There are now 42,751 species of spiders in the world, with a minimum body length of 1 mm and a maximum of 90 mm. According to the spider information currently available, the largest is the giant bird-eating tarantula, which, as its name implies, is large enough to hunt birds.
But in 2001, a German expert found a spider larger than the giant bird-eating tarantula in a cave in Laos, the largest spider ever found in the world, and it was the giant hunter spider (this scientific name is Heteropoda maxima).
The hunter spider is distributed all over the world, wherever the climate is warm, it will be found, and its way of catching prey is called the hunter level, which is where its name comes from.
Hunter spiders have thousands of subspecies, the average species is about 2.5 cm long and has legs spanning up to 12.7 cm. However, the giant hunter spider (Heteropoda maxima) found in Laos has a leg span of up to 30 centimeters and an overall size comparable to a "dinner plate", which makes it the largest spider found so far.
Although this spider is proud of the world, it is still lighter than the giant bird-eating tarantula in terms of weight.
Hunter spiders are closely related to tarantulas, and hunter spiders are often recognized as tarantulas. In fact, the difference between them can be judged by their legs: tarantulas are vertically downward in the legs above the body, while hunter spiders stretch out their bodies like crabs, so they are also called "cancer spiders". The spider found in Laos belongs to the super large cancer spider.
The hunter spider moves very fast, often reaching a speed of nearly 1 meter per second, and the general prey cannot run it, and it is also particularly intelligent, and will quietly ambush the prey. When it encounters its prey, it will bite the prey with its strong and powerful mouth (sting horn) and quickly inject it into the prey through the toxins produced in the body.
Although this spider is extremely ferocious in predation, it generally does not attack humans unless it actively provokes it. But even if it provokes it, it will not pose a threat to human life.
Although its venom is poisonous, it is not fatal to humans, the wound is only swollen, and the body is slightly nauseated and vomited. Compared with its venom, its mouth is more threatening, because its mouth is strong and powerful, and the pain is very strong when it bites on a person.
Although hunter spiders are ferocious insects, they also have a warm side. Compared to other species of spiders that have a habit of eating their partners, hunter spiders are very "romantic", with several hours of mating time, during which time the pair caresses each other and other things of interest.
Under normal circumstances, hunter spiders do not weave webs, and only when they are about to give birth, they will weave webs to hold the eggs laid.
Hunter spiders can generally lay up to 200 eggs at a time, as a very responsible "mother" in the insect world, it will always carry these eggs on the body, this time the mother spider will always be guarded to the side, this time it is very aggressive, if you encounter a spider with egg sacs in the wild, you must avoid it in time.
It is not until the spiders are born that they tear the web and let them out, and the mother spider will keep the spiders for weeks before letting them go.
Giant hunter spiders have many kinds of food, and even hunt similar spiders, but mainly feed on harmful insects such as flies and mosquitoes, in addition to the cockroaches that humans hate the most. From this point of view, for humans, the giant hunter spider is actually a beneficial insect and has made a huge contribution to maintaining the ecology of agriculture and forestry.
So in the face of the annoying cockroaches and mosquitoes in the home now, can we raise a giant hunter spider at home to solve these pests?
Giant hunter spiders eat a large amount of food, and there are not many pests in the home, so it cannot meet its food intake. If it is a small time in the countryside, the spider can run outdoors and be self-sufficient, of course, it is guaranteed.
Although the giant hunter spider is not a fatal threat to people, after all, the pair of powerful claw horns, biting people is still very painful, if you don't pay attention to it, it will fight back. If, while sleeping, the spider suddenly falls from the ceiling to the face, it must not be scared to death. If there are small children in the family, this danger level doubles.
Giant hunter spiders are very large, and if you often see them crawling over the wall, it is weird.
In summary, although the giant hunter spider is a beneficial insect for humans, if you raise such a giant spider at home, it will always do more harm than good. Therefore, to eliminate the pest, we still have to rely on various insecticides.