Guardian Nature School Team Contact Blog Project Noah Facebook Project Noah Twitter

A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife

Join Project Noah!
nature school apple icon

Project Noah Nature School visit nature school

Laya (Brown Huntsman spider)

Heteropoda venatoria

Description:

body about 1-2 cm legs about 4 cm length it seems attached to a bubble gum, but when i tried to separate it, the spider grab the pink cushion harder. may be that is her eggs

Notes:

found in many tropical and subtropical parts of the world, including Asia, some Mascarene and Caribbean islands, the southeastern US, and (especially) Australia. In Hawaii, where it was introduced, it is known as the cane spider. They are fairly large, some having a leg span of approximately five inches (13 centimetres). Although they are rather fearsome in appearance, they are very easily alarmed by the approach of humans and will very rapidly flee. The female brown huntsman can be recognized by her stout body and the pillow-like egg sac that she often carries under her. The male typically has a slender body, longer and thinner legs, and a distinctive pattern on his carapace. Both male and female are reddish-brown to greyish-brown in color, and slightly hairy. Brown huntsman spiders do not spin webs. These spiders are known to hunt by waiting quietly on a vertical surface (or even a ceiling) and then rushing forward when their prey gets within close range. Their exceptional agility and speed, as well as their ability to contort and squeeze through tight spaces, give them a strong advantage both in capturing prey and evading predators. They feed at night. Brown huntsmen are welcomed in some homes, as they feed on pests such as cockroaches and silverfish.

Species ID Suggestions



Sign in to suggest organism ID

4 Comments

IreneBA
IreneBA 11 years ago

thank you, Jason, Daniel, and ChunXinWong

it is very similar with this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heteropoda_...

ChunXingWong
ChunXingWong 11 years ago

A great motherly love displayed here.
It's a huntsman spider with her dear eggs.

DanielWhitlock
DanielWhitlock 11 years ago

I believe this is some sort of Pisauridae (nursery web spider). I don't know anything about which species might be found in your region, but this ones look reminds me of the Dolomedes species we have here in the U.S.

Pisauridae carry their eggs as shown until they are ready to hatch, at which point they web them into a little nursery to hatch.

Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander 11 years ago

Looks like it was carrying its eggs.. Amazing!!

IreneBA
Spotted by
IreneBA

Jawa Barat, Indonesia

Spotted on Mar 2, 2013
Submitted on Mar 12, 2013

Related Spottings

Huntsman spider Huntsman Spider Brown Huntsman Spider Brown Huntsman Spider

Nearby Spottings

Death's Head Hawkmoth Spotting Crane Fly death's head hawk moth catterpillar
Noah Guardians
Noah Sponsors
join Project Noah Team

Join the Project Noah Team