The Mating of a Huntsman 



hy Di nsi v CYvni 



Hiinlsm.vti spiders arc sometimes 

 kJHJWJJ as iriiinti'ti>|ns, sometimes as 

 tarantulas. No-one seems lo know 

 the otigil) of the word •|nanlelopc". 

 As lor ihe mime •latantula", iliese 

 spiders are not al all elosely related 

 to the two groups flff spiders which 

 traditionally hear this name, one 

 I uropean and one American. 



Ihe Americans give the name lo 

 their Mvgalomorph spcdeis, which 

 are cousins lo our funnelwchs and 

 tiapdoor spiders. 



I ne Kuropean laramula. on the 

 other hand, is or was a wolf spider 

 < I vcosidac ) . BccattsC they live in 

 holes in ihe ground, our own harm 

 less wolf spiders are often sent to 

 scientific institutions as luimclwcbs 

 But the wolf spider's hole is in the 

 open, and nevei surrounded by the 

 large, funnel -web sheets of web I hat 

 give the funnclweb spider its name. 



Ihe name "tarantula" was used 

 m EllTOpC in the Middle Ages for a 

 species ol wol I spider, and from this 

 name came the dance called the 

 "tarantella" — or vice versa. In anv 



Plate 1. 



(Huntsman Spider thoptia mifc) 



case, according lo tradition, the 

 ellects of the spider's bite drove 

 victims to dance hysterically until 

 they dropped dead, a condition 

 known as "taraniisin". And all these 

 woids aie derived Ironi Tal'anto, the 

 town in Italy where it is suppose! 

 to have happened. 



Anyhow, it seems unfair to saddle 

 mil Huntsman with a name lhal lias 

 such unpleasant connotations, It is a 

 docile spider m mv experience, ami 

 piobably does more good than hgttg 

 In catching Hies and other potential 

 doUgeroUS creatures in the house. 



The lollow ■in;: .ue some notes on Ihe 

 behaviour ol a pan ol Huntsman 

 spiders Ihe species is hopctta 

 common in Sydney gardens and 

 houses, li is a huge spider, flattened I 

 dorsovenlrally as aie all members of 

 the Sparassidac laniily to varying 

 degrees, with latcrigrade legs, i.e., 

 legs that lie on their sides and curve ' 

 for waul, f hese two fealmes. the I 

 llallened boils anil lalerigrade legs, 

 enable the spider to move about 

 freely in its natural habitat, under 

 loose link and in similarly restricted 

 places Ihe colour is light brown to 

 greyish, and the body and legs are 

 haiiy. 



The male and female under obscr- 

 vaiiou were found resting close 

 together on a banana plant in my 

 garden, and were brought indoors 

 and placed in a glass-walled cage 

 for observation. 



At daybieak on I Aptil, Ihe female 

 had undergone her final moult, and 

 her cast skin hung in the cage. It 

 seems common lor male spiders lo 



244 



Vicf Nat Vol 8» 



