So here I was, minding my business, unpacking and picking up. I picked up some packing paper that was on the floor and then I made the “monkey noise”! What I took for a huge spider went crawling across the floor from where I’d disturbed his rest.

Closer inspection revealed this guy was scarier than your average spider. Hindsight and rational thought show that his behavior was anything but aggressive. He ran to the wall, stuck his face against it, and pretended he wasn’t there.

This wasn’t good enough for me. I don’t like spiders, and ever since I found a black widow on my sofa, in California, I am even more cautious. I decided to catch this one and hold him pending identification.

I had this broken antenna handy to herd him. But when threatened, this guy reared up on his long legs and displayed his claws! Positively nightmarish! But I did get him into a box, and took good photos in the process.

Johan found someone at work who could identify the beast by name (Thanks Jo!). Turned out its a “whip scorpion”. Quite harmless (barring a bit of pinching). Not really a spider, not really a scorpion. Some sources claim its rare, Britannica says its commonly found in homes. He eats things like crickets. We turned him loose out beyond the back wall, where there is a brick pile he should enjoy hiding within.

You can read more about this beast here:

http://search.centralpets.com/pages/critterpages/insects/other_insects/BUG4334.shtml