“Big and scary”: a man found an “alien” beetle in his house (4 photos)

The owner of the house discovered an unusual insect in his home. It turned out that it is not poisonous, but can leave a deep wound.







A US man who discovered an “alien” beetle in his home initially thought it was just a termite. However, I decided to find out more about the insect. A user with the nickname Royal_Buyer_8178 shared the pictures on the popular forum Reddit, asking people what kind of species it was.

A man discovered a bizarre insect that looked like an “alien” in his home. He thought it was termite, but the truth turned out to be much worse.

"This bug is walking around my house, it's big and scary. What kind of insect is it? Is it a termite?" — the man signed his photo.

In the comments section, he added that he lives in Irvine, California. According to him, he looks like an alien and he cannot determine whether it is an ant, a spider or a scorpion.



The man was answered by an insect “expert” who helped him correctly identify his “alien” beetle.

"Solifugae, aka sun spider. They have a nasty bite and will eat scorpions if given the chance. They are all over us in the Mojave Desert," he wrote.

Solifugae - also known as camel spiders, wind scorpions or sun spiders - belong to the class Arachnidae. Large species of this class can reach 15 cm in length.





One of their most distinctive features is their jaws, which form crab-like claws and can account for a third of the total body length of some species. They primarily feed on termites and small beetles, but these jaws allow them to capture larger prey, including scorpions, lizards, snakes, birds and rodents.

Their bites can be "very painful," according to Pinnacle Pest Control.

"Although the bite is not directly life-threatening because the camel spider is not venomous, it can leave a deep wound. The biggest risk is infection. It is recommended to see a doctor if the appearance of the wound worsens over time," the site states.