Size, lifestyle and bite of the Huntsman spider

Garages, cars, houses – the habitats of the Huntsman spider seem to make an encounter very likely. They can smooth walls and ceilings particularly quickly. But does the spider actually live with us?

The appearance of the giant crab spider – that’s what it’s called in German – is also frightening. Some genera reach a leg span of up to 30 centimeters. Lots of reasons to avoid the spider. But the animal also has positive sides: it defends its offspring with particular ferocity. An overview of the size, lifestyle and bite of the Huntsman spider can be found here.

Huntsman spider profile: size, distribution, mating

The Huntsman spider is closely related to the crab spider. This is also noticeable in their appearance: Loud biology-page.de the spider’s legs are slightly turned at its hips. Visually it is reminiscent of a crab. Many specimens of the Huntsman spider are brown or gray. The body is usually dull and, unlike the legs, not hairy. The spider also has thorns on its legs. Some genera cannot be denied a certain similarity to the tarantula. But they are not related.

The Huntsman spider likes tropical and subtropical areas. According to the Biology page It therefore lives in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, the Middle East in the Mediterranean region and in the USA in Florida and Hawaii. But the animal loves to travel: the spiders travel by ship to places where they are not native. As long as the temperatures are right, the spider can survive. Today the animal is also found in China, Japan, Florida and Puerto Rico.

The mating of the Huntsman spider begins with a special ritual between the males: when they are close to a female, they anchor themselves firmly to the ground on which they are standing. Then they cause their body to vibrate. This is how you draw attention to yourself and let the female know: I am not prey. After mating, the female produced an egg sac, which she guarded until the spiderlings hatched. During this time the female is very aggressive. If threatened, it adopts a threatening posture. If the enemy ignores this, she attacks and strikes.

Way of life of the Huntsman spider: It stays in houses and cars: Way of life of the Huntsman spider

Here in Germany you probably won’t come across the Huntsman spider. In the places where it is native, it comes quite close to people. This is how the spider keeps itself loud biology-page.de I’m happy to keep it in the shed or garage – the main thing is that it’s quiet. She also finds a place to retreat in houses or cars. Particularly scary: The Huntsman spider can hold on well to smooth surfaces. It is therefore very fast on walls or the ceiling. In nature, for example, the animal lives in crevices in tree bark.

There is no need to be afraid of large spider webs: the Huntsman spider does not need webs, it searches for its prey freely. Their diet primarily includes insects, but also other invertebrates.

With bites and poison: This is how the Huntsman spider defends itself

As mentioned above, the Huntsman spider defends its egg sacs with all its might. She constantly sits on top of it and goes into a threatening posture when attacked. In an emergency, it attacks – the result is a bite. However, a bite is harmless to humans – as is the case with many other species of spiders. If you get close to the animal or even provoke it, the spider will definitely bite. Usually this leads loudlybiology-page.de but only causes swelling and pain at the bite site. After a day it’s over again.

Reports of the genus Neosparassus sound more dangerous: their bite is said to have caused long-lasting pain, inflammation, headaches, vomiting and irregular pulse. What is known about Art is that it defends its young with all its might. But exactly when it bites people is unknown. But the following also applies: If you don’t get close to the animals, you usually don’t have to worry about major consequences from a bite.