Login
Register
Comments & ID Thoughts
Hello,
I found this guy at my work which is a produce dept. of a grocery store in upstate NY. Came running out of a box of potatoes as I picked it up. My guess is it is a wolf spider but I am uncertain. It is about 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide, leg to leg, and the body is about an inch long from the fangs to the opposite end.
I have played with the idea of keeping it until at least spring since it is winter here, and then release it, but If it happens to be non-native or dangerous that is probably not a good idea.
Any help with identifying this guy is appreciated.
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Dec 8, 2019
- Photographed: Dec 8, 2019
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Glens Falls, New York, United States
- Spotted Indoors: Other
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes:
Hi, this is Heteropoda venatoria, a Huntsman Spider. It probably didn’t originate with the potatoes since it is a tropical and subtropical spider. It won’t survive outdoors in New York, too cold most of the year. So you have a pet. 🙂 They live less than two years in the wild. Spiders in captivity usually live longer than their natural lifespan. I’ve heard that their bite isn’t dangerous, but painful. I bet Bugman Dan here can give advice on keeping them as pets. In some warmer parts of the world they are appreciated as free-roaming spiders in homes because of… Read more »
Thanks for the info. In the time since making this post, I made it an enclosure and discovered a local pet store sells crickets 20 for a $1. So it does seem I now have a pet huntsman spider lol.
It is actually quite interesting watching it eat. It kinda just shoves the whole cricket in its mouth rather then sipping on its insides like other spiders around here. I guess I have never realised or thought about how different spider species eat their prey.
https://imgur.com/W0T7Sj1
Thanks for the update! I like the tropical coconut huts you gave him. He is definitely male. I just learned that this species is sexually dimorphic, meaning that the males and females have different markings. The tan band on the cephalothorax, the dark longitudinal stripe on top of the abdomen, and the tan area under the eyes are all male markings. We have been looking for websites that can be used to link a photo into the discussion forum and you just found one, thanks! I didn’t know that this species eats that way either. I haven’t seen one yet.… Read more »
The coconuts were scavenged from my work. Though it would be a cool way to decorate the enclosure. I also figured out it was male soon after looking up Heteropoda venatoria. But yeah, he just lunges on top of the cricket and rips it apart with its mouthparts. Pretty sure it eats the whole cricket as well. He doesn’t really leave anything behind. lol