Talk:Huntsman spider

What?

One paragraph states that a bite will cause nausea, headache, vomiting and heart palpitations, and another says bite victims will only notice minor swelling and localized pain. I'd like to know which. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 216.255.15.9 (talk) 12:41, 6 May 2007 (UTC).

Clock Spider

There's an internet meme, although a bit old, for the "clock spider," which is a large huntsman spider hiding behind a clock. Does anyone think this article could use a "Huntsman Spider in Popular Culture" (or something to that effect)? --MadameArsenic 14:27, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

There is a real photograph that shows the legs of a large spider creeping out from behind a hanging wall clock. The size of the clock is not readily apparent, which makes its utility as a standard for size comparison a little weak. But passing a photograph around via the Internet does not constitute a comment of considerable importance nor does it constitute a major cultural movement. It's just a passing oddity. P0M 22:51, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

---Ah, well, a few years ago it was pretty popular. Maybe you didn't notice... --MadameArsenic 19:08, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

I don't think popularity has as much to do with it as it being a "passing oddity". I agree -- there's a link to the clock spider under "external links", and that's all there needs to be. It doesn't merit a whole section by itself. Lomaprieta 11:46, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Range

The range of the huntsman spiders is far wider than Australia and New Zealand. They also occur in the U.S., and, I'm pretty sure, across Eurasia. I'm pretty sure I've seen them in Japan, in the Kyoto area too. I wouldn't be surprised to discover that they occur in Africa as well. It's odd, but I just got started on them tonight because I was trying to identify something that ran up and tried to bite in the Riverside, CA area.

Patrick0Moran 07:10, 3 Aug 2003 (UTC)

I expect you're right - I've only seen them in Australia but that doesn't mean they are not elsewhere. All I can say is they are NOT found in the UK! A Google search was inconclusive - almost all refs I found were Australian. GRAHAMUK 07:14, 3 Aug 2003 (UTC)

The article seems a little bit biased towards Australia.--218.223.193.144 15:11, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

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I found one source that says their distribution is all across the topics: http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/spiders/text/Heteropoda_venatoria.htm

Then for Laos: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~dp7a-tnkw/referenc.txt

Thailand: http://www.axbridgecavinggroup.org/page32.html

Can huntsman spiders run on glass? I've seen something that looks like a large wolf spider in the SW part of the US and in Japan. It is about 3/4 in long, looks in general conformation like one of the wolf spiders, but it can run like crazy on vertical surfaces, even glass. And it is the only spider I've ever seen that will run up to a pencil tip and bite. Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to collect the spider with that day...

Patrick0Moran 22:32, 3 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Also, Israel: http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog81-87/BIB7.html

Also, Japan -- but their charset is strange, haven't been able to get it to change into Japanese for me yet. http://mirukashihime.cool.ne.jp/asidaka2.htm

I think that this is a huntsman. In Japanese it is called "Ashidakagumo" or Leg-tall-spider, & has a mottled look. I saw one about the same size today in Japan almost identical to the one in the photos on the site you reference. It is cute, or scary, that if you put a stick in front of it, it attacks the stick, in a sort of playful way, almost like a cat (like... it can't help but attack and then thinks better of it, and then has another go..cute, scary.). --218.223.193.144 15:11, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

Also, Tunisia -- http://www.britishspiders.org.uk/bultn/v11.html

Also, Virginia, USA -- http://www.loven.plus.com/nicksspiders/readers.htm

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Anyone have a picture of one of these things? I would love to see a good pic of a 15cm spider. :)--Lucky13pjn 01:04, Jun 9, 2004 (UTC)

There are some spiders with leg spans of around those dimensions, but not huntsman spiders. I have fixed the figures to something more reasonable. Also will need to "globalize" this article as it currently pertains mostly to Australia and New Zealand. P0M

§ Wow! I have to take that back. Just by chance I received the following communication from one of the tarantula enthusiasts/specialists:

Heteropoda maxima males can get a legspan of 25-30 cm:

JÄGER, P. (2001): A new species of Heteropoda (Araneae, Sparassidae,

Heteropodinae) from Laos, the largest huntsman spider? Zoosystema 23(3): 461-465.

Of course people usually mention the body length of spiders, but even so, the body to go along with a legspan of nearly one foot must be four inches or more. Huntsman spiders, generally speaking, are not built like some of the web weavers that are designed to keep their bodies well away from their thrashing prey. I would like to see a picture of one of these creatures too. P0M

P.S. See http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_425061.html

Merge cane spider

There is a notice suggesting that this article be merged with the cane spider article. "Cane spider" is just a local English term for the Huntman spider found there. There is hardly any other information in that article that is not found in this one. P0M 06:27, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Huntsman spider northeast US?

The article does state a few species in non tropical areas, and I have photos
of male and female - identical to description of huntsman spider. The female
is quite large, hence my intrigue to take photos. I am certain it is a variant of huntsman spider (found in maine)

 photos here

Sorry, but Huntsman spiders do not make spiral webs. I have one much like her on my back porch. They like to come in close to buildings, and they seem to be able to locate places where there are electric lights that are left on at night. I brushed her web last night and she dropped like a shot, evidently concluding that anything that could shake her web so badly was something to get far away from. They are reaching their full adult size around this time of the year, so people tend to notice them. Treat her well, she'll rid your environment of lots of horse flies and other such bugs. P0M 21:14, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Check Google for Araneus species. My guess: A. diadematus. The body can be 3/5 of an inch long. P0M 01:26, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

Lifespan

How long is the average lifespan of a Huntsman? I just thought that this might warrant a mention in the article. Gamer Junkie 06:10, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

Huntsman in New Zealand?

There was a recent biosecurity scare about Huntsman spiders in New Zealand but other than that, as a New Zealander I am pretty sure there aren't any Huntsman spiders living here.

Click link to see proof: [1]

--203.97.127.185 20:15, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

The intro

There is a sentence in the introduction that states "very few spider species are palearctic."

This sounds like a general statement. How does it link directly to Huntsman? What does palearctic mean, anyway? One ought not to have to leave the introduction to an article in order to do a vocab check. Can we have it in non-specialist terms, or is palearctic the only way of saying it? I'm not suggesting that all technical terms that are appropriate should be left out (like the scientific name of the species for example). --Amandajm 13:44, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Relational behaviour in hunstman spiders

I observed a male and female huntsman who lived in my letterbox for weeks before I managed to catch them in a plastic lunchbox and relocate them to a large tree. They spent most of their time cuddled up together in a very cosy way. I have never witnessed male and female spiders of any sort that appeared to have "a relationship" although I have see Huntsman taking care of an egg sack.

We had one poor brute that lived in the rafters in the loo, having lost three legs in the hinge of the front door. Sometimes he would go for a wander and I would encounter him near the light switch which made me a little tetchy. He would sit and look at me until I got the broom and then run. The broom was the enemy. The night I found him sitting on the toilet paper roll I decided he had to go. I put my raincoat on over my pjs, caught him in the dreaded plastic lunchbox, slopped two hundred yards down the street to one of the nice paperbark trees and tipped him out. When I got back to the front gate, I shone the torch down the sidewalk, and there was the spider, scurrying along home on all five legs as fast as he could.

I have heard other people say that it is almost impossible to get rid of a huntsman that calls your house their home. Are there any scientific studies of this sort of behaviour in huntsman spiders? To what extent can they be tamed if kept as pets? Are there reliable observations of male/female relational behaviour?

--Amandajm 14:18, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

I've never heard about this kind of behavior. It is fascinating. We would need sources that we could cite to put something like that into the article, however.

Honeybees have a very good map of where they live in their tiny brains. The variety that is adapted to life in oases in the Sahara desert forage up to five miles for nectar and pollen and still manage to find their way back to their hives. The varieties of honeybees present in the rest of the world regularly forage up to a mile away from home. So it is not inconceivable that a member of a spider species that forages over great distances could have a map of a certain neighborhood and find its way back. Evolutionarily, the ability of a spider to return to the place it had stored its egg sac(s) would be important. Many kinds of spiders even tend their babies for a while after they hatch. Wolf spiders take eggs, and later babies, with them wherever they go, but lots of species attach the egg sacs to some object and some species even construct nursery structures out of silk to protect their young.

I kept a Huntsman for over a year and she never became tame around me. While a jumping spider can be curious about humans and even approach to take a better look, the best the Huntsman did was to be a little less frantic about getting away from me. She was o.k. as long as she thought she was hidden in a shadow. But if I had to open the cage to fix something she would immediately make a mad scramble to get away from the area into which I had intruded. So I don't think you have to worry if your roommate has temporarily settled on something you might pick up. I guess it might be possible to reach out and grab one of these spiders, but only if they sleep or it is totally dark and your hand doesn't touch anything nearby before it contacts the spider. People do get bitten by these spiders, but I've never been able to figure out how it can happen -- except that one time in Japan one of them mistook my wooden pencil for prey and ran over to bite it. Putting your pinky down near a hungry Huntsman might be a bit risky... P0M 15:49, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Changing text back and forth repeatedly

It appears that somebody favors "sometimes fearsome" and somebody favors "a bit fearsome" and they are changing back and forth between one formulation and the other. These spiders do not change their appearance, and they don't act friendly in the way that jumping spiders sometimes do, so I don't think "sometimes" can be used. I would say that, to me at least, they look "rather fearsome." They don't come forward and menace people the way that Australia funnelweb spiders may do. On the other hand, they are neither as inoffensive as an Avicularia metallica or some of the other very calm tarantulas, nor are they curious but unmenacing as are some/most of the jumping spiders. Their general demeanor seems to give me a clear "Don't mess with me!" message.

Anyway, please don't change the wording again until you discuss the issue here. P0M 15:49, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

--24.20.139.39 07:22, 4 July 2007 (UTC) Removed link to museum, because it redirected and did not provide any useful information related to the topic.

Legs

They look like a Daddy-long legs.--Rory666 08:11, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

Triantelope ??

What!! I lived all around Australia and have never heard it called by this name. Australians either call this spider one of two names;

For the ignorant; Triantulas For those who know better; Huntsman Spider.

Never heard of it called a triantelop.

Error in the map showing where this spider is found

I am writing from Yemen Hadramout area where few days ago I found one of these beautiful creatures in my office. Kept it for a day in a container and released it again in the evening. In your page "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider" I found the spider and after knowing its unharmful character I let it go free in my office again. I noticed one error though, The map shows that it is not found in Arabian peninsula and that is exactly where I found it so you may want to add a bit of green to the map. Regards,204.209.24.2 11:14, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

‘most parts of Australia’ / ‘Many Australians’

These kind of assertions are a bit hard to prove. I’ve lived in various parts of South Australia and Victoria, but never heard huntsmen called wood spiders. OTOH I did relocate one to the garden this evening and I suppose many does allow for the many people who’re probably squishing them with shoes or wasting entire cans of fly spray on them at this moment. ☸ Moilleadóir (talk) 11:14, 28 February 2008 (UTC) ☏

Just jumping in here too. I live in NSW (Australia) and I too have never once heard someone refer to Hunstman spiders as Wood spiders, every time they are called Huntsman. Also not too sure where the author got the information to back up that a lot of Australians will take these outside, I'm not afraid to admit that I'll hurl both my shoes and then beat one to death with a can of fly spray rather then move it outside as too do most people I know.

143.238.101.25 (talk) 22:38, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Seconding the "most parts of Australia" is incorrect as far as I know. I've never heard of them referred to as such in WA or SA. However I will jump in and say (in completely anecdotal and unverified way) a lot of people i know will attempt to avoid killing them (202.7.183.131 (talk) 17:02, 4 November 2008 (UTC))

Actually, I'm from SA and we have huntsmans - referred to as huntsmans. :) --118.208.77.96 (talk) 14:56, 3 January 2009 (UTC)

I would like to also say that our family have never heard them called anyhing but huntsmans - We have lived in Victoria for all our lives. I would be confident to say that they are only known as Huntsmans in at least SE Australia. And we too avoid killing them, and try to put them outside in the garden. But I refuse to let them live inside the house like some of my friends. That's stretching the friendship a bit. Stevefrommelbourne (talk) 08:28, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Relative sizes of species

The fourth sentence of the second paragraph of the Appearance section states:

The Banded Huntsman (Holconia) is larger and grey to brown with striped bands on its legs. The Badge Huntsman (Neosparassus) is larger still, and brown and hairy.

The only possible referrant is the first sentence of the first paragraph of that section:

While frequently very large – in Laos, Heteropoda maxima males can attain a legspan of 250–300 mm (9.8–11.8 in) – Huntsman spiders are not deadly to humans.

These two references to the size of the spiders are rather far apart, and it's somewhat doubtful whether the Banded Huntsman and Badge Huntsman are supposed to be larger than the largest spider (Heteropoda maxima). It looks like it should be rewritten to provide a referrant closer in the text to the Banded and Badge Huntsman spiders.

I'm no expert, just a curious reader, so this is offered as a suggestion for someone who has actual facts. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.165.63.21 (talk) 13:19, 19 December 2008 (UTC)