Desert Insects and Arachnids

This giant hairy scorpion was photographed in the Mojave Desert in California. Click on image for full size (114K JPG) Courtesy of Corel Photography

There are all kinds of insects in the desert! Some of them cause a lot of problems. The locusts fly from place to place, eating all the plants they see. But not all desert bugs are bad.

There isn't a lot of food for bugs, so they have to find ways to save it. Harvester ants store seeds in the ground. A group of honeypot ants eat lots of sugar, and then feed it to other ants!

There are also arachnids in the desert. Spiders and scorpions are two kinds of arachnids. Scorpions have a sharp tail that they use for defense and to kill their food.