Social huntsman spider
The social huntsman spider is a big, flat, brown and hairy spider from Australia. Most spiders live alone, but this one lives in big family groups under loose tree bark. It is a hunter and does not spin a web to catch its food.
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Fun facts
Up to 300 of these spiders can live together in one colony.
Its body is very flat, which helps it squeeze under tight tree bark.
With its legs stretched out it can be more than 15 centimetres wide, bigger than your hand.
It was the spider used in the film Arachnophobia.
In New Zealand it is called the Avondale spider, and the town of Avondale even has a statue of it.
Most asked questions about Social huntsman spider
?How big is a social huntsman spider?
Its body is about 2 to 3 centimetres long, and its legs can spread over 15 centimetres.
?Do social huntsman spiders live together?
Yes. They live in family groups of up to 300 under tree bark, which is very unusual for spiders.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Delena cancerides
- Named by
- Walckenaer, 1837
- Group
- Spiders
- Family
- Sparassidae
- Classification
- Arachnida > Araneae > Sparassidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
- Also known as
- Communal huntsman, Flat huntsman, Avondale spider
Where the facts come from
- Delena cancerides (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 Tony Harris. CC BY 4.0, 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.
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