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Huntsman spiders are those long-legged spiders
we often surprise crawling around our ceilings at night. They are part
of the "modern" spider species which breathe through trachea as well as
through "book-lungs". They also have chelicerae which close side to
side. The legs of a huntsman spider fan out sideways and the joints bend
forwards. This means these spiders can run sideways as well as forwards
- useful under bark and among stones.
Huntsman spiders originally lived in woodlands
and forests but today they take up residence on the walls of houses,
hunting insects at night. If threatened, a huntsman spider will "play
dead", to avoid danger. Groups of huntsman may be found huddled together
in a family group, under flaking bark or rocks.
Huntsman spiders moult and often their old skin may be mistaken for the
original spider when seen clinging to bark or in the house.
 Male
and female huntsman have a lengthy courtship, which involves mutual
caresses. The male is rarely attacked, unlike some other species.
A
female huntsman places her egg sac under bark or a rock, then stands
guard over it. She tears the egg sac open to help the spiderlings emerge
and stays with them for several weeks. For more great pictures of Australian Huntsman
Spiders, visit
Ed Nieuwenhuys' Page.
Pictures and some information adapted from Steve
Parish's wonderful publication:
"Amazing Facts About Australian Insects and Spiders"
Available at all good bookstores.
Information
and pictures were taken from children's projects and where credited to that
child does not claim to be original information. Where possible, permission
to reproduce has been sought. Any infringement of copyright is purely
unintentional.
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