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Spider Photos -
Huntsman Spiders
Here's some photos sent in by
viewers. Many people are confused by 5 similar looking spiders - the harmless
Huntsman, Wolf Spider, Southern House Spider (Kukulcania), Fishing
Spider and
Brown Recluse which of course is not harmless.
The Southern House
spider, Kukulcania (Filistata) hibernalis Hentz, is a conspicuous
arachnid in Florida due to its relatively large size and distinctive
flat, tangled web. It is common throughout Florida and much of the
southern United States in human populated areas. Males of this species
are often mistaken for the notorious brown recluse spider, Loxosceles
reclusa Gertsch and Mulaik, because of their colour and general shape.
Southern House Spiders are not known to have a dangerous
bite. However, two bite cases reportedly caused the victims pain and
swelling for a few days. Occasionally, the Huntsman Spider, Heteropoda
venatoria (Linnaeus), is misidentified as a brown recluse. However, the
colour pattern on the carapace of this species is reversed, with a light
median mark on a dark background, and adults of this spider are much
larger than a brown recluse.
All photos are copyright to their
owners and may not be reproduced without permission.
Please choose a
section.
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HUNTSMAN |
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Huntsman spiders are not found in the United States any further north
than Southern California. They can not survive but in the most tropical
of situations which are hot all year round, or in desert scrubland like
the Olios giganteus on my website. That is one thing to consider before
labelling a spider from the states as a Huntsman. Most are imported, and
fewer than 3 species are common enough to be called native to this
country, besides some smaller Olios species, which are found in the
southwest (not San Francisco, which is in Northern California). While
you may in some rare instance find a huntsman up north, it'll die as
soon as season changes occur. - Paul Day |
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13 January,
2005:
We live in Gawler, South Australia. We have only been in this
part of the state for 3 years. We have seen S.A. Huntsmen before,
but only ever brown ones. We were amazed by the colors and markings.
It made us wonder if it was a Huntsman or something else!
Regards Val & Mike |
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26
November, 2004:
My mum find this huntsman while folding up some clothes after
they were drying in our garage. The bed in the picture was a
double queen bed for comparisons sake. It was also very
aggressive, rearing up at a broom and
striking at it like a funnelweb would do. We eventually let it go
outside. Thought you might be interested as it was a very
large huntsman. I live in Coffs Harbour Australia. |
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18
November, 2004:
Hi,
While I was on a business trip to Mainland China, we stopped off at
this hole in the wall restaurant for lunch. While we were waiting
for our table, we noticed this Huntsman sitting on the wall next to
the air conditioner. The spider’s body was almost 2 inches long and
was spread out almost 6-8” in diameter. We were stunned at the
thing. I tried to get my pen into the picture next to it, but the
spider lunged at it which was enough to scare the crap out of me. I
have never seen a spider this large before. Thought you might get a
kick out of it.
Sincerely,
Paul |
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26 October, 2004:
glen -great site! i've never had so much fun researching
spiders! i was inspired by a large brown spider we found in
the bathtub tonight. a photo that looks like the one in the
glass next to my computer was
posted by someone else on your site - also from the San Francisco
Bay Area in California. he wrote in Feb 20, 2002, saying he
also found it in the bathtub at night. Any thoughts? I'd like
to know who's living in
my neighborhood. It's 1 3/4 " long and 1 1/2" wide, not
fully extended. thanks for organizing such an informative forum for
eight-legged learning. please contact me at your convenience,
- shawnee |
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28 September, 2004:
Hi,
This rather nice specimen arrived at the University where I work. It
was found in a house in Sheffield (UK) but I'm convinced it is not
native to this country. If you have any thoughts it would be much
appreciated.
Many thanks,
Rich
Reply: Looks like a huntsman?
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21 July, 2004:
Hello,
Could you tell me what kind of spider this is ?? I live in the
California Desert, Hemet.
Thank You
Debbie Algarin |
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9 July, 2004:
think this is a huntsman. i found it in my house i live in
bradenton florida, could you identify it and tell me if it is
venomous or not? feel free to use this picture.
thank you,
Frank Varela |
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24
October, 2003:
Here's a Huntsman photo taken by one of the children in my
classes' parents. It's a beauty. |
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13 February, 2003:
Dear sir,
I was wondering if you could please identify this spider for me, we
found it in Brisbane under a car that had been sitting in the garage for
awhile. I look forward to your reply.
thank you
john chapman
Reply: Looks like a Huntsman. |
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22 April, 2002:
Spring is here, and all of the spiders are coming
out. They seem to be worse this year than any year
previous, and I'm just curious as to what kind of
spiders these are. They are most likely found parked
on the ceiling, as flat as can be. Occasionally, they
can be seen running
across the floor, and they are in a BIG hurry in doing
so. They are anywhere between the size
of a dime to a quarter... very rarely bigger than a
quarter.
They've never come down into my basement
bedroom.... until this year. They've started
infiltrating my room and I've killed 3 in this last week rapelling down from the ceiling from a
web, 2 of which were into my bed, and the 3rd was right
by my face sitting at my computer here
tonight. I live in a woodsy, mountainous area of Western
Montana, USA, in the foot hills, surrounded by pine and
fir trees. Do you know who can ID this spider and
possibly give me tips on how to control them in the
house? I'm to the point where I'm afraid to sleep in my
own bed because of them (I'm just slightly scared of
spiders) and am about ready to set off a bug-bomb
throughout my whole house, whether the parents like it
or not. They say "It's too much of a hassle to bomb"
but they don't have the spiders trying to sleep with
them in their room, either. Attached is a couple
pictures of one of the culprits hanging out on my
ceiling, and another of one as seen under a microscope.
Thanks a bunch for any help!
-Mike |
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2 February,
2002:
After exactly 1 week of watching the huge
Huntsman below remaining motionless in my kitchen, this
morning brought this offering on the kitchen bench.
Dead?? no, just the spider's skin from moulting, which
must have been the reason for sitting so still in the
one place for a week. Where is it now, bigger and
better?? Who knows - and that's the scary part!!! Notice how even the fang
sockets look intact!! Click each photo for a larger
view. |
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Reply: Heteropoda venatoria is the
spider in this picture - Paul Day
27 January, 2002:
Here's another huge one in the kitchen this time.
Click the photo to the right for a closer look.
Compare its size to the plate on the wall!! |
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7 January, 2002:
Here's one of the biggest Huntsman I have ever seen, living
in my bathroom. He is around 13cm across (5 inches) and I
wish he would pick someone else's house to live in!! Looks
like a relation of the one below also found in Brisbane!!
glen |
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25/11/01:
Found crawling up a wall and on the floor, Brisbane, Australia. It's
back right leg was lost in the battle to take it prisoner. Thanks
for taking a look, Tony. |
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This one looks like
a Huntsman but was sent in as a Wolf Spider. Anyone help on this
one, please.
Reply: 26 September,
2001: Looks like
a Huntsmen to me, perhaps a juvenile species,
Paul
Day
www.losingmylycosa.com
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