Banded Huntsman - Holconia

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Banded Huntsman - Holconia

[Public Domain] 14 Feb 2004 Dylan O'Donnell
CATEGORY : Species
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I had intentions of photographing the Aurora Australis. Camera in tow I drove into the hills on the outskirts of town and up to a deserted homestead. I parked the 4wd and prepared to camp, the sky was completely clouded over. Disappointed I walked into the house with a torch and my camera/tripod. Immediately as I entered the front door, on my right hand side hung this large banded huntsman, halfway through killing and eating its latest capture.

Without any light, and not wanting to use the flash at such close range, I set up the tripod and opened the shutter. I circled the torch around the subject, trying not to destroy the shadows, or ruin the definition of the spider. It worked, but was devoid of any real colour other than the sepia tones it came out with.

Huntsmen do not use webs to catch prey, and are rarely seen using their webs at all. Instead they manually hunt their prey using tooth and limb to devour their prey. They are often precieved as the ”good” spiders to have around the house, as they eat smaller spiders and insects.

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