Kind of Insects in Iraq

Iraq is the home of a wide range of insects. Most of them are nocturnal and this feature helps them to avoid the hot sun and heat during the day. The additional benefit of being nocturnal, is that they can feed on smaller desert creatures, who come out in the night. These insects include camel spiders, sand flies, drain flies, desert mantis, oriental hornet, fog drinking beetle, mosquitoes, etc. Let us go through some important facts regarding the prominent ones among the insects in Iraq.

Camel Spider
Camel spiders are one of the common insects found in Iraq. They are not true spiders, but belong to the order solifugae, which in Latin means 'those who flee from the sun'. They are also known by the name of wind scorpions, sun scorpions and sun spiders. The name camel spider is derived from the myth that these creatures enter the stomach of dead camels to lay eggs, but the real reason may be their habitat - deserts. Males of this species have longer legs and are normally bigger than the females. They are seen in different shades of beige to brown. They have hairy body, eight legs and two large fang-like appendages near the mouth, consisting of pincers. The second pair of appendages are long and work as sensory organs. They come out at night and search for shadows during day time. Their diet includes insects, scorpions or lizards. There are numerous myths associated with these desert spiders, but it is said that they are not harmful to humans, as there is no conclusive evidence regarding the presence of any mechanism (in the body of this insect) to inject venom on the prey.

Desert Mantis
Desert mantis are carnivorous insects, belonging to Eremiaphila species and are found abundantly in the deserts of Iraq. They are sandy color and can easily blend with the sand in the deserts. Their legs are long and can run fast. Generally, adult females are bulkier than the skinny males. Apart from the abdominal part, there is no striking difference between the males and females.

Oriental Hornet
Oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis) is another insect which is seen in Iraq and can survive extreme high temperatures. Some species of this insect, living in the temperate zones, have queen and workers, just like honey bees. She builds vertical combs in trees and lays eggs (one each in every comb). The eggs hatch in two weeks and the larvae metamorphoses into an insect within a week.

Black Desert Ant
Other insects found in Iraq include the large desert ant, which comes in various colors, but the most common ones are the biting black ants. They cover long distances in search of food. These ants make mounds of sand, which are joined to other nests. It is said that these ants leave trails of scent to trace their path, but it is also contended that the high temperatures of the desert can fade these odors. Hence, they have an internal system that helps them to keep track of their way. Anyway, they have the ability to find their way back, even after covering long distances.

Desert Hairy Scorpion
Iraq has a number of scorpion species, including some venomous varieties. They use their claws to hold the prey and the stinger comes down to inject the venom. In humans, the sting of this scorpion is painful and the pain can last for at least five minutes. They mainly feed on other invertebrates, whom they can overpower, like insects and baby lizards.

Fog Drinking Beetle
Fog drinking beetle (Onymacris unguicalaris), derived the name from its unique method of collecting water. They stand on sand dunes and spread their stiff and bumpy wings against the damp breeze to gather water droplets in the fog. These droplets combine to form a big drop, which gets released from the electrostatic grip on the wing surfaces and rolls down to the mouth of the insect. This is essential for the insects due to the scarce water sources in deserts.

Sand Spider
Sand spiders (Sicarius hahnii) are also the inhabitants of deserts in Iraq and is a member of Sicariidae family. They are also known as six-eyed crab spider. They usually bury themselves in sand and attacks the prey that comes to that area. It is said to be the most poisonous spider. Usually, they don't bite humans, but records show that it can cause blood vessel leakage and tissue destruction in humans. It can cause multiple organ failure in animals. At present, there is no anti venom for this spider.

A disease-carrying variety, known as sand flies, are small insects found in Iraq. The parasites in their saliva transmit a deadly disease called 'Baghdad boil' (leishmaniasis), when they bite human beings. Mosquitoes are also nocturnal and exist in abundance. They transmit diseases like malaria, West Nile virus, yellow fever, etc. They are also found in moist oases.

These are some of the insects commonly found in Iraq. The next time you come across any of these creatures, you can easily identify them.