Heteropoda venatoria
(Huntsman Spider)

Featured spider picture The spider species Heteropoda venatoria, commonly known as Huntsman Spider, belongs to the genus Heteropoda, in the family Sparassidae. Heteropoda venatoria spiders have been sighted 92 times by contributing members. Based on collected data, the geographic range for Heteropoda venatoria includes 14 countries and 6 states in the United States. Heteropoda venatoria is most often sighted indoors, and during the month of April.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Araneomorphae
Family: Sparassidae
Genus: Heteropoda
Species: Heteropoda venatoria

Common Name (AAS)

Huntsman Spider

Other Common Names

Brown Huntsman, Giant Crab Spider, Cane Spider (in Hawaii)

Author

Carl Linnaeus, 1767

Primary Colors

Sightings Overview

There have been 92 confirmed sightings of Heteropoda venatoria (Huntsman Spider), with the most recent sighting submitted on November 16, 2023 by Spider ID member koaung18322. The detailed statistics below may not utilize the complete dataset of 92 sightings because of certain Heteropoda venatoria sightings reporting incomplete data.

Web: 8% of the time, Heteropoda venatoria spiders are sighted in a spider web (Sample size: 88)
Sex: 8 female and 40 male.
Environment: Heteropoda venatoria has been sighted 21 times outdoors, and 69 times indoors.
Outdoors: Man-made structure (16). On flower (1). Low foliage (2). Saltwater (1). Forest (1).

Location and Range

Heteropoda venatoria (Huntsman Spider) has been sighted in the following countries: Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Denmark, Ecuador, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Myanmar, Peru, Puerto Rico, Thailand, United States, Venezuela.

Heteropoda venatoria has also been sighted in the following states: California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Ohio, Texas.

Seasonality

Heteropoda venatoria has been primarily sighted during the month of April.

January: 2
February: 7
March: 18
April: 28
May: 18
June: 1
July: 3
August: 1
September: 1
October: 2
November: 3
December: 4

Additional Remarks

This is a very large spider. Its leg span can reach up to 4-5 inches.
Can be swift and sometimes aggressive but not considered dangerously venomous to humans. May bite in self-defense if roughly handled; mildly painful bite (can be likened to a bee sting if spider injects venom).
Known for its affinity for eating cockroaches.
Egg sac is white and carried underneath the body of the female, held by her fangs and pedipalps.
Unlike females, the adult males have a large black area on their carapace that is divided by a thin, beige ‘V’-shaped line.