I went to Afghanistan and all I got was a lousy camel spider.

[Grumpmeister]

This could almost be a page out of Nick's diary 

I've seen these buggers before. While the RSPCA says the do not normally go for humans they are nasty when narked off, suddenly finding itself in Colchester was probably enough to send it postal.

A soldier's family have been frightened out of their home by a spider thought to have been brought to Essex from Afghanistan in a kitbag.

Lorraine Griffiths and her three children have moved out of their house in Colchester, the RSPCA said.

They are refusing to return until the large sandy-coloured creature, thought to be a camel spider, is captured.

An RSPCA spokeswoman confirmed they had visited the house but failed to locate the creature.

"If it is the spider they believe it is, then normally they don't attack humans, but they could give a painful bite," the spokeswoman said.

Mrs Griffiths believes the spider got to the UK in a kitbag brought home in June by her husband, Rodney, 32, when he returned from Afghanistan.

He is now back there on a further tour of duty.

She said the spider was seen in her bedroom by her two elder children, aged 18 and 16, and an electrician working at their home.

"They identified the spider using the internet," she said.

[Nick]

normally they don't attack humans

Define normally in this context 

[Snoopy]

Not Normal


Safe

[Snoopy]

Camel Spider    

[Nick]

YIKES 

It looks like that thing in the Alien films 

[Snoopy]

Wouldn't want to find that in my bath that's for sure.

[Grumpmeister]

Camel Spiders have become a household word since the inception of the Iraq war, because of the rumors of huge and bloodthirsty spiders being seen by service men, who also sent photos of spiders that were half the size of a man.

The Rumor mill from the Middle east has given us camel spiders that were large filled with venom and predators that could outrun a human and had a hefty appetite for actual mammals.

While these are myths, the Camel Spider is still an amazing creature, although it has been misidentified for years.
The camel spider, isn’t even really a spider, but rather a solpugid.

They are actually Giant Egyptian Solpugids, and grow to be a bit more than 6 inches long.

They are however extremely fast runners, with a top speed estimated between ten and fifteen miles per hour.

Although their bite is extremely painful, they are not deadly to humans. They are however vicious predators, who can bring nearly instant death to rodents, lizards and birds. They hunt primarily in the evening, and using jaws that are nearly impossible to escape from they will seize and hold a struggling prey until their jaws have done their work.

They have large, hardy jaws that can be about a third as long as their bodies, so their bite is strong enough to handle even the most wiggly of prey.

They use them to seize their victims and turn them to pulp with a chopping or sawing motion.

Camel spiders do use digestive fluids to liquefy their victims’ flesh, making it easy to suck the remains into their stomachs.

6 inches long and can leg it at up to 15mph? 

I knew the one I saw was a fast little bugger but I hadnt realised it was that bleedin fast.

[Nick]

Wenchy is going to love this!

[Grumpmeister]

Well the title of the thread pretty much tells you what you are going to find in here Nick so odds are Wenchy won't look in here. 

[Darwins Selection]

Well the title of the thread pretty much tells you what you are going to find in here Nick so odds are Wenchy won't look in here. 

 

Since when did the thread title have and bearing on the content?

[Nick]

What he said!

[Grumpmeister]

Well the title of the thread pretty much tells you what you are going to find in here Nick so odds are Wenchy won't look in here. 

 

Since when did the thread title have and bearing on the content?

It will for Wenchy, she will read camel spider and common sense will tell her not to look. Would also work with clowns as well I suspect. 

[Snoopy]

No ~ it's Berek who has a phobia about clowns...................... like 

[Nick]

common sense will tell her not to look

 

This is Wenchy we are talking about you know

[Grumpmeister]

Wenchy does have common sense as long as it doesnt have to apply to tat, chocolate or laptops.