All the Solifugidae are predators, most species will eat anything, for the larger species this includes mice and even lizards. J. L. Cloudsley-Thompson records how during the 2nd world war his troop corporal kept one in a tin on the top of their tank and fed it almost entirely on scorpions. However some species are more specialised, Solpuga sericea and Solpuga lineata burrow into the soil in order to feed on termites while a Californian species of the genera Eremobates enters bees hives and feeds on the bees and Eremobates pallipes from Colarado is suspected of hunting 'bedbugs'. Though sight is an important means of dectecting prey for some species of Galeodes , it is obviously not that important for the majority of nocturnal species or for those species which are blind. They use their large chelicerae not only to crush their prey, but also to scoop water into their mouths when they are drinking.
Males are smaller and lighter than females, but have longer legs.
The highly carnivorous females have no qualms about eating the male after mating if he is too slow in making his escape. Because of this aggressiveness of the females the males first act in preparing to mate is to lull the female into a state of lethargy by stroking her. Once she is suitably docile he picks her up in his chelicerae and carries her for a while. Next he lays her on her side and awakens her sexually by stroking the underside of her abdomen. In most species sperm transfer involves the male depositing a spermatophore on the ground and then charging his pedipalps with sperm and using them to inseminate her.