Huntsman spiders are incredible – they can run very fast, they are huge in size, and they are incredibly good hunters. But do huntsman spiders jump too? Let’s find out.
Huntsman spiders or giant crab spiders are large and quite quick. They are called so because of the way their legs are bent, giving them the appearance of a crab.
This unusual leg arrangement is located away from the body and helps them jump (or rather fall) from a surface. The real strength of the arachnid, though, lies in its speed.
More than 5,000 species of jumping spiders can be found across the globe, especially in tropical regions. 300 of them can be found in the United States alone.
But is the brightly colored huntsman spider a member of the jumping spider family? Or is it different?
Do they jump, spring or bounce? Let’s find out more about them!
What Are Jumping Spiders?
Jumping spiders belong to the family Salticidae. Phidippus audax is amongst the most common jumping spiders in the world.
Jumping spiders are typically smaller than other arachnids found in and around our homes or gardens. They are carnivorous, and they love preying on insects similar to their size or smaller.
The huntsman spider, on the other hand, relies on its vision, speed, and running skills to hunt.
How Can You Identify Jumping Spiders?
Identifying jumping spiders is easy. Jumping spiders have vivid splashes of colors all over their body and can often be seen sporting colors like red, white, and metallic green (their jaws or chelicerae, especially).
The jumping spider has the extraordinary ability to jump distances more than 10-40 times their body length.
Most jumping spiders are hairy spiders. They have eight eyes, and their head and thorax are fused. One of these pairs is larger than the rest and is located on the cephalothorax’s front.
Their giant eyes are capable of detecting distances just like human eyes and can detect movement easily.
Can Huntsman Spiders Jump?
Huntsman spiders do not jump but have an odd way of moving about. These crab spiders have an unusual leg arrangement that can give an observer the appearance of jumping.
The joints of most of these spiders are not vertically perpendicular to the body but twisted forward in a crab-like manner.
Other species of huntsman spiders use odd locomotion styles too.
For instance, the golden wheel spider (Carparachne aureoflava) uses a completely unique rolling movement to run from predators. It is a native of Namib in South Africa.
Another huntsman from the same region called the Cebrennus rechenbergi, moves around in a handspring motion when trying to evade predators.
There are other differences as well.
Huntsman spiders remain active during the night and are famous for their unique mating rituals.
The male spider vibrates its palps to woo the female, and the female does not devour the male after mating, unlike other spiders.
Lastly, rather than weaving webs, the giant huntsman spider hunts, forages, and grabs its food through its superior speed.
How Do Huntsman Spiders Hunt?
As mentioned above, Huntsman spiders do not spend their time waiting for their prey to walk into their silk trap.
Instead, they wait for insects, stalk them and pounce on them when the time is suitable. In some cases, they can cover a lot of distance to reach their prey before killing it.
These types of spiders mostly eat insects and other invertebrates at night.
Cockroaches are a particular favorite, so if your home is a haven for roaches, the Huntsman makes an excellent beneficial insect and natural pest remover.
What Are Some Other Unique Things About Jumping Spiders?
Jumping spiders are found across all continents, and their habitats vary just as much as their appearances.
These small and fuzzy-headed insects are often only 0.5 inches in length, but there is a lot of diversity in size.
The Hyllus giganteus is the largest spider in this species, measuring almost upto an inch. On the other hand, the Habronattus pyrrithrix only measures up to 0.19 to 0.3 inches.
Carl Ludwig Koch, a German arachnologist, discovered the giant jumping spider in 1846 and first mentioned it in his co-written book The arachnids: depicted and described true to nature.
The latter can be found in the southwestern US and western Mexico.
However, while they may all be different in size, there is one commonality – their eyesight is superb. They have four pairs of eyes, all pointed in the front, ready to pounce.
The central two eyes are as powerful as little binoculars and have 360-degree vision because they can move in all directions.
There are many other notable facts about these spiders, but perhaps the most important is the way they hunt their prey.
They build a single silk thread to attach themselves to a place like an anchor, helping them in a more stable trajectory as they are jumping.
They then jump distances of as much as 6.3 inches in order to grab their prey, a distance nearly six to ten times their size.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do huntsman spiders chase you?
Deliberately? No. Huntsman spiders might chase you if they feel threatened. They are not interested in humans and are not aggressive creatures hell-bent on gobbling you up or maiming you. They only go the extra mile for a delicious snack.
Should I be scared of a huntsman spider?
Huntsman spiders aren’t on the lookout for you. These spiders won’t attack you unless provoked. Their spider bites are not very painful and, in most cases, do not require medical attention.
If you still get bitten, you can use cold packs. If you experience inflammation and vomiting, seek medical help immediately.
Will huntsman spiders crawl on you?
No, huntsman spiders do not crawl on you under normal circumstances, and they don’t take a stroll on your face while you’re sleeping, either.
These spiders do like to come inside houses, but they prefer to keep their distance from humans and will not come near you even when you are asleep.
Why do huntsman spiders run at you?
If it does move toward you, it will be because it feels threatened. Huntsman spiders cannot look at you properly and so can sometimes run toward you instead of running away from you.
The huntsman spider is a social arachnid not fond of aggression and will move towards you if there is some kind of threat display.
Wrap Up
Huntsman spiders are roving hunters who use speed, agility, and strength to catch their prey. They don’t rely on their web-weaving skills for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Excluding a run down for a lip-smackingly delicious cockroach, these species of spiders are non-aggressive. It is best to live and let these furry friends live too!
Thank you for reading!
42 Comments. Leave new
THAT is truly horrifying…
Only after sending these photos in, I though it good to just warn the readers. Spiders are beautiful and very few have medicaly significant bites. Please do not try to just handle any spider. I have spiders as pets and through experience I handle them sometimes like when cleaning their cages. I also only handle some of them and not often. If you respect them, they will respect you. Every time I handle a spiders for what ever reason, I prepare myself that I will be bitten. Has not happened yet but you have to remeber that it can happen and usualy results in a flying spider who might not survive the fall.
Just a friendly warning.
To me, the underside of this spider’s legs scream Badge huntsmen. Could this spider be from the Genus Neosparassus?
We would defer to an expert for confirmation of that.
gorgeous! look how cute that sweet little face is!
Cannot wait to show my daughter today’s updates here!
Very pretty!
Definitely not crab spider!
I have found this kind of spider attributed to family “Platoridae” all over the internet. Any comments on that?
Apparently, Platoridae is another family of spiders known as both Giant Crab Spiders and Huntsman Spiders. We have found images on Ecologypad, Science PHoto Library and Shutterstock, all of which support your comment. Since we are not scientists, we are not prepared to dispute any of that information. The common names we originally used when we posted the photos, Giant Crab Spider and Huntsman Spider, are both apparently used for the family Platoridae. Thanks so much for the information.
I am not suggesting Heteropoda davidbowie but I am just pointing out that there are similarities.
OK, we love that a spider was named for David Bowie because of the Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album, and no doubt because of the yellow hair as well.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/6150060/Rare-yellow-spider-named-after-David-Bowie.html
I’ve seen other pictures of what seems to be the same from nearby amazonian Peru, including the eyes, which clearly are sparassid arrangment, beyond that, still dont know.
Hmmm… Sadala isn’t currently a valid genus (it’s part of Olios) and Platoridae isn’t a valid family … 🙁
Thanks for the taxonomy update Stuart. Your input is greatly appreciated.
Hi the orange spider is actually a golden huntsman (olios giganteus ) they can come in all sorts of colour forms such brown gold orange etc
Thank you for providing this identification.
This May well be the tiger huntsman a underscribed sp discoverd in 2007
Please provide us with a scientific name on the Tiger Huntsman Spider.
This is actually possibly a tiger huntsman a underscribed sp discoverd in 2007
Thanks Leon. Do you have additional information on the Tiger Huntsman Spider, like a scientific name? Is there anything online that we can link to?
It dosent have a scientific name but I do know if you type it up it does come up with loads of research it 🙂
Thanks Leon,
When we searched Google for “Tiger Huntsman Ecuador” the first four links were to our own site.
I’m afraid I know next to nothing about spider identification, but could it possibly some species of huntsman spider? A few photos I’m finding of “lichen huntsman spiders” and their kin have vaguely similar physical features to the one pictured above.
Thanks for the tip Jacob. There is an unidentified photo on the Within the Chronicles’ Frame blog that came up in a websearch. The image is not identified but there is a pronounced similarity. Grabbing the image from the web and opening in photoshop indicates the name Lichen Huntsman Spider. Images on FlickRiver of Lichen Huntsman Spiders in the genus Pandercetes look very similar and the eye pattern also matches. We believe you have correctly identified this Huntsman Spider to at least the family and possibly genus level.
Hi Daniel,
Yep, genus Pandercetes of family Sparassidae is spot on! There are a handful of species in that genus that could live in Malaysia. It’s usually the males that are more colorful and iridescent, so that may be what this one is (though I can’t see the pedipalps very well to verify). “Lichen Spider” is definitely a fitting nickname!
Hi Daniel,
Yep, genus Pandercetes of family Sparassidae is spot on! There are a handful of species in that genus that could live in Malaysia. It’s usually the males that are more colorful and iridescent, so that may be what this one is (though I can’t see the pedipalps very well to verify). “Lichen Spider” is definitely a fitting nickname!
No huntsman at all has dangerous venom. All huntsman are completely harmless.
Is there anywhere on earth, that is both Tropical and 100% free of this god forsaken species of Spider. If I found a Huntsman spider of any size in my hotel room, I flat out would not be able to sleep for the rest of my trip. If I killed it or not is of no consequence because I know way too much about that family of spiders, to be as naive as to think that if I killed one in my room that I got them all. I mean come on, were talking about a species of spider that is responsible for 2000 car accidents a year in Australia, they bad ….. they real bad !!!
Oh, these Costa Rican beauties are making me want to visit sooo badly! Someday when I have the money to do so I’ll have to plan a vacation there just to go looking for bugs.
Most likely a huntsman because of the leg span but still looks like a wandering spider from the side but I’m certain it’s a huntsman
I found a very similar spider 10 days ago in Guatemala (May 2017)…. A first time after had wandering at night the forest of the country countless time herping thse last 10 years…
So Olios sp. or not ! I would be very happy to know as well 🙂
Cheers
What are orange spiders
What are orange spiders. LOOKING FOR ANSWERS PLEASE
Looks a lot like David Bowie’s spider: http://www.expatgo.com/my/2016/01/14/david-bowies-legacy-lives-malaysian-spider-named/
They do look similar, but even if not the same species, it is great knowing about the David Bowie Spider.
Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae (formerly Heteropodidae), are known by this name because of their speed and mode of hunting. They also are called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometimes are referred to as wood spiders, because of their preference for woody places (forests, mine shafts, woodpiles, wooden shacks). In southern Africa the genus Palystes are known as rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders.[3] Commonly they are confused with baboon spiders from the Mygalomorphae infraorder, which are not closely related.
More than a thousand Sparassidae species occur in most warm temperate to tropical regions of the world, including much of Australasia, Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean Basin, and the Americas.[4]
Several species of huntsman spider can use an unusual form of locomotion. The wheel spider (Carparachne aureoflava) from the Namib uses a cartwheeling motion, while Cebrennus rechenbergi uses a handspring motion.
Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae (formerly Heteropodidae), are known by this name because of their speed and mode of hunting. They also are called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometimes are referred to as wood spiders, because of their preference for woody places (forests, mine shafts, woodpiles, wooden shacks). In southern Africa the genus Palystes are known as rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders.[3] Commonly they are confused with baboon spiders from the Mygalomorphae infraorder, which are not closely related.
More than a thousand Sparassidae species occur in most warm temperate to tropical regions of the world, including much of Australasia, Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean Basin, and the Americas.[4]
Several species of huntsman spider can use an unusual form of locomotion. The wheel spider (Carparachne aureoflava) from the Namib uses a cartwheeling motion, while Cebrennus rechenbergi uses a handspring motion.
Lisa from Durban, South Africa here. We had one of these spiders on our garden bench this morning. Quite a surprise during morning coffee!
Not huntsman, it looks like Phoneutria, but not a species I am used to, compare the stripes on palps and cephalothorax: http://gilwizen.com/creativity-phoneutria-bite/
Thanks Cesar. We have changed the subject line to read Wandering Spider.
P. boliviensis on my link seems to match.