than your turtle...with legs). It turned around and raised its head at me so I could see it's eyes, eye-balled me, hissed at me (they sound like a really big cat hissing), then started jumping toward me like sarah does when she's under the bed. I freaked out and screamed and it screamed back! I said "Screw this!" and started running as fast as I could down the flight line screaming all crazy towards a group of my friends and pilots that were just laughing. So you know what I did? I ran right to them and that Camel Spider followed right behind me. They were all laughing until they heard that thing scream and the panicked and started running right with me. It looked like we were doing PT on the flight line all running together.

I thought I'd try to be smart and jump into the side door of the Blackhawk, but that thing jumped in right after me so I went through one side door and out the other. MAN! That thing was out for blood...I thought I was going to die! It finally stopped when one of the guys got it caged up in a tube of some sort.

And you know what those stupid guys did, they started throwing scorpions and other bugs in with the camel spider to watch them fight and stuff.. They called it "Extreme Ultimate Desert Fighting: Sudden Death Match Style".

Boys can be so dumb some times. Anyway, Yes Danny. I have seen a Camel Spider. They ended up naming her "Banchi Women" and she finally lost to a scorpion named "Big Guns". He tore her to pieces.

**fun stuff right there** love Val

Valerie is a Blackhawk Helicopter mechanic and door gunner. Talk about sending kids to war.

 

[RoyalDiva]

LOL!! Thanks for sharing that, QD! Although with my great fear of spiders, I hope those things never hitch a ride on a helicopter back home here.

 

[bdouble013]

Just for a reference...here is a picture of two of them.

 

[ILV]

Just for a reference...here is a picture of two of them.

Thanks for the picture...I am seriously creeped out now!

 

[bdouble013]

Remember...thats two of them, but you get the drift. They are VEEERY big spiders.

 

[ILV]

http://www.camelspiders.net/

Sounds like these myths are spreading around....

 

[bdouble013]

http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp For those of you that can't access snopes. It references the photo I linked above.

Origins: Yes, the photo displayed above does indeed show camel spiders encountered in Iraq, but it is not a fair representation of the creatures in that the angle of the shot makes them appear far larger than they are. Also, the

claims made in photo's e-mailed accompaniment about camel spiders being flesh-eating anesthesia-injecting beasts are folklore, not reality. So worry not that those serving in our country's armed forces in Iraq are having to deal with man-eating creepy-crawlies the size of small cats.

Camel spiders, also known as wind spiders, wind scorpions, and sun scorpions, are a type of arthropod found (among other places) in the deserts of the Middle East. They're technically not spiders but solifugae (although, like spiders, they belong to the class Arachnida). Camel spiders are the subject of a variety of legendary claims, many of them familiar to Americans because they were spread by U.S. servicemen who served in the Persian Gulf War in 1991, and re-spread at the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003:

• Camel spiders can grow to be as large as dinner plates.
• Camel spiders can traverse desert sand at speeds up to 25 MPH, making screaming noises as they run.
• Camel spiders can jump several feet in the air.
• Camel spiders eat the stomachs of camels, hence the name "camel spider." (Legend includes the detail that camel spiders eat camel stomachs from either the outside in or the inside out. In the former case they supposedly jump up from the ground and grab onto camels' bellies from underneath; in the latter case exactly how spiders allegedly as large as dinner plates get into camels' stomachs intact remains unexplained.)
• Camel spiders are venomous, and their venom contains a powerful anesthetic that numbs their victims (thus allowing them to gnaw away at living, immobilized animals without being noticed). U.S. soldiers were said to have been attacked by camel spiders at night but remained completely unaware of their plight until they awakened in the morning to find chunks of their flesh missing.

According to most spider experts, these claims are all false. Camel spiders (so named because, like camels, they can be found in sandy desert regions) grow to be moderately large (about a 5" leg span), but nowhere near as large as dinner plates; they can move very quickly in comparison to other arthropods (a top speed of maybe 10 MPH), but nothing close 25 MPH; they make no noise; and they capture prey without the use of either venom or anesthetic. Camel spiders rely on speed, stealth, and the (non-venomous) bite of powerful jaws to feed on small prey such as other arthropods (e.g., scorpions, crickets, pillbugs), lizards, and possibly mice or birds. They use only three pairs of legs in running; the frontmost pair (called pedipalpa) is held aloft and used in a similar manner to the antennae of insects. Camel spiders shun the sun and generally hide during the day, coming out at night to do their hunting.

Although whatever is shown in the photograph above appears to be far too large for camel spiders, the creatures look unusually large because they were held close to the camera, creating an illusion of exaggerated size. (Note the man's sleeve which appears on the right of the picture.)

 

[ILV]

Says they can't make any noise either.

 

[quick dog]

I guess my grand-daughter made it all up.


This text about Camel Spiders may have been written by the same eco-geek who wrote that Great White Sharks don't like to eat people. "It's all a big mistake."

 

[VF21]

I think the "most spider experts" might want to revisit Iraq and get more current information. I believe qd's granddaughter. I heard one of the kids up here talking about the spider, too. He also mentioned hearing a hissing sound.

 

[Bibby_Is_Clutch]

I hate spiders as it is... hearing what those can do has made me even more afraid.

I thought there wasnt a spider that could outrun me... but I surely cant run 25mph or jump several feet in the air.

 

[quick dog]

I would like some verification about the spider jumping into an open Blackhawk, chasing my 5'10" grand-daughter.

Err, ummm, I'm 6'1"+, and I think, no I know, that I would have run also. I HATE spiders. I am a girly man.

 

[OHSacFan]

uggghhhhh!!! I HATE spiders, and even the picture made my skin crawl. Even if they were made to look bigger by holding them closer to the camera, they're FAR too large for me! Yuck!

 

[Mad D]

uggghhhhh!!! I HATE spiders, and even the picture made my skin crawl.

Same here, those things are horrendous!!

 

[quick dog]

I just talked to my daughter-in-law, the young warrior's mother. She is also in the regular Army, stationed in Sacramento. She said that one of those Camel Spiders cleared ALL the soldiers from an aircraft hanger in Iraq when her unit was there last year. All the grown men headed for the doors as this huge spider ran around and chased them. These creatures can allegedly run up to 10 mph. Few humans can run that fast! She also confirmed they make a lot of noise.

Man, am I glad I live here.

 

[RoyalDiva]

Me too.

 

[bdouble013]

This is why I am not a biology major. Regardless of what the rumors or truth is out there I want no part whatsoever of a spider that big. Nooooo thank you.

 

[quick dog]

I think that I would have to pack a .410 shotgun at all times to walk around in Iraq. That and body-armor.

Come to think of it, one of those spiders couldn't get you if you wore a Tyvek suit with gauntlets, taped sleeves, and a hood.

That's probably the real reason the Army wore so-called "chemical suits" during the initial invasion. It wasn't the nerve gas and germs they were worried about, it was giant Camel Spiders!

 

[quick dog]

More Chit-Chat from Iraq

I thought that some of you might find this interesting, especially you parents. It's another brief e-mail from my "warrior" grand-daughter in Iraq. She is with the 4th Battalian-3rd Infantry Division (Patton's Army) near Fallujah.

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Hello everyone, it's Val. I dont have much time, but here's what's up. I just flew in from Kuwait on a CH-47 (Chinook) two days ago. I didn't get to call because we had a suicide car bomber hit about 150 yards from my bunker at the south gate so we went into a commo blackout (momma will explain). I'm on my lunch break, and i'll try to call everyone asap, but lines are very long.

Its beautiful here. Will send pictures. I feel like a "sand queen" They feed us like queens (officers) but we look like "killer swamp people from the sand dunes of hell". It's a little dusty at times. I love being out here. It's different, and there are people from all over the world. I will try to call everyone. OH, I need everyone's addresses (zip and everything). Hugs and kisses. Love everyone. xoxoxo Val xoxox. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

The Sand Queen's mother continues ------------------

Valerie is doing good. Last I spoke with her she was on guard duty. Very typical for all to take turns with this duty. She is with a group of guys that have been guarding the ammo points and vehicles. She also said she will not be in the convoy crossing the desert to IRAQ. She will be flown by Chinooks and and C-130s. Much safer, so I am feeling a lot better about that. It's o.k. to send packages and letters to her.

She will be getting a laptop in about a month so she will be able to respond to everyone. She wants everyone to know that she gets all emails but she is allowed a very short time on the computer so she doesn't have time to respond. I know that she is enjoying the emails.

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It brings Iraq a bit closer to home, doesn't it? QD