Bug card No. 0592 of 1,500

Giant huntsman spider

Heteropoda maxima

Eats: Other bugs and small animals SpidersRainforests and jungles8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The giant huntsman spider has the longest legs of any spider in the world. With its legs stretched out, it is as wide as a dinner plate. It is yellowish brown with dark spots, and its legs bend forward like a crab's.

Fun fact: spiders are not insects. Insects have six legs, spiders have eight. Everyone calls them bugs anyway!

Lives in

Laos in Southeast Asia, in caves

Length

4.6 cm (1.8 in)

Top speed

about 4.1 km/h (2.5 mph)

On foot, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Can bite or sting

Watch out! Read all about it on Venom Wiki →

What does it eat?

It is a hunter. It does not build a web to catch food but chases its prey.

Photo of Giant huntsman spider — Picture by Petra & Wilfried. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

as long as 8 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 0.9 secondsmoves 25 times its own body length every second

How big is Giant huntsman spider compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

Giant huntsman spider about 4.1 km/h (2.5 mph)

A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)

A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)

A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

Its legs can reach 30 centimetres from tip to tip.

Its body alone is about 4.6 centimetres long, as long as your finger.

Scientists first found it in a cave in Laos and named it in 2001. People were surprised that such a big spider stayed hidden for so long.

It is pale with long legs, which are signs that it lives in caves. It probably stays near the cave entrance, because its eyes still work well.

you asked

Most asked questions about Giant huntsman spider

?What is the biggest spider in the world?

The giant huntsman spider has the longest legs, up to 30 centimetres across. The Goliath birdeater is the heaviest.

?Where does the giant huntsman spider live?

In caves in Laos, a country in Southeast Asia.

?Does the giant huntsman spider make a web?

No. Huntsman spiders hunt their food instead of catching it in a web.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Heteropoda maxima
Named by: Jäger, 2001
Group: Spiders
Family: Sparassidae
Classification: Arachnida > Araneae > Sparassidae
Lives on: Asia

Where the facts come from

Giant huntsman spider (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
Picture by Petra & Wilfried. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.