Australia's biggest contribution to humanity?

[ez24]

Thank you Australians for keeping these creatures inside the country. I believe bio-venom weapons are ITAR controlled.

jez a 2 watt spider and I thought mine were bad (FYI she disappeared one night after laying 5 egg sacks    )

[Brumby]

Like most of Australia's scary looking and/or sounding creatures, as long as your don't piss them off, they wont piss you off

A pearl of wisdom.

The mosquito is an exception and flies are just annoying - but pretty much everything else won't take you on unless you provoke them.

[VK5RC]

I think these are one of the nastiest Aussie buggers, called Jack Jumper Ant in the eastern states or Hopper Ant elsewhere ; only about 1/2 of inch long and are very aggressive, they will chase you for some metres and can jump 3-4 inches in height and have a bite like a bee. Very common source of allergic reactions. But the nest is very distinctive - easily seen from 20-30m- dry granular - low mound. I happen to be allergic to them! Evidence of a careless youth in Aussie bush (dry sclerophyll forrest).

[RoGeorge]

Having their own flora and fauna. This is pretty amazing!

Of course, some of them are purely speculations

[freebsd]

Australians are super, is not that enough?

[Halcyon]

Like most of Australia's scary looking and/or sounding creatures, as long as your don't piss them off, they wont piss you off

Too true. I haven't even been stung by a bee yet.

I like having the spiders around, especially the Huntman. They look big and nasty (and sometimes make their way inside and sit above door frames just to scare you) but they are great to have around the house. I am yet to see a single cockroach around my place. Huntsman use their venom for prey but rarely as a defensive mechanism. Even if one was to bite a person, it's unlikely to be life threatening or require hospitalisation. Most of the time they stay out of your way and you won't even notice them unless you specifically go looking for them.

[IconicPCB]

Huntsmen are a venomous spider and indeed they use their venom to catch prey.
The venom is also toxic to humans.  Fortunately the huntsman spider does not have the necessary mechanism to bite the humans hence lack of anecdotal evidence of their toxicity.

I used to have one in my bedroom...used to call it Hymie ( after the robot in Get Smart ( America's contribution to humanity )).

[Halcyon]

Huntsmen are a venomous spider and indeed they use their venom to catch prey.
The venom is also toxic to humans.  Fortunately the huntsman spider does not have the necessary mechanism to bite the humans hence lack of anecdotal evidence of their toxicity.

You may be thinking of the 'Daddy-long-legs' spider. Their venom is thought to be potent however they have relatively short fangs which makes it difficult to pierce the multiple layers of human skin (bites, although rare, are still possible).

It's well documented that Huntsman sometime do and can bite humans as a last resort (but you probably deserved it). They aren't the type of spider that will stand-up and fight, rather, they prefer to retreat. Treatment from a Huntsman spider bite is usually just a cold pack to reduce inflammation. A small percentage of people can suffer from anaphylaxis but they generally know what their triggers are and will probably carry their own epinephrine shot.

[ez24]

Huntsman do bite, and it is a painful bite, though the venom is not particularly dangerous to human. Like a bee sting, not deadly to the majority, but to the allergic population, it could be fatal.
Also, these buggers do cling on their target, so the more you want to shake them off, the more venom will be delivered.
Luckily, they do not always bite because you can hardly corner them. They are super fast, so the use of fangs and venom is optional.
Appearance wise, they are scary, especially compared to similarly sized cute looking docile new world tarantulas.

Thank god these are not near me.  My bathroom spider was only about the size of a dime.  Here is a guy catching a Huntsman in his bathroom.  How could someone ignore these?

[Brumby]

Thank god these are not near me.  My bathroom spider was only about the size of a dime.  Here is a guy catching a Huntsman in his bathroom.  How could someone ignore these?

What a wuss!  I nearly fell off my chair when he added the Toblerone handle.   

The basic technique is correct, though.  A clear or translucent container of that size is correct - but I would use something a bit stiffer like a piece of cardboard for a slide/cover.

He also took far too long - and probably got the spider all worked up by making too many 'attempts'.  Normally, I've found they don't react too much until they are contained.

[Brumby]

These guys, however, are a different story.

Corner one of these and they will stand up to you ... just like this:

... no matter how big you are.

And those fangs are real.  About 1/4" long and capable of piercing shoe leather.

[Brumby]

FWIW - If you are in an area where the Sydney Funnel Web is found - be VERY careful around handy little hidey-holes.  One of their favourite hang-outs is in the gaps of a pile of rock or rubble.

When I was at Uni (many moons ago) I took a summer job - and came across a pair of these hiding in a pile of sandstone that had been dug out from a trench a couple of weeks earlier.  I was back-filling with a 6' spade when I looked down and saw the exact image above.  I reckon it would have been saying:  "Come on ya mug!  Have a go!!"

[HackedFridgeMagnet]

Huntsman do bite, and it is a painful bite, though the venom is not particularly dangerous to human. Like a bee sting, not deadly to the majority, but to the allergic population, it could be fatal.
Also, these buggers do cling on their target, so the more you want to shake them off, the more venom will be delivered.
Luckily, they do not always bite because you can hardly corner them. They are super fast, so the use of fangs and venom is optional.
Appearance wise, they are scary, especially compared to similarly sized cute looking docile new world tarantulas.

Thank god these are not near me.  My bathroom spider was only about the size of a dime.  Here is a guy catching a Huntsman in his bathroom.  How could someone ignore these?

lol spider dundee

they are not aggressive at all, if you want to get them out use a thick towel if they are big or a beanie or a bit of paper.

[Halcyon]

You may be thinking of the 'Daddy-long-legs' spider. Their venom is thought to be potent however they have relatively short fangs which makes it difficult to pierce the multiple layers of human skin (bites, although rare, are still possible).

No. The "potent venom but can't pierce skin" spider is brown recluse. They CAN pierce human skin if they are large enough. Weeks ago a female PhD student was bitten by one of them in one of our facility's building and was sent to hospital.
Local hospital recognized the bite to be a brown recluse bite, and she experienced fever and skin infection and muscle dissolving around the wound. I got the first hand story because her boyfriend is in my team.
University authority never launched an extermination because they cannot find the spider, so they identify this event to be an isolated bad luck rather than a real threat.

Then I'm confused because the Huntsman *can* bite humans, contrary to your previous post.

There is however a common misconception that the White-tailed spider found in Australia carries a toxin which causes necrosis in human tissue. This is not the case and people confuse this spider with the Brown Recluse (not found in Australia). With respect to the White-tailed spider, problems can occur if the wound becomes infected through external causes, but not due to the spider's own venom.

[Halcyon]

Then I'm confused because the Huntsman *can* bite humans, contrary to your previous post.

I never said that.

My apologies, you are correct there. I was referring to a comment made by IconicPCB. However the Daddy-long-legs also fits into that category.

[ez24]

Although pholcidae eats venom spiders such as black widow, they themselves do not have medically intense venom at all.

Now I can sleep, knowing the dozens of pholcidae in my house will not eat me.      If I am not wrong the most dangerous spiders in the US are

1. Brown recluse
2. Black widow
3. ?

[VK3DRB]

A few years ago we had a huntsman spider infestation inside the house. I would find two or three a week and execute them. But one night I was just about to go to sleep and I saw some dark spots on the wall in the hallway. I got up (that goodness) and found that the hallway  wall had about 50 baby huntsman spiders on it. I killed them all before I found their mother in the linen closet. It was bloody huge. I poisoned the bitch and sprayed the entire closet.

[tautech]

I think these are one of the nastiest Aussie buggers, called Jack Jumper Ant in the eastern states or Hopper Ant elsewhere ; only about 1/2 of inch long and are very aggressive, they will chase you for some metres and can jump 3-4 inches in height and have a bite like a bee. Very common source of allergic reactions. But the nest is very distinctive - easily seen from 20-30m- dry granular - low mound. I happen to be allergic to them! Evidence of a careless youth in Aussie bush (dry sclerophyll forrest).

Bull ants are the buggers I don't like. 
Only seen the ones around Perth and they've earnt my respect.
25mm long and they can run nearly as fast as you can walk.



http://australianmuseum.net.au/bull-ants

[VK5RC]

A few years ago we had a huntsman spider infestation inside the house. I would find two or three a week and execute them. But one night I was just about to go to sleep and I saw some dark spots on the wall in the hallway. I got up (that goodness) and found that the hallway  wall had about 50 baby huntsman spiders on it. I killed them all before I found their mother in the linen closet. It was bloody huge. I poisoned the bitch and sprayed the entire closet.

I know some people like spiders but I would draw the line at that - time to get out the "napalm"
Edit ; Have never come across a BullAnt - Thankfully!

[jonovid]

I know some people like spiders but I would draw the line at that - time to get out the "napalm"
Edit ; Have never come across a BullAnt - Thankfully!

Insect collecting & electronics goes hand in hand for one ozy 5 yro, at the time.
Bull ants or inch ant have an attitude problem. but are not the only ones.

[MT]

ABBA!

[ez24]

Never would have guessed that the biggest contribution turned out that they have the scariest critters.  I hope they keep them there.

[SeanB]

How about Teatree oil, though the biggest nuisance here is the Eucalyptus and the black wattle. Declared noxious invaders and forbidden to plant other than on an approved forestry plantation. They do however make good firewood.

[tautech]

How about Teatree oil, though the biggest nuisance here is the Eucalyptus and the black wattle. Declared noxious invaders and forbidden to plant other than on an approved forestry plantation. They do however make good firewood.

Not sure if OZ has Tea tree (That's what Captain Cook named it here). Some of the self succkering Eucs can be a problem and the wattles self sow in the right soils here too.
Yep all good firewood. 

[ez24]

How about Teatree oil, though the biggest nuisance here is the Eucalyptus and the black wattle. Declared noxious invaders and forbidden to plant other than on an approved forestry plantation. They do however make good firewood.

Eucalyptus is very popular where I live (So Calif).  I have planted many (bottlebush) myself for firewood.  They also have done a lot of damage due to their shallow roots (some blew over in a storm and took out my electrical lines to my house).

So since I see them every day and they heat my house in the winter, my vote for the biggest contribution to humanity goes to ...... (drum roll)...

Eucalyptus Trees