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Content Warning: Spiders!

My best friend is terribly afraid of spiders and cannot tolerate one in the room. But at a zoo, a zoo keeper had a huge bird spider on display. It moved very slowly to not at all, and I dared to hold it in my hand - in part to gross my friend out. But then she dared the same, and we were both amazed how beautiful they are up close. She suggested her fear perhaps is not of spiders as such, but of fast rushing spiders that charge at you, and since this one was so lethargic.... "oh, " the keeper volunteered, "bird spiders can run quickly, too". My friend fled the anrthropods house...
 
Oystein said:
My best friend is terribly afraid of spiders and cannot tolerate one in the room. But at a zoo, a zoo keeper had a huge bird spider on display. It moved very slowly to not at all, and I dared to hold it in my hand - in part to gross my friend out. But then she dared the same, and we were both amazed how beautiful they are up close. She suggested her fear perhaps is not of spiders as such, but of fast rushing spiders that charge at you, and since this one was so lethargic.... "oh, " the keeper volunteered, "bird spiders can run quickly, too". My friend fled the anrthropods house...
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Huntsman spiders are in fact among the fastest spiders in the world. They can really get a move on when they want to be somewhere.
 
novaphile said:
It's common enough that I've seen it twice.

Huntsmen like to hide in shallow flat places, like under the bark of a tree.

The space behind the sun-visor in a car, is exactly the kind of place that they like to hide.

For my experiences:

1. Driving along Parramatta Rd in rush hour, my passenger put down the sun-visor.
Plop! A big hairy huntsman in his lap. (Hilarity ensues as the pair of us "big manly-men", fresh from the building site, argued on the side of the road, as to which one of us was going to get the spider out of the car)

2. Driving across the Hay plain, same experience, except, that time I was alone, and the spider was behind my sun-visor. The physical sensation of the spider landing in my lap was disgusting!

Fortunately it scrambled into my hand easily, and I was able to send it out the window.


I am immensely proud of the fact that I didn't crash the car on either occasion!

Note that huntsmen do a threat display when disturbed which is quite disconcerting and adds to the whole "surprise!" effect.
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So before driving in Australia flush vehicle with cyanide. Good to know.
 
arthwollipot said:
Huntsman spiders are in fact among the fastest spiders in the world. They can really get a move on when they want to be somewhere.
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According to google, these little big critters do 3 feet per second.

Instead of weaving webs like most spiders, huntsman spiders actively hunt down their prey, which typically include insects and small invertebrates. They can move very quickly — up to 3 feet per second — with some species capable of doing cartwheels and backflips mid-run.
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https://roaring.earth/the-huntsman/

There's a video showing a huntsman catching a cockroach, which I have declined to watch.

I can see a business opportunity here: Huntsman Spider Racing. Place your bets here. Maybe an electronic hare on the outside lane.
 
Giant huntsman and Goliath Birdeater are the biggest spiders, but what about the little guys?

Here's a spider that apparently measures just 0.37 mm in body length, though that's for the males, which are generally smaller. I remember reading about a moss spider from Samoa in a book I borrowed from the library in kindergarten (which I never returned :o) and it's smaller than "the period at the end of this sentence".
 
Venom said:
Giant huntsman and Goliath Birdeater are the biggest spiders, but what about the little guys?

Here's a spider that apparently measures just 0.37 mm in body length, though that's for the males, which are generally smaller. I remember reading about a moss spider from Samoa in a book I borrowed from the library in kindergarten (which I never returned :o) and it's smaller than "the period at the end of this sentence".
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OMG!

[IMGw=600]https://i.imgur.com/PP9kP5Y.jpeg[/IMGw]
 
I think the group of spiders that look like ants are astonishing.
 

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Venom said:
Giant huntsman and Goliath Birdeater are the biggest spiders, but what about the little guys?

Here's a spider that apparently measures just 0.37 mm in body length, though that's for the males, which are generally smaller. I remember reading about a moss spider from Samoa in a book I borrowed from the library in kindergarten (which I never returned :o) and it's smaller than "the period at the end of this sentence".
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Smallest I've come across round here is...

House jumping spider by SteveH, on Flickr

Only about 5mm long, but, man, could it jump - about a foot just after I got the pic.
 
I love those little guys, SteveAitch. They're so tiny but can leap alright.

I discovered a false widow leaving at the front of our garage. It was an ant-flying day and I saw a few ants caught in a web and a false widow about 8 inches from my face. I had a really clear, close-up view! No mistaking what it was.
 
Mr Clingford said:
I love those little guys, SteveAitch. They're so tiny but can leap alright.

I discovered a false widow leaving at the front of our garage. It was an ant-flying day and I saw a few ants caught in a web and a false widow about 8 inches from my face. I had a really clear, close-up view! No mistaking what it was.
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Is an ant-flying day anything like a dog-walking day, except for those with pet ants?
 
What ... ? I clicked on a thread that said "Content Warning: Spiders!" and I got pictures of spiders!

I also voted for the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party ... :p


ETA: Some of these spiders are actually cute.
 
'Straya!

Gargantuan funnel web nicknamed ‘Megaspider’ donated to lifesaving program

The ‘unusually large’ and deadly spider’s fangs – so big they could bite through a human fingernail – will be milked for venom


A massive funnel web spider with fangs so long they could bite through a human fingernail has been donated to a lifesaving antivenom program at the Australian Reptile Park.

The arachnid has been named Megaspider, and the park says she is roughly twice the size of a typical funnel web spider, more comparable to a tarantula.

The 8cm funnel web spider’s 2cm fangs will be milked for venom that can be turned into antivenom.

The Australian Reptile Park on the New South Wales Central Coast is the only funnel web spider venom milking facility in the country and the antivenom produced there saves up to 300 lives a year, the park says.

Australian Reptile Park’s education officer, Michael Tate, has “never seen a funnel web spider this big”.
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