PA Huntsman Spiders

[windscorpions1]

Is there huntsman spiders in Pennsylvania? If there is where would I be able too catch one.

 

[Ciphor]

Nope. They only occupy the southern regions of the US and NA. CA and ND are the two northernmost spots IIRC.

 

[Vfox]

Look for Dolomedes tenebrosus, they are the largest spider in PA. Check around streams and lakes in early summer. I have a huge female right now, she is very very skiddish though.

 

[windscorpions1]

Thanks, but are Dolomedes tenebrosus aggressive?

 

[Ciphor]

Nope. A little skittish but pretty docile.

 

[Vfox]

I wouldn't expect her to bite but it would be difficult to handle her. She is very skiddish and very very fast. She is a beautiful spider though and although not aggressive I'd definitely say defensive... But that's basically any spider.

 

[Ciphor]

I wouldn't expect her to bite but it would be difficult to handle her. She is very skiddish and very very fast. She is a beautiful spider though and although not aggressive I'd definitely say defensive... But that's basically any spider.

I humbly disagree

I would show you lots of pictures of me handling mine with no problems, but I'm getting a site error about data quota and can't upload any images lately. I'm not sure I would say spiders in general are defensive towards people. Most play dead or flee rather than try and defend. Really, it's a very small percentage of spiders as a whole that will try and defend themselves when facing human contact.

Fishing spiders can be quick, but tire out fast unlike a huntsman spider for example. When I handle mine I sometimes deal with about 30 seconds of the spider trying to bolt, but usually they just quickly get on me with a soft bump to the behind.

EDIT: Picture of me handling mine at bottom http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?246947-Huntsman-or-Fishing-Spider

 

[Philth]

Nope. They only occupy the southern regions of the US and NA. CA and ND are the two northernmost spots IIRC.

There is a population of Heteropoda venatoria living in NY if you know where to look for them

Later, Tom

 

[Ciphor]

There is a population of Heteropoda venatoria living in NY if you know where to look for them

Later, Tom

Hehe ya, NY does get some odd invasive spiders. I wonder if they require homes to breed in and around. I want one of these btw so if you could find some I'd buy http://bugguide.net/node/view/563791/bgimage