INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
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. |
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HABITATHuntsman 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. |