Rare photos of huntsman spider nest are the most terrifying thing you’ll see today
ARACHNOPHOBES, look away now – a rare and terrifying photo of a huntsman spider colony has been published online.
The horde of large arachnids invaded a nest box built for tiny possums, even though they normally live inside trees.
Huntsman spiders can grow as big as 11.8 inches (30cm), and are famously fearsome predators.
And a whole colony of the creepy critters were discovered by non-profit .
Conversationists at the Monjebup North reserve in southwest WA, Australia discovered the spiders after lifting the lids of possum nest boxes.
"Pygmy possums quickly took up resident in the nest boxes we erected in restored habitat," said Angela Sanders, of Bush Heritage Australia.
"What we didn't expect were the large colonies of social spiders that also moved in.
"It all started about the same time we were finding pygmy possums in the boxes.
"But on lifting the lids of some, we found many huntsman spiders of all sizes whizzing around inside."
Huntsman spiders are a large species of spider that prefer to live in woody places.
They generally roam in temperate to tropical areas of the world, including Australasia, Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean Basin and the Americas.
Huntsman spiders are named due to their quick speed, large size and tendency to hunt down prey.
Male spiders can grow to a legspan of 11.8 inches (30 cm). Typically, their legspan will reach 6 inches (15cm), with a body of 0.7 inches (1.8cm).
They use venom to immobilise their play, and have been known to inflict medically serious defensive bites on humans.
Bite symptoms can include swelling, pain, nausea, headaches, vomiting, irregular pulse rate, and heart palpitations.
Female huntsman spiders would not generally attack a human unless they perceived a threat to their egg sacs or young.
What are the most poisonous animals in the world?
Here are seven of the most deadly creatures...
- The box jellyfish is widely regarded to be the most posionous animal in the world and contians a toxin that can cause heart attacks
- Cobras, typically found in the jungles of India and China, can spit a venom which can result in death in a very short space of time and just 7ml of their venom is enough to kill 20 humans
- The marbled cone snail is a sea creature that can release venom so toxic it can result in vision loss, respiratory failure, muscle paralysis and eventually death and, to make things worse, there is no anti-venom avaliable
- Posion dart frogs are small and brightly coloured but have glands containing a toxin that blocks nerve signals to muscles, causing paralysis and death
- Puffer fish are considered to be a dangerous delicacy because some of their anatomy contains a hazardous toxin which, if ingested in a large quantity, can cause convulsions, paralysis, cardiac arrhythmia, and ultimately death
- The Brazillian wandering spider, also known as the 'banana spider', has venom that is so high in serotonin it can paralyse and kill
- Death stalker scorpions have a fitting name as enough venom from one can cause a lot of pain and respiratory failure
The huntsman spiders at Monjebup North reserve appear to be living peacefully, and are just looking for a place to shelter.
"They're a species of huntsman that live together, normally under the bark of trees," said Angela.
"In the restored area, tree bark is in short supply at present and they've found the wooden boxes suitable."
Bush Heritage Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that buys and manages land for conservation.
They work to maintain landscapes and help native species across Australia thrive.
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Thousands of sex-crazed spiders are expected to invade British homes to mate all winter.
Spiders are reportedly getting angrier as a result of an evolutionary trick to survive extreme weather conditions.
This terrifying flying spider slingshots its enemies at speeds 100 times faster than a cheetah.
And, Nasa once gave spiders illegal drugs – here’s how their webs changed when high on marijuana, caffeine and LSD.
What do you make of this leggy scene? Let us know in the comments!
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