Hitchhiking is a time-honoured tradition for many a backpacker, and is an inexpensive way of covering the distance between destinations. Nature, of course, has its own version called phoresis or phorecy. In this case a phoront (the hitchhiker) attaches itself to a host and travels along until said host reaches a suitable destination, where the phoront will then detach again.

Pseudoscorpions have mastered this art to the extent that some species even require phoresis to survive. Pseudoscorpions themselves are an ancient order of tiny predatory arachnids, usually no more than 3mm in size, that superficially resemble true scorpions but lack the elongated tail and sting. Many species possess venom which they can inject into prey from small venom teeth at the ends of their pincers. This makes the Pseudoscorpiones one of only three arachnid orders that possess venom, the other two being true spiders (Araneae) and true scorpions (Scorpiones). Pseudoscorpions occur in almost every part of the world, though most species are found within the tropics and subtropics.