Mindy Weisberger Live Science Tue, 02 Feb 2021 20:04 UTC
The pitter-patter of little feet in a child's bedroom is a joyous sound — except perhaps when those feet belong to hundreds of baby huntsman spiders.
"Gaaaahhhhhhhh, a friend of mine in Sydney just walked into her daughter's room and found this," Hobart, Australia resident Peta Rogers tweeted on Jan. 27. Rogers' Sydney friend, who asked not to be identified on social media, had sent Rogers photos and a video of her daughter's bedroom, after the teen told her "Mom, we've got a bunch of spiders up there," the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) reported on Jan. 30.
When Rogers' friend went to investigate, she found quite a few spiders in the corner of the room. "That's not too bad, there's maybe 50 or 60," she says in the video. And then she turned the camera toward another corner, revealing at least twice as many spiderlings crouching on the walls and ceiling.
"They're so cute!" she exclaims.
As the Sydney woman filmed her leggy houseguests, she speculated that they were baby huntsman spiders, which are in the spider family Sparassidae and are widespread in Australia and in other places with warm climates. One huntsman species, the giant huntsman spider (Heteropoda maxima) from Laos, has a leg span of up to 12 inches (30 centimeters), and is the biggest spider in the world by diameter. But the average huntsman has a leg span of no more than 5 inches (12.7 cm), and a body length of just 1 inch (2.5 cm) long.
During summer in Australia, huntsman populations boom, and it's not unusual for the spiders to find their way into people's homes, Australia's Nine News reported on Monday (Feb. 1). In fact, many Sydney residents had reported huntsman infestations that week, likely because of recent weather, according to ABC. A low pressure front after several days of high temperatures brought rain and humidity; huntsman spiders often seek shelter in human homes when heat and moisture are too intense, because houses provide lots of safe nooks and crannies where the spiders can hide — and where females can lay their eggs, said arachnologist Robert Raven, head of Terrestrial Biodiversity at Australia's Queensland Museum.
However, this type of weather also ushers in favorable conditions for huntsman eggs to hatch, Raven added.
"Low pressure is one of the triggers for emergence from the egg sac," Raven told ABC. Warm, moist air is ideal for thin-skinned baby spiders, which quickly dehydrate when conditions are too dry, and one egg sac can contain hundreds of baby huntsmen — which could lead to mass infestations such as the one in the video.
Alas, these dense clusters of cute baby spiders don't linger for long, as the spiderlings are "highly cannibalistic" and quickly begin devouring each other within a day or two, arachnologist Lizzie Lowe, a postdoc in the Behavioural Ecology Group at Australia's Macquarie University, told Nine News.
Down here those poor spider pups would get eaten by our cockroaches:
But the average huntsman has a leg span of no more than 5 inches (12.7 cm), and a body length of just 1 inch (2.5 cm) long.
Jesting, and BTW, I LIKE spiders. Around here we have wolf spiders, et al. who eat what we DO hate: cockroaches.
To give you an idea why we hate cockroaches more and worse than others: Just the other day, I had accidentally stepped BOTH feet in dog shit. I first left two nice imprints of my feet (by accident - fortunately it was there) on the sidewalk. So I walked up to the house and cleaned off my soles with a pressure hose. But, when I walked back out to the sidewalk, there in my 'shit foot prints' were nothing but lots of big (>2.8") cockroaches. I jumped up in the air and landed with my feet squarely on both groups and took off down the sidewalk! That's what, round here, is called a 'Florida Segway.' (I like that. I just made it up as I typed. )
R.C.
Ps, C83, supra: liked your Fred West joke elsewhere.
My only issue with there being that many huntsman spiders, is, how do I think of names for them all? When I see "Sydney" and "Spiders" in a headline I think "ahhh evil funnel webs are coming to kill us all" But huntsmans,...
I live in northern New South Wales in a bush house surrounded by forest and have several beautiful huntsman spiders thst share space with me. Only the females get so large, males rarely exceed 2". The largest female is almost 7" leg span, has lived in my kitchen for at least 4 years and is appreciated for her voracious diet of cockroaches, silverfish, beetles and moths.
Their abdomen is very soft and "furry" and this particular female seemingly enjoys being patted and stroked on the back of her abdomen (only around dark moon 😉... she gets jumpy around the full 😁).
Being ambush predators they spin no web, just free range across their territory and seem to prefer a density of 1 adult female spider per room, spending most days lurking behind a favoured hung painting or cupboard.
They have a magnificence presence with their size and beautiful markings and patterning.They are highly alert when out and about and very curious!😍
LindaMay I was always aware of all sorts of stuff as a kid - I still have those videos stored in my brain's CD-ROM.
Anyway, as soon as I saw "Connie Frances" I was back with my family and we were driving from the Mojave Desert to our new home in Florida - It was about January or February 1964 and we stopped in Vegas. (Of course, I was the only kid who won at gambling - slot machines)
wow. I guess I was 5 when we did that. I remember it like yesterday. Anyway, as we drove down the strip, at a big sign on the right side of the road it said "Connie Francis tonight!" and I remember a lot more than that. Wonderful time to have grown up (except that JFK evil, et seq., et al.)
Reader Comments
'nuff said
Want any sides with that?
S-)
To give you an idea why we hate cockroaches more and worse than others: Just the other day, I had accidentally stepped BOTH feet in dog shit. I first left two nice imprints of my feet (by accident - fortunately it was there) on the sidewalk. So I walked up to the house and cleaned off my soles with a pressure hose. But, when I walked back out to the sidewalk, there in my 'shit foot prints' were nothing but lots of big (>2.8") cockroaches. I jumped up in the air and landed with my feet squarely on both groups and took off down the sidewalk! That's what, round here, is called a 'Florida Segway.' (I like that. I just made it up as I typed. )
R.C.
Ps, C83, supra: liked your Fred West joke elsewhere.
RC
And much obliged my friend!
FIVE inch leg span and one inch bodies?
Those are what I call BFSs: Big Fu**ing Spiders!
RC
WS: Supra: Those suckers would getting ripped apart down here!*
*Jesting.
RC
Their abdomen is very soft and "furry" and this particular female seemingly enjoys being patted and stroked on the back of her abdomen (only around dark moon 😉... she gets jumpy around the full 😁).
Being ambush predators they spin no web, just free range across their territory and seem to prefer a density of 1 adult female spider per room, spending most days lurking behind a favoured hung painting or cupboard.
They have a magnificence presence with their size and beautiful markings and patterning.They are highly alert when out and about and very curious!😍
A cool video: [Link]
My fear is that they'd get fat and lazy on the wealth or cockroaches here.
RC
[Link]
Trustworthy source. I think i have opened up.file with permission lol
The cannibal spiders ate it !!!
But Sauerkraut is not for me.
And the post even mentioned ... weight loss I'm doing my best to get it up (without looking like a busted Pillsbury Biscuit can ...)
(Sorry. Oldest joke in history.)
RC
BitCoin!!
To gain some weight codis.. daily honey in cool water. Hot water is to loose weight
I read this morning he apologizes but wont resign!! What has the world come to Bruder, when speaking the truth makes one be bullied to resign!! 🖕
As I experienced it in my childhood ...
Sharing these, just lovely
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
Anyway, as soon as I saw "Connie Frances" I was back with my family and we were driving from the Mojave Desert to our new home in Florida - It was about January or February 1964 and we stopped in Vegas. (Of course, I was the only kid who won at gambling - slot machines)
wow. I guess I was 5 when we did that. I remember it like yesterday. Anyway, as we drove down the strip, at a big sign on the right side of the road it said "Connie Francis tonight!" and I remember a lot more than that. Wonderful time to have grown up (except that JFK evil, et seq., et al.)
Thanks. You gave me a smile.
RC
I so enjoyed them myself as i stumbled upon them yesterday funny how SPIRIT works, i knew i had to share.
Focus on the love, politics is the temptation. It is chaos, and creates nothing but chaos.
WE SURE WERE the luckiest of kids, and still are
Gratefullness must be shared and expressed.
I think you were born with, your eyes open. 👀