View allAll Photos Tagged huntsman
I have had the misfortune of having one of these fall down onto my neck whilst travelling in the car. Thank goodness I was not driving. The car was stopped very abruptly and I managed to brush it off, and out onto the ground, I lived to tell the tale.
As I went to empty my compost recently, I lifted the lid a little higher than usual and found this guy. Spiders really bother me, however they still intrigue me. The focus isn't perfect as I used my telephoto lens so I could stand as far away as possible!
He is currently hanging out on the laundry wall. They grow up to 15cm across, this particular specimen is about 10cm. Those huge fangs are used for killing and eating cockroaches and while they aren't aggressive or poisonous if you annoy one you'll discover that the fangs can hurt rather a lot.
This is the Huntsman building at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I also uploaded a black and white version of this photo.
Update: This photo was published in 2008 by Schmaps, as part of their Philadelphia travel guide. =D
One of the largest spiders found in Australia with a legspan up to 160 mm! The family contains 13 general and 94 descibed species.
They have a flattened body, which allow them to find shelter between loosened bark. They have eight eyes set in two rows of four. All huntsman are nocturnal. At the start of the evening the spiders leave their hiding places and wander around searching for prey. When found, they kill the victim with a bite from its strong, curved fangs.
Because a spider has to change their skin, the skin of these giants can be found hanging on trees or wires. Huntsman are widely spread in large numbers throughout the Australia and may find shelter at your home.
The bite of Huntsman Spiders is of low risk (non toxic) to humans. They are a non-aggressive group of spiders. However, a large individual can give a painful bite. Beware in summer when the female Huntsman Spider is guarding her egg sacs or young.
Area of distribution - Australia-wide.
Spider Identification - an adult varies greatly around 15 mm in body length - has long legs - the diameter of an adult including legs may reach 45 mm - the first 2 pairs of legs are longer than rear two - it is hairy - buff to beige brown in colour, with dark patches on the body.
At the bottom of the tidal canyon of Huntsman's Leap, Pembroke, Wales. Tim Dennell, J. Frankiss (inverted) & S. Waldron. 1990s. The only way out is to climb. Photo: Rob Smart.
This is a Huntsman spider, on the back of a swinging chair, outside on Christmas Eve.......One of Jeans friend sat on it, and was quite comfortable..When they told her to get off, she said no its nice on here, until they told her the reason to get off, she got a fright as she is like me with spiders, and this was a big one, as you can tell with legs on the frame of the chair and other legs on the padded cushion ...Eeeeeek.!!!!
This "little" guy spent three days scaring the life out us by showing up in various places like the bathroom, above the boy child's bed and popping out from under clothing. Finally, today I got him out of the house. (he is still alive, he was just stunned and after taking these photos he scurried off into the garden.)
Huntsman spider. (Sparassidae, formerly Heteropodidae). Also known as giant crab spiders, wood spiders, and rain spiders. They are not dangerous although they will bite if handled. They are nocturnal and excellent climbers. They do not build webs, but hunt and eat insects and spiders smaller than themselves. The largest spiders in this family, up to 12 inches across, are found in Asia. The ones in Guatemala reach up to 6 inches across. This one is about 4 inches across. The locals here call them "tarantulas" which they are not. We also have tru tarantulas but locally those are called "araƱa de caballo".
If someone knows the exact genus and species of this one, please let me know.
To learn more about Guatemala see: www.mayaparaiso.com
While this is only a medium sized huntsman (or not - see last paragraph), he was certainly big enough to find on my bedroom curtains when I got home from work. It also didn't help when he jumped off them down onto the windowsill.
I didn't scream, but encouraged him into a plastic container, then took him outside for a photoshoot before letting him go.
These are a relatively harmless (to humans) Australian garden spider called "Huntsman" (I'm pretty sure) which unfortunately also like coming into houses....or cars....or out from under sun visors in cars. So thankful that has never happened to me lol.
I think I may have been wrong with my spider ID before and this may actually be a wolf spider rather than a huntsman. I need a spider expert to set me straight. Wolf spiders are actually more venomous than huntsmen but the effects are usually localised and not dangerous to humans.