Brown huntsman spider facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brown huntsman spider
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Family:	Sparassidae
Genus:	Heteropoda
Species:	H. venatoria
Binomial name
Heteropoda venatoria Latreille, 1802
Synonyms
Aranea venatoria Aranea regia Aranea pallens Thomisus leucosius Micrommata setulosa Ocypete setulosa Olios leucosius Olios antillianus Olios freycineti Olios colombianus Ocypete pallens Olius setulosus Ocypete murina Ocypete draco Olios albifrons Olios javensis Olios gabonensis Olios zonatus Olios lunula Sparassus ammanita Ocypete bruneiceps Olios leucosius Olius regius Sarotes regius Helicops maderiana Sarotes venatorius Palystes maderianus Olios maderianus Heteropoda ferina H. regia H. ocellata Palystes ledleyi H. squamacea Sinopoda pengi H. shimen Sinopoda venatoria

The brown huntsman spider (Heteropoda venatoria) is a type of spider. People also call it the giant crab spider or the cane spider. You can find these spiders in warm, tropical and subtropical places. They live in Asia, the Caribbean islands, and the southeastern United States. They are very common in Australia.

What Do They Look Like?

Brown huntsman spiders have a flat body. They usually have a small pattern on their back. Adult spiders can be about 2.2 to 2.8 centimeters long. Their legs can spread out from 7 to 12 centimeters wide. Some of these spiders are brown, white, or black.

Female spiders have a bigger body part called an abdomen. Males have longer, thinner legs. Both male and female spiders have a wide, yellow or cream-colored band. This band is around the front part of their body, called the carapace. Female spiders often carry a soft, pillow-like egg sac under their body.

What Do They Eat?

Brown huntsman spiders do not build spider webs to catch their food. Instead, they are hunters. They wait quietly for their food to come close. When an insect gets near, they quickly rush forward to catch it.

These spiders are very fast and can move through small spaces. They hunt for their food at night. If a brown huntsman spider gets into your home, it can help by eating unwanted bugs. They often eat insects like cockroaches and silverfish.