Whip spiders: They aren't as dangerous as they look
The look of a tailless whip scorpion may scare you. But fret not, for it neither has a stinger nor is venomous. So, these scorpions are completely harmless despite their scary exterior. Tailless whip scorpions, often known as ‘whip spiders,’ are not actually scorpions. They are arthropods lobsters, crabs, spiders, mites, insects, centipedes, and millipedes. These insects live in hot, tropical and subtropical climates, including the Americas, parts of Africa and Asia. They can weigh up to 1 g and are 5 to 68 cm in length.
The tailless whip scorpion has a wide, flat body with a segmented belly and several flexible appendages that move with the animal to brush the ground. On either side of the body, it has eight legs along with two pincers that arise and bend in a loose L-shape. The top and sides of the skull have eight sparkling eyes. Even though the tailless whip scorpion is fully equipped with pincers, bristles and powerful jaws, it is not harmful. It does not bite and is neither venomous nor poisonous. The tailless whip scorpion lacks fangs, stingers and claws. So, it can only hurt you if it pierces you with its pincers, although this will only be a tiny prick. You will still be OK! Let’s discover some amazing facts about these not-so-scary arthropods!
They aren't actually scorpions
The names tailless whip scorpion and whip spiders are misnomers. Why? Because they neither a spider nor a scorpion! Basically, this creature is a mix of the two. It is an arachnid (joint legged animal) of the amblypygid order. Amblypygid means ‘blunt tail’ which refers to the group of animals with the absence of a tail. Also, the word whip in their names is solely due to their resemblance to true scorpions known as whip scorpions.
Although eight-legged, it only uses six for walking
Tailless whip scorpions have eight legs but only walk on six of them. They brush the ground in front of them with their front pair called antenniform legs, a set of long, slender feelers. Because of the tiny hair on the antenniform legs, they can see, hear, feel and taste what is in front of them. On the other hand, the tailed whip scorpions also have a pair of pincers called pedipalps. These are shorter than the antenniform legs. However, the pincers are not meant for walking but as a tool to grab and hold the prey while eating it.
Hunts with a pair of pincers
Tailless whip scorpions lack venom glands. So, they are unable to poison their prey. Instead, a tailless whip scorpion will crush its prey. And how do they do that? With the help of their whip-like front antenniform legs, they detect their prey and then seize, crush and dissect it with their ferocious and powerful jaws.
Planned surprise attacks on prey
Tailless whip scorpions use a variety of attack strategies on their prey. One such strategy involves making a sudden leap such that they can hook their pincers on the prey even before they can react.
Another surprise strategy is slowly and non-threateningly feeling the insect with the antenniform legs before switching and grabbing it. Once a prey is caught, it cannot escape the grasp of a tailless whip scorpion. If the prey does not die right away, it will die once the tailless whip scorpion begins crushing it into jelly with its mandibles! Not a sight for sore eyes.