Shield Huntsman Spider

Christiane and Neil - I really enjoyed reading your spider stories. Do many Australians name spiders that take up residence in their homes and cars? How long do these spiders live??

Amanda. That's gorgeous. I had a laundry huntsman called Hugo. He was sweet and would come out to say hello when I was there. Very friendly and I was very fond of him. He disappeared during the flood and I fretted for him.

They're so special when they love the car. I was sitting at the traffic lights one day, stuck for what seemed an eternity in traffic, it was pouring with rain, and all of a sudden the car in front of me started rocking violently. A dear woman launched out of that car as if by catapult, screaming, did a little dance, came racing up to my car and bellowed ((((SPIDER))). Poor thing, she was as white as a sheet. Of all the people she could have gone to, why me? I'm a 'look but don't touch' spider guy, and back then I was an arachnophobe. We eventually got it out of the car, unharmed, and it was large and pretty pissed off by this stage. What I remember the most were the people stuck in the traffic behind us. We made it heaps worse, but they were very patient and understanding, and grateful it wasn't them called upon to help. The woman was frightened to get back into the car. Huntsman's are harmless, but I still shudder to think what could have eventuated had she been moving and the spider appeared. That could have been catastrophic. OH, lovely photos Chris.