What were the effects for the 5 minutes?

Mild local pain and itch

too bad it wasn't a brazilian hunts man we could have seen you in the hospital try to recover

Brazilian wandering spiders aren't huntsmen. Huntsmen form the family Sparassidae, while wandering spiders are in the Ctenidae family. There are huntsmen in Brazil, but they're mildly venomous, just like the Australian ones. And most bites by wandering spiders aren't severe enough to require medical intervention.

@@BugsandBiology" That's a good spot...right on a vein" 🤐😬 Glad she seemed to be really chill. Now imagine doing what you just did to a Sydney funnel web. The difference in their temperament is heaven and hell.

They look so beautiful.

they are individuals too! like humans

Suprising also because they dont know we are not predators?

Just goes to show spiders aren't the monsters they are made out to be especially with this gentle giant

Such a beautiful and docile creature

My foot Will just Never touch the ground of Australia !!! ! !!! Amennnnn !!! ! !!!

@@kopronkojust stay in the city and you will be fine!

​@@Theplug926but then you have to worry about the Aussies

@@DragonTamer31K 😂🤣 can’t be worst than dealing with Texans

Thanks very much! Yeah, I don't do bite demonstrations because of "hey look how brave I am". If anything, I do it to show that many of the animals I work with require pretty much no bravery to be around. It took more bravery to show my skinny self on camera than to take the spider bite.

Yeah usually when I see spiders in my home I just put them in a glass and put them.outisde

Me too, she was an awesome s Ider and very curious, almost like she was familiar with humans.

Which African species have you worked with? Africa has some amazing looking huntsmen, but I barely ever hear about people keeping them.

@@BugsandBiology Hi, I grew up in South Africa and as a child I kept these "Rain spiders". Unluckily that was a long time ago and I did not even own a camera, and it was long before mobile phones, so i have just my memory to go on. And lets not dwell on thatbpoint! 😆 I can remember mottled looking ones and banded brownish/greyish ones from the central highveld and yellowish ones from the Eastern coastal areas. The semi tropical specimens where obviously the largest. One rule every sane logical person would obviously adhere to, when handling spiders, is that when I acts threatening then leave it alone and let cool down. Normally after a bit of time I was able to handle any huntsman. I will post some more pics of my latest finds here in the Wet Tropics.

Glad you appreciate it! I haven't seen many videos about huntsman bites, so I figured I might as well try myself.

@@BugsandBiology again the spider never pierced your skin

@@daledenstedt6369 And as I said in the video, it's not about what the bite is like, but about how uninclined they are to inflict one.

glad he called you an idiot though

glad he called you out though... like calling a structure a building even though it's already been built

Haha! Sounds like he was keeping it there intentionally to help with pest issues. Honestly if spiders weren't feared so much I bet it'd be common for people to intentionally put them in their houses and stores.

Yeah, they keep it for hunting down insects and litlle other critters

I've had them lunge at my finger in a feeding response, but back off before actually biting. Usually I'll "test" their temperament with a paintbrush before picking them up. That, or approach the spider with my palm, presenting a larger surface unlikely to be mistaken for food.

What did your bite feel like.

@@YortOK feels like 2 pin pricks but that's about it. it doesn't hurt if you get used to it. sometimes we tend to overexaggerate the pain because we were caught in surprise

@@_spooT >if you get used to it lol how many of you guys are Australians

I've had jumpers do that to me lol

there really are no "aggressive" species of spiders as in they will never seek out a confrontation with humans. What you may see in the more nervous species is defensiveness as in a threat display, but this is only designed to deter attacks. The spider knows it has no chance of winning against an animal that is many orders of magnitude larger than itself, so it tries to look as intimidating as possible. This is true even for the most venomous spiders in the world, the don't stand a chance even if they empty their venom glands into you. No spider will attack you unless as a very last resort when all other strategies fail and they have no other options.

This is an amazing story! Thanks for telling it. Exposure is often the solution to _any_ kind of ignorance or phobia or fear. Not always, but it's a huge part of it. Also, while I don't have any phobia, the "peter longlegs" I think it's called in English (or something like that) is what I show most revulsion too, and house spiders. Tarantulas and huge spiders I kinda find cute sometimes. One time I feel asleep on a bench in my house, woke up with a tingle in my ear. Long story short, a poor spider had gotten lost. I got it out, full of earwax (it had gotten stuck). I shuddered obviously, but at the same time I learnt they can't (and won't/don't want to) simply crawl into your brain while you sleep lol. It was tiny by the way. House spiders (and other spiders) like cold and damp places and are skittish and want to be left alone for the most part. I don't really like spiders and I don't want to handle them but they're OK.

I was holding big tarantulas without fear, they crawled over my face, but i still have fear of other species, including huntsmen and another harmless spiders. It is about their "ugliness and creepiness" of the spiders, tarantulas aren't so ugly or creepy

they are all aggressive, it just depends on the spider you get..

Thanks a lot, glad you had the time to check it out.

Technically all spiders are actually venomous. However, a huntsman venom, as with most spiders, is not particularly harmful to humans. So if he wants to be technical, he could say you were wrong; but pragmatically that's just being petty.

@ryanr5534 that's true, although I'm not sure the technicality would have occurred to a 1970s teacher or a 12 year old precocious student.

Glad she's doing well. She deserves a treat for putting up with me haha

Well done.

Must be great. I unfortunately don’t get many at all. Mostly cause I’m in an apartment really close to the city.

Thanks! I only recently found Spencer, and he's got a great channel.

😂😵‍💫

Same here! I regularly freak out in autumn when giant house spiders discover the advantages of our warm, welcoming home 🥶 Let alone a spider of these dimensions… goodness gracious 😱😅

Tbh, the one he's holding is a "mid sized" huntsman. You can get ones whose leg spans are literally like a dinner plate.

@@MartenMarder That one isn't that big for a huntsman haha

"Isn't big for a huntsman". These were both fully grown females of the two largest huntsman species in Australia. The only huntsman species that has the potential to reach (and exceed) dinner plate size that I am aware of is Heteropoda maxima, which does not occur in Australia. I've been hearing talk of dinner-plate sized huntsmen in Australia all over the place, yet images with a reliable sense of scale never seem to show up. They do tend to look way bigger than they are though, which probably explains why their sizes get overstated so much.

Thanks very much! Glad people are (mostly) enjoying it.

Same for me. When I was getting over my fear of spiders, huntsmen were the last ones that still creeped me out a little, even though I was well aware of the fact that they're harmless. First time I held one was in Grade 9 school camp, when I relocated one out of a classmate's canoe. After that, they didn't bother me as much.

How do you feel about the Brazilian Wandering spider?

They certainly look impressive, and it seems that, like with funnelwebs, they aren't as scary as they're widely believed to be.

@@BugsandBiology Idk I wouldn't mess with a Funnel web or a wandering spider, luckily I live in New England (United States) lol

I mess with funnelwebs all the time, as I keep several as pets. Easy spiders to deal with, way less scary than people say.

Appreciate it! Absolutely agree about the widespread fear towards these animals, and I'm glad to be doing my bit to dispel it, if only slightly.

@@BugsandBiology so you did!👍

It's actually illegal to take spider from the wild.

@@mastertorryn5397 its actually my job, so.....?

@@artsolomon202 Don't bother engaging this guy, you'll be wasting your time. He's been hate-watching my channel for years.

I believe I would have just feel over and died of fright even if its was a dry bite.

@@LuminaryCursorem Yes I wasn't too happy about it I looked down to see the spider as big as my hand scurrying away down the door LOL😀

Being vegan is a misnomer in regards to treatment of animals. You're emphatic, is what you mean to say. Which is great:) If A -> B -> C, that doesn't mean C is A (and everything that entails).

I got over my fear of wasps the same way! I got stung and realized it wasn't bad at all. Now I'm almost fearless over wasps. Still get a bit on edge when they buzz really close to me repeatedly. But I remind myself they're probably just curious, which helps a lot.

No worries! Glad you enjoyed!

I was bitten by a spider while hiking. I lost my arm because of that

Glad you enjoyed it!

Yeah absolutely! Glad someone who isn't even that into spiders can still see the absurdity of it all.

Thanks! Much appreciated

If you have arachnophobia check out jumping spiders. they might change your mind completely and make you forget your fear.

I was actually quite afraid of spiders throughout my childhood, and it didn’t really ease away until my early teens. I specifically remember being put off climbing a certain tree because I saw a huntsman on it once.

@@BugsandBiology ah, even more impressive. The closest I've ever came to overcoming my fear was holding the moulted exoskeleton of my friend's tarantula.......I lasted about 6 seconds!

One of the things that helped with my fear of spiders was realizing that they are just trying to survive like everything else and there's no malicious or cruel intent behind what they do. They just want to live like you and I.

@@Enruler totally, also we have to unserstand that they are more afraid of us than we are of them. most people don't really try and imagine a being the size of a mountain to try and touch them or walk towards them.

I'm in the very early stages of posting a "Guide to Australian spiders" series on my channel, although there's currently only three episodes up. I intend for it to eventually cover all the major spider groups in Australia, and huntsmen will likely have several episodes devoted to them.

Still, if I seen one of those in my bath tub I would faint and hit my head on everything on my way down to the floor.. It's the size.

@@Ninnjette- If I woke up in the middle of the night and one skittered across my bed up toward my face, I wouldn't faint but I would probably need new sheets.

@@Bloodbain88 Oh! Not that! A monster sized spider crawling through your bed at night.. Hey, we just came up with a horror movie! 😹

@@Ninnjette- Yeah it's really just the skittering motion and the unexepectedness, or having one on you crawling up your arm. I sometimes wonder how far back that fear goes, because you will notice for example every human has an instinctive fear of very large, black eyes and small needlike fangs (there was a good creepypasta about that). I think it's probably something different, but it's amusing to know going far back enough our ancestors probably were preyed on by spiders. Around that point in ancient history where small shrewlike mammals arose is about the time you had spiders the size of dogs. So I'm not sure why most humans still have that instinctive reaction when you'd have to go super far back to have them being a threat to us or anything like us, although to this day huntsmen are an active terrifying threat to tiny rodents and lizards afaik, also tiny birds.

@@pandemicneetbux2110 There were never dog-sized spiders known from any point in prehistory. The biggest fossil spider known is Mongolarachne jurassica, which is about the size of a golden orbweaver.

Yeah it’s an odd choice, but it works to create a less menacing atmosphere.

Absolutely agreed! I’ve been working with funnel webs for years, and to say that their reputation is undeserved is to put it mildly. For the most part, they’re very shy, timid spiders.

Mothers do often survive in my experience; it's probably related to how well-fed they were immediately before laying. If they've had a decent meal, they should be able to make it through the clutching period without starving.

@@BugsandBiology That’s fascinating!!! I was probably misinformed, but it’s still what first got me interested in spider’s. I am nowhere near as educated on the subject as you are, I am more just a lover and fan. I refuse to kill spiders and I dislike people that do. I just don’t understand why people can’t get a catch up and remove it… when I see a 6 foot tall man chasing around any spider with a spatula (and they’re the ones that are afraid) I think it’s absolutely absurd… people never stop to think that this tiny creature is billions times more frightened of this enormous thing swatting at it, then the man will ever be of the spider. Thank you for such amazing videos💕

I see huntsmen all the time and the only time I've seen them be aggressive is when the female is defending an egg sac.

For handling huntsmen, the first time is always the biggest step. Once that barrier has been broken, it’s easy to be comfortable holding them.

You should stick with your healthy fear of spiders. Mine has always served me well. I despise them. I don’t wish them any malice, and I appreciate their ecological role, but I’ll never choose to be around them and if they wander onto my territory they’re probably done. I don’t have any guilt about it because there are no spiders sitting around saying “I wish I could get over my fear of humans” or “I feel bad for biting that human”. Lol.

​ @ascetic43 Clearly you've never had a conversation with spiders. @Voidish well the thing to realize is that they're generally not going to bite you and very, very few can even cause pain with a bite or poison. Even a black widow bite won't kill an adult. It's mainly just an instinctive reaction of being creeped out by something unexpectedly crawling on you. The irony is, people try to blame things on "spider bites" all the time when they wake up when really it's anything from kissing bugs to gnats, mosquitoes that got in the house you didn't know about etc., and those same spiders you blame for waking up with a bite are probably what's going to hunt down the biters. Watch videos on kissing bugs (not to be confused with assassin bugs, who look almost identical, assassin bugs also hunt down other bugs whereas kissing bugs feed on animal blood and spread disease) and realize in many parts of the US for example it's those things getting in your house and biting you as you sleep. I don't mind the small flies or whatever buy bugs on my screen is pretty annoying and my spider bros leave me alone. I've probably got half a dozen who I know about in here and another couple dozen more throughout my home. I don't wake up with bites or itches. They can't hurt me. In fact my main interaction is usually trying to make sure I'm not blasting one in the shower.

@@ClickKlack43 It's always better to overcome an irrational fear, especially if it leads to needlessly killing them. Frankly, no spider deserves to be truly feared, only respected. And spiders have orders of magnitude more reason to be afraid of us than the other way around. OP has a great attitude; its something you could possibly learn from.

@@BugsandBiology Wow. I didn’t expect to be chastised by spider lives matter, himself. What I said was not unreasonable. It’s not irrational when some can really hurt people and it’s not really fear. I just find them deeply unpleasant. As far needlessly killing them. I’ll let the first person who’s never squashed or swatted a bug throw the first stone. Is that you? Do you feel the same way about Mosquitos? Ever killed one? Just curious. Do you eat meat? Wear leather? Needlessly? Lol. F off dude.

@@BugsandBiology grandpa handing me a rolled up magazine as a kid: _”And now, they will fear you”_

I really appreciate this comment! And I’m so glad that your arachnophobic friends seem to have reacted positively to my video. Love to hear that I’m doing my part to ease people’s fears of these animals.

My gateway spider was bold jumping spiders

Aren't Portia's the ones who attack other spiders in their webs? Your gateway spider was an assassin!? Classic!

​@@catpoke9557I almost hate them(spiders), but the jumpers are kind of cute.

@@mikefeliciano3848 k

Thanks! Appreciate it

I get it. I used to be scared of spiders myself, and it's a pretty hard thing to shake off.

​@@BugsandBiologyhow did you work on your fears?

I recommend finding an exceptionally cute, docile, and painless species of spider and attempting to handle it after lots of observation. I recommend jumping spiders, especially bold jumping spiders if you can find them because they're very curious and many of them actually intentionally jump onto people because they enjoy it.

They absolutely are. Probably my favorite spiders to watch

😂😂😂😂

Omg I'm not reading that- and certainly no one else is

Champ, it's three paragraphs, not The Silmarillion. Hardly a stretch to assume someone would read it. I for one really appreciated the comment.

I read this too and thought the comment was really cool!

I personally think typing 3 paragraphs of praise isn't necessary

@@INsectusOfc same

The toes!! LOOKIT THE TOES!! 😆

@@slightlyxxhaunted7634 toes!? Where!? 😆

No ma'am noooooo ma'am

Having a spider or two at home to hunt the smaller pests is realy nice, in fact. If you see a spider web outside near your windows - DO NOT CLEAN, those are catching the bugs for you.

@@gokkiyoutube I know it’s great! I don’t think anything can help with my mosquito problem though 😭

Glad you appreciate! I do try to be as gentle as possible; I kinda feel bad for them when I'm making them bite.

@@BugsandBiology LOL

Imagine if you were just minding your own business, and a huge creature walked up to you. Of course you're gonna get defensive at first.

Yeah obviously they can cause worse effects if they're really inclined to envenomate. But like I said in the video, I was more focused on showing their reluctance to bite as opposed to what the bites are like.

Yeah I’m the same, I try to help them out if I can and move them around, but never kill them. Or not deliberately anyway, it’s not my fault if they camouflage too well, but I would feel bad if it did happen though. I held a baby tarantula once and the fact I knew it was a baby kind of helped me feel more protective of it. This was under supervision of course and he followed the “path” I laid out for him and didn’t do anything unpredictable which also helped too. If I had a spider sneak up on me, especially if it wasn’t from the UK, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going to freak out though!