Avondale spider
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| Avondale spider | ||||||||||||||
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| Missing image Avondale_spider.jpg Avondale spider Avondale spider | ||||||||||||||
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| Delena cancerides Walckenaer, 1837 |
The Avondale Spider is a large, brown huntsman spider originally found in the Avondale area of New Zealand, and its range now extends into the Waitakere area.
Habitat and appearance
The spiders will co-exist socially, and are often found under loose bark and in woodpiles in colonies up to 300. They hunt their food rather than spin webs for it. Though non-poisonous, they scare the daylights out of even the mildest arachnophobes, and it is just as well that they seldom venture indoors.
They are an Australian species, accidentally introduced to New Zealand in 1924 in shipments of hardwood logs. They achieved fame in the 1990 movie Arachnophobia which used 374 of these impressive spiders. The body of the spider may be up to 30mm long, is light brown and covered in dense, fine hairs. The legs are also hairy, and can span up to 200mm (8"). Large specimens are not unusual.
External links
- Manaaki Whenua (Landcare Research) Bug Identification page (http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biodiversity/invertebratesprog/invertid/order_page.asp?Or_ID=2)