# PA Huntsman Spiders



## windscorpions1 (Apr 14, 2013)

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


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## Ciphor (Apr 15, 2013)

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


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## Vfox (Apr 15, 2013)

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.


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## windscorpions1 (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks, but are Dolomedes tenebrosus aggressive?


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## Ciphor (Apr 15, 2013)

Nope. A little skittish but pretty docile.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Vfox (Apr 15, 2013)

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.


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## Ciphor (Apr 15, 2013)

Vfox said:


> 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


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## Philth (Apr 16, 2013)

Ciphor said:


> 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


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## Ciphor (Apr 16, 2013)

Philth said:


> 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


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