Look Out - Giant Spiders!
Presenting: The Huntsman Spider. A scary looking, but harmless (to humans) spider that ranks as one of the largest in the world!
Read more about the Huntsman Spider, and learn about some other great arachnids, too.
Huntsman Spiders
- So, What IS That Thing?
- Heteropoda Maxima - The Largest Huntsman in the World
- What Do They Eat? Can They Eat Me?! What About My Pets?
- Not To Be Confused With...
- Huntsman Spiders in the News
- Hunstman Spiders in Popular Media
- Arachnophobia (1990)
- Huntsman Hanging Around
- Well-Posed Huntsman
- Huntsman - Closing In?
- Links and Other News Stories
- Huntsman Spider Video
- Sounds Like Huntsman Spiders Are Mostly In Australia...
- Spider Chatter
- More Huntsman Pictures and Photos
- Bonus Spider Trivia
So, What IS That Thing?
THAT is the Huntsman Spider.They can be found in warm places where spiders thrive, particularly most of South and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia up through southern Russia, most of Europe and most of the south and midwestern portion of the United States.
There are 1009 separate Huntsman species making up the Sparassidae Family around the world, each varying somewhat in size and shape, but maintaining the primary characteristic of having their legs extend forward, looking much like crabs' legs. For this reason, some people call Huntsmen Crab Spiders, but the Crab Spider is a completely different spider.
Huntsman Spiders favor various brown shades to fit into woodland and desert settings, have more spindly legs and are far bigger than the typical crab spider.
Crab Spiders are characterized by their much larger, sometimes mushroom shaped bodies, range from white to yellow and are capable of changing their colors slightly to blend in on plants.
Both spiders do not build webs, but rather ambush their prey by holding still and then moving quickly when it is time to strike.
Despite the lack of perspective in the Huntsman photo and the extreme closeup of the Crab Spider, the Huntsman averages much, much larger, anywhere from 4 inches to 1 foot across, while the diminutive Crab Spider is about the size of a quarter.
Heteropoda Maxima - The Largest Huntsman in the World
The Heteropoda Maxima in Laos, normally identified to be between 9 and 11.5 inches across, specimens have recently (December 2008) been found to exceed a foot in diameter!
What Do They Eat? Can They Eat Me?! What About My Pets?
Huntsman Spiders get their name by waiting for prey to come close, and like lions, chase their prey for short distances. Contrary to their gangly and cumbersome appearance, Hunstman Spiders are very fast and are able to chase down their prey with ease.Hunstman Spiders are extremely aggressive, will arch up to make displays to frighten off perceived threats, and will tenaciously cling to attackers or perceived attackers if they think it will protect them. Given any other circumstance, Hunstman Spiders are designed to slip through holes and cracks and will escape if they feel outmatched.
That's all great...but what about me?!
Huntsman Spiders are not harmful to humans, and although big and scary, are certainly not strong enough to carry off or take a bite out of a human. They will bite in self-defense, in which case they are not venomous, and the only result will be a big red spider bite. As mentioned before, they do cling if picked up, and will most likely bite, making a close-up Huntsman encounter a frightening and potentially painful one, but ultimately not life-threatening.
Alright, enough scaring you...to properly answer the question, Hunstman Spiders mainly eat insects, other spiders and sometimes small lizards and snakes. Big enough Hunstmen might kill and digest very small rodents. Your pets are probably safe, unless you own very small rodents or reptiles. They do not swim, so your fish are safe, too.
Not To Be Confused With...
...Camel SpidersCamel Spiders are neither camels nor spiders (discuss), but are actually Order Solifugae, which are Class Arachnida (Arachnids, 8 legs, two body segments) but not quite the same as spiders (Order Araneae).
Camel Spiders (also known as Sun Spiders or Wind Scorpions, of which type they are neither) get their reputation from thriving in the desert, being really big (6 inches or more) and generally scary (they can run up to 10 mph, and tend to chase shadows for coolness, often chasing people with moving shadows).
Although they have a big, painful bite, they don't prefer to attack people or livestock unless threatened and are not typically aggressive despite their desire to be in the shade.
Despite looking like a combination between a spider, a scorpion, a termite, an ant, and a nightmare, they are generally harmless to people and livestock.
Rumors persist of the Camel Spider's ability to inject venom and dissolve skin and muscle tissue, much like the necrotic Brown Recluse. This is not true of the Camel Spider, although their size can cause large, painful bites that require significant medical treatment. Camel Spider bites can heal on their own with careful care.
Huntsman Spiders in the News
- Spider Lady of the Liverpool Albert Dock's Bugworld Experience ...
- Jenny's hungry housemates include 40 tarantuas, a clutch of huntsman spiders, 20 scorpions, a colony of Madagascan hissing cockroaches, assorted giant ...
Hunstman Spiders in Popular Media
You've probably seen Huntsman Spiders before and never knew about it.Arachnophobia (1990)
Ever seen Arachnophobia with Jeff Daniels and John Goodman? It also starred an unnumbered cast of Delena Cancerides, aka Avondale Spiders. These little, harmless, yet ultimately frightening spiders are Family Sparassidae and come from Australia. They were "trained" by an entomologist to move through and into scenes on cue using hair dryers to goad them along.
Note: The big spider in the movie is actually a species of tarantula. They eat birds among other things but are relatively harmless to humans.
Clock Spider
Popularized by Fark, these pics of the dreaded clock spider (another Australian Huntsman) are always trucked out any time big nasties are part of the discussion.
Apparently, someone came home one day to find 4 lithe legs sticking out from behind his clock. The rest is Internet history.
"Aussie" here looks to be about 6" across with maybe a 3" body. He looks huge, but he could be a lot bigger by Huntsman standards.
Arachnophobia (1990)
Jeff Daniels gets to play straight man to John Goodman's macho bughunter.
And it has hordes of Huntsman spiders!
Arachnophobia
Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 07/10/2009) 
More
Huntsman
Pics
Huntsman Hanging Around
Well-Posed Huntsman
Huntsman - Closing In?
Links and Other News Stories
- Spiderzrule
- The name says it all! Pics and info about all kind of spiders with a good Huntsman page.
- Teen Breaks Leg Killing Spider
- News Story - Harmless spider gets his revenge to a degree.
- Check out one of the other new discoveries - Desmoxytes purpurosea
- Found in neighboring Thailand to the Heteropoda Maxima, the Desmoxytes purpurosea - the Shocking Pink Dragon Millipede has been recently discovered (2008)
- Spider Identification Chart
- Still not sure whether that arachnid is dangerous? Here's a brief guide.
Huntsman Spider Video
Huntsman Spider
The Hunstman spider of Australia delivers a mildly painful bite and its venom does not affect humans. But it is responsible for as many deaths and injuries as any Australian spider ... ... because of its fearsome appearance and the sudden surprise and shock and distraction it causes when it crawls on you when you are driving.
Runtime: 2:20
125342 views
10 Comments:
Sounds Like Huntsman Spiders Are Mostly In Australia...
Nope. As mentioned before, they travel through a lot of the world.Like most spiders, they are prolific and like to hide in things, so shipping tends to transport different species of Huntsmen all over the world.
The one featured above is an African Huntsman (covering most of the side of a bucket).
In Hawaii, Huntsman Spiders are called Cane Spiders as they like to hang out in the sugar cane fields (as well as houses, cars and anything else they can crawl into).
For those of you in the continental U.S., you're more likely to see Tarantulas, Black Widows, Daddy Long Legs and Wolf Spiders than you are to see Huntsmen, but they are there from coast to coast and as far north as Ohio.
Spider Chatter
Have anything to say about Huntsman Spiders or spiders in general? Do you collect them? Do they freak you out? Got any cool spider videos or links?
Please share with everyone, and if you enjoyed this lens, please rate it at the top and favorite it on the side - Thanks!
Aussie Bob wrote
If your keen to keep spiders out of the house the best remedy is chooks. A flock of chickens will mop up any critter big enough to eat within a 1 mile radius. Just be sure and roost them away from the house if you have a snake problem as well.
Posted July 01, 2009
JHFSEO wrote...
in reply to Shea
I don't know of a good cane spider repellent offhand, and I've heard that they seem to be fairly resilient to Raid and other bug poisons. I would definitely talk to an exterminator on the island as they might have just the stuff to keep your house spider free. Look on the bright side though, they are harmless, and should keep down the roach/bug population.
Posted June 07, 2009
Shea wrote
HI, I live in Maui Hawaii ad as we call these little creepy crawleys Cane Spiders. I've been seeing them inside and out sde of my home and I have to admit Im definantly not a spider person.So I was wondering if you knew of anything other than me calling an exterminator that I could spray outside and inside of my home so I dont see them in my or my kids rooms anymore.If you have any remedies or suggestions I could do myself that you know these types of spiders dont like and could do that wouldnt have to include allot of $ and an extermnator I would be sooo greatfull. Much Mahalo!
Desprate, Sheana
Posted June 06, 2009
Tammy wrote
We just found one of these on my daughter's ceiling.
Yuck!
Posted May 23, 2009
aj2008 wrote...
Spiders dont worry me but I am glad that the UK Huntsman spider is not as big as the ones on this lens!
Posted May 17, 2009
Oosquid wrote...
Wow! That's some spider. Harmless or not, I'm glad we don't have them around here, at least I've never seen one. 5 stars.
Posted April 25, 2009
JHFSEO wrote...
in reply to Gremlin
Thanks for sharing, Gremlin. I figured you'd see more in the winter and after a rain, but good to know. I'd love to hear some of your stories and post some of your pictures!
Posted January 02, 2009
Gremlin wrote
I get regular visits by huntsman spiders. Here's a bit of what I have learnt. In the warmer months I'll get visited at least 2 or 3 times a week - always at night. In the colder months sometimes I can go a week without seeing one. Oh and I never see them after heavy rain. I have many freaky stories! Anyway, being that it is my house and not a spider hotel, I have declared war.
Posted December 31, 2008
JHFSEO wrote...
in reply to Danny
Danny, the huntsmen in your room shouldn't be a threat to you, but I would be creeped out by that many, too. As you find them, you could probably relocate them somewhere else, like a shed or just outside and they will find a new home (if not come back inside).
If you're finding eggs, you may want to contact someone locally who studies spiders, insects and the like and have them removed. If they aren't huntsmen, they could be eggs for something more dangerous, and you don't want to wait to see what they are!
The other option is to call an exterminator, which is unfair to the spiders, but it's your house and something has to give. Call people who study bugs first, and call the exterminator as a last resort.
Posted December 28, 2008
Danny wrote
Hi ummm.... we have about 100 tiny baby huntsman in our house and i am so scared that sometimes i actually have to sleep in my brothers room as they are always in my room!
the worst part is that there is loads of little black balls in the bathroom but we dont know wether they are huntsman eggs or not !!!!!!! what should i do plz help!!!!!....ummm thanks danny
Posted December 28, 2008
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Bonus Spider Trivia
The Daddy Long Legs Spider (or Cellar Spider) is rumored to be the most venomous spider in the world, but that its fangs can't penetrate human skin.
Both "facts" are untrue. Not only is its venom particularly weak, its fangs CAN sink into skin as anyone who's received a cellar spider nip knows.
