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Sydney area is also the home of the funnel-web spider, a rather venomous and very aggressive spider. I'm not afraid of spiders but that one makes my neck-hairs

Sydney area is also the home of the funnel-web spider, a rather venomous and very aggressive spider. I'm not afraid of spiders but that one makes my neck-hairs rise.

shakna 6y ago
Worth noting that an antivenom for the funnel-web was created in the early 80s [0], and Australia hasn't seen a single death since. Its still more than a one day stay in hospital, but it isn't likely to cause a fatality if you actually seek treatment. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_funnel-web_spider#Treatment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_funnel-web_spider#T...
- 4gotunameagain 6y ago
  > The venom is needed to produce the antivenom.. The venom is taken from the spiders by delicately stroking their fangs and collecting the tiny droplets of the deadly venom. One dose of antivenom requires around 70 milkings from a spider. > Funnel web spider antivenom is prepared from the plasma of rabbits immunized with the venom of the male funnel web spider (Atrax robustus). Each vial of the product contains 125 units of antivenom which has been standardized to neutralize 1.25 mg of funnel web spider venom. The product also contains glycine and other rabbit plasma proteins. o.O
airhead969 6y ago
Yep. If the huntsman spider doesn't freak you out, the FWS should.
- Clewza313 6y ago
  Huntsmen are creepy looking, but essentially harmless. (Unless you're another bug, which is why it's nice to have a few around.)
  - airhead969 6y ago
    Ahah. They are so creepy looking. They pretty much have faces, coats, and top hats. I just don't want to think what kind of bugs are around to need a nightmare fuel spider around.
    - hilbert42 6y ago
      Yes, they are. It's a bit unnerving to have one on one's bedroom wall and be lying there and stairing up at it (they love climbing up high). But at least you can see a Huntsman, on the other hand Funnel-webs rarely leave the floor (so they often hide in shoes, etc.). People get bitten that way (as a kid I was taught to always look in my shoes before putting them on). If you don't like the look of Huntsman spiders then you'd probably not like to have a jar with a Funnel-web in it on your desk (as I mentioned above). Funnel-webs really do look creepy, that's part of their fascination.
- kingo55 6y ago
  Exactly. Huntsmen are like daddy long legs compared to FWS.
- byhemechi 6y ago
  Huntsmen are harmless. The easiest way to get rid of one is to just pick it up by a leg.
hilbert42 6y ago
From time to time one of my staff would catch a male Atrax robustus† in his backyard and bring it to work. I'd create a home for the spider out of a very large jar by placing in it rocks and sufficient dirt for him to make his funnel-web home. Funnel-webs would happily live there for well over year, and we'd feed them on live slaters (wood lice) and occasionally other insects (we only ever kept one at a time). The jar used to take pride of place on my office desk and sometimes visitors who came to my office were somewhat unnerved by it. Every morning when I came into my office and switched on the lights he'd rise up in an aggressive pose (as in the photo in the link below). To impress visitors, I'd poke a pencil through the air vents holes in the jar's lid then he'd immediately attack it and you could see venom running down the side of the pencil. After a while that pencil—which was kept specifically for the purpose—ended up rather pockmarked. We kept a number of them over the years but only males, as they are not only more deadly than the females but also they're considerably more aggressive. I've more stories about them. When I was a kid, I had one on the back of my hand but luckily I wasn’t bitten. Once I'd been bushwalking and after climbing out of a valley at night I pointed my flashlight to the ground and saw that I was in a midst of multiple nests of females some of whom were out of their nests and roaming near my feet. I was so physically exhausted I didn't even bother moving. Another instance was when one bit someone who I knew vaguely. This was in the days before the availability of antivenene and he was very seriously ill despite being immediately taken to hospital (he ended up with pulmonary oedema and other complications and nearly died). † https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrax_robustus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrax_robustus

Sydney area is also the home of the funnel-web spider, a rather venomous and very aggressive spider. I'm not afraid of spiders but that one makes my neck-hairs rise.

shakna 6y ago

Worth noting that an antivenom for the funnel-web was created in the early 80s [0], and Australia hasn't seen a single death since. Its still more than a one day stay in hospital, but it isn't likely to cause a fatality if you actually seek treatment. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_funnel-web_spider#Treatment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_funnel-web_spider#T...

4gotunameagain 6y ago
> The venom is needed to produce the antivenom.. The venom is taken from the spiders by delicately stroking their fangs and collecting the tiny droplets of the deadly venom. One dose of antivenom requires around 70 milkings from a spider. > Funnel web spider antivenom is prepared from the plasma of rabbits immunized with the venom of the male funnel web spider (Atrax robustus). Each vial of the product contains 125 units of antivenom which has been standardized to neutralize 1.25 mg of funnel web spider venom. The product also contains glycine and other rabbit plasma proteins. o.O

airhead969 6y ago

Yep. If the huntsman spider doesn't freak you out, the FWS should.

Clewza313 6y ago
Huntsmen are creepy looking, but essentially harmless. (Unless you're another bug, which is why it's nice to have a few around.)
- airhead969 6y ago
  Ahah. They are so creepy looking. They pretty much have faces, coats, and top hats. I just don't want to think what kind of bugs are around to need a nightmare fuel spider around.
  - hilbert42 6y ago
    Yes, they are. It's a bit unnerving to have one on one's bedroom wall and be lying there and stairing up at it (they love climbing up high). But at least you can see a Huntsman, on the other hand Funnel-webs rarely leave the floor (so they often hide in shoes, etc.). People get bitten that way (as a kid I was taught to always look in my shoes before putting them on). If you don't like the look of Huntsman spiders then you'd probably not like to have a jar with a Funnel-web in it on your desk (as I mentioned above). Funnel-webs really do look creepy, that's part of their fascination.
kingo55 6y ago
Exactly. Huntsmen are like daddy long legs compared to FWS.
byhemechi 6y ago
Huntsmen are harmless. The easiest way to get rid of one is to just pick it up by a leg.

hilbert42 6y ago

From time to time one of my staff would catch a male Atrax robustus† in his backyard and bring it to work. I'd create a home for the spider out of a very large jar by placing in it rocks and sufficient dirt for him to make his funnel-web home. Funnel-webs would happily live there for well over year, and we'd feed them on live slaters (wood lice) and occasionally other insects (we only ever kept one at a time). The jar used to take pride of place on my office desk and sometimes visitors who came to my office were somewhat unnerved by it. Every morning when I came into my office and switched on the lights he'd rise up in an aggressive pose (as in the photo in the link below). To impress visitors, I'd poke a pencil through the air vents holes in the jar's lid then he'd immediately attack it and you could see venom running down the side of the pencil. After a while that pencil—which was kept specifically for the purpose—ended up rather pockmarked. We kept a number of them over the years but only males, as they are not only more deadly than the females but also they're considerably more aggressive. I've more stories about them. When I was a kid, I had one on the back of my hand but luckily I wasn’t bitten. Once I'd been bushwalking and after climbing out of a valley at night I pointed my flashlight to the ground and saw that I was in a midst of multiple nests of females some of whom were out of their nests and roaming near my feet. I was so physically exhausted I didn't even bother moving. Another instance was when one bit someone who I knew vaguely. This was in the days before the availability of antivenene and he was very seriously ill despite being immediately taken to hospital (he ended up with pulmonary oedema and other complications and nearly died). † https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrax_robustus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrax_robustus