The Biology of Camel-Spiders, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1998 Arachnida, Solifugae

My initial interest in the Solifugae (camel-spiders) stems from an incident that occurred in the summer of 1986. I was studying the behavioral ecology of spider wasps of the genus Pepsis and their interactions with their large theraphosid (tarantula) spider hosts, in the Chihuahuan Desert near Big Bend National Park, Texas. I was monitoring a particular tarantula burrow one night when I noticed the resident female crawl up into the burrow entrance. Hoping to take some photographs of prey capture, I placed a cricket near the entrance and waited for the spider to pounce. Suddenly, out of the comer of my eye appeared a large, rapidly moving yellowish form which siezed the cricket and quickly ran off with it until it disappeared beneath a nearby mesquite bush. So suddenly and quickly had the sequence of events occurred, that I found myself momentarily startled. With the aid of a headlamp I soon located the intruder, a solifuge, who was already busy at work macerating the insect with its large chelicerae (jaws). When I attempted to nudge it with the edge of my forceps, it quickly moved to another location beneath the bush. When I repeated this maneuver, the solifuge dropped the cricket and lunged at the forceps, gripping them tightly in its jaws, refusing to release them until they were forcefully pulled away.

Preface. 1. An Introduction to the Solifugae. 2. Functional Anatomy and Physiology. 3. Neurobiology. 4. Life History Parameters. 5. Ecology. 6. Behavior. 7. Phylogeny, Biogeography, and Taxonomy. 8. Field Techniques and Laboratory Rearing Methods. References. Index.

The Biology of Camel-Spiders is the only work available that deals exclusively with Arachnida, Solifugae. Beginning with an introduction to Solifugae, this work covers folklore surrounding this group, functional anatomy and physiology, life history, ecology, behavior, phylogeny, biogeography and taxonomy, as well as field techniques and laboratory rearing methods. Extensive coverage is also devoted to natural history, habitat preference, diet composition, dispersion patterns, mating and hunting behavior, and burrowing activities, as well as diel/seasonal patterns of activity. The book also discusses the biology of Solifugae in relation to other major groups of arachnids and points out the importance of solifuges to desert communities.