The eggs are loosely deposited within a silken retreat, and the female remains nearby to guard them. Life History: Yellow sac spiders deposit their eggs in June or July. In homes with light, neutral-colored walls and ceilings, the retreats may go unnoticed, as they are small and blend in with the background coloration. These retreats are silken tubes or sacs in which the spiders hide during the daytime. Yellow sac spider retreats may be found outdoors under objects or indoors in the corners of walls and ceilings. Both spiders have a slightly darker dorsal stripe running lengthwise across the abdomen. The chelicerae, tarsi, and palps are similar to those of C. mildei has a slightly greenish tinge to its abdomen and a pale yellow cephalothorax. inclusum is a light yellow to cream color, with the jaws (chelicerae), tips of the tarsi, and palps dark brown. mildei has substantially increased its range since that time.ĭescription: Both species are of similar size (females 5-10 mm males 4-8 mm) and coloration. mildei, an introduced species from Europe, was found throughout much of the Northeast as of 1978. inclusum is indigenous to much of the United States (except the northernmost states), while C. They probably account for more spider bites than any other spider and their bites are sometimes misdiagnosed as brown recluse bites by health care providers. Yellow sac spiders can be found walking about on foliage under leaf litter, stones, and boards and on buildings under the window sills and siding, in addition to the corners of walls and ceilings within homes. The following is taken from the Pennsylvania State University, Department of Entomology web site entitled, Commonly Encountered Pennsylvania Spiders (and two rarely encountered but medically important species). Camel spiders are not venomous, but they do utilize digestive fluids to liquefy their victims' flesh, making it easy to suck the remains into their stomachs.Yellow sac spiders (Cheiracanthium inclusum and C.

They use them to seize their victims and turn them to pulp with a chopping or sawing motion. These hardy desert dwellers boast large, powerful jaws, which can be up to one-third of their body length. FeedingĬamel spiders are not deadly to humans (though their bite is painful), but they are vicious predators that can visit death upon insects, rodents, lizards, and small birds. Their top speed is estimated at 10 miles per hour. True, they are fast, but only compared to other arachnids. Photos that purport to show creatures six times that size have misleading perspective-the spider is invariably placed in the foreground where the lens makes it appear much bigger than its actual size. Size and SpeedĬamel spiders, also called wind scorpions and Egyptian giant solpugids (SAHL-pyoo-jids), are only about 6 inches long. Like spiders, they are members of the class Arachnida, but they are actually solpugids. The camel spider's history of misinformation begins with a misidentification. These creatures do not actually eat camels' stomachs or sleeping soldiers, and they are not so large-but the real camel spider is still an amazing predator.

Myths and Rumorsįor many years, Middle Eastern rumors have painted camel spiders as large, venomous predators, as fast as a running human, with a voracious appetite for large mammals. Many tales were accompanied with photos purporting to show spiders half the size of a human. Camel spiders became an Internet sensation during the Iraq war of 2003, when rumors of their bloodthirsty nature began to circulate online.

Red translucent spider