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Sticker of Florida whip spider
Bug card No. 0524 of 1,500

Florida whip spider

Phrynus marginemaculatus
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsScorpions, ticks and friendsRainforests and jungles8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The Florida whip spider is a flat, strange looking creature with super long, thin front legs. It is not a real spider and not a scorpion either. It uses those long legs like feelers to find its way in the dark.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. It is an arachnid with eight legs, a cousin of the spiders.
Lives in
Southern Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba and Hispaniola
Length
1.8 cm (0.71 in)
Top speed
about 1.1 km/h (0.68 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It has no venom and no sting.
What does it eat?
It hunts small animals at night and grabs them with its spiny, arm-like pincers.
For real!Photo of Florida whip spider
Picture by Nick Tobler (Cowturtle). CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Florida whip spider about 1.8 cm long (0.71 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
as long as 3 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 3.3 seconds

How big is Florida whip spider compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its body is less than 2 centimetres long, but its front legs can reach 10 centimetres.

2

It walks on six legs and scuttles sideways like a crab.

3

It has eight eyes: two at the front and three on each side.

4

The mother carries her babies on her back for about ten days.

5

It takes about two years to grow up and then lives another two or three years.

you asked

Most asked questions about Florida whip spider

?Is the Florida whip spider dangerous?

No. It has no venom and is harmless to people.

?Is a whip spider a spider?

No. It is a relative of spiders, but it belongs to its own group of animals.

?What does the Florida whip spider eat?

It hunts small animals at night.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Phrynus marginemaculatus
Group
Scorpions, ticks and friends
Family
Phrynidae
Classification
Arachnida > Amblypygi > Phrynidae
Lives on
North America
Also known as
Spotted tailless whip scorpion

Where the facts come from

  1. Phrynus marginemaculatus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Nick Tobler (Cowturtle). CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

More from the same group: Scorpions, ticks and friends

Also at home here: Rainforests and jungles