You're WRONG about Australian Spiders

From funnel-webs and redbacks to huntsmen and tarantulas, Australian spiders have long held a reputation as the biggest and baddest that the world has to offer. But, how much truth does this widespread belief hold? Are Aussie spiders as big or as deadly as many would have you think? And how do they stack up against the spiders that other continents have to offer? The truth is, Australian spiders are a considerably more mediocre bunch than you might be expecting!
Cheers to the following KZbin channels for the footage I used in some parts of the video:
‪@MyWildBackyard‬
‪@daveslittlebeasties‬
‪@birdspiders‬
‪@TarantulaHaven‬
@josieking
Music:
Teller of the Tales by Kevin MacLeod
Link: incompetech.fi...
License: filmmusic.io/s...
Midnight Tale by Kevin MacLeod
Link: incompetech.fi...
License: filmmusic.io/s...
Suonatore di Liuto by Kevin MacLeod
Link: incompetech.fi...
License: filmmusic.io/s...
Village Ambiance by Alexander Nakarada
Link: filmmusic.io/s...
License: creativecommons...

[@BugsandBiology]

Sorry for the lack of recent uploads! Been a little burned out after completing this year's final exams - No, my short hiatus wasn't because of the white tail spider bite... Also feel free to join the channel's Discord server! discord.gg/ZttTefua

[@Pathowatch]

Yea it was :). Hope exams went well great video.

[@lunaeons45]

Man you talking about having a stain in a book from a spider brought back memories. Now im not scared of spiders, but i do startle very very easily, and i get absorded into books very easily. The amount of times ive been reading and a bug (normally spiders occasionally im lucky and its not a spider) will crawl on the book whike in reading and because i only see it out of my peripheral, i freak out and slam the book in shock. Only to realise what happened and get kinda bummed out that i accidentally killed a bug

[@BUGSMETROPOLISOFFICIALYT]

Great video! Very informative and amazing as usual!

[@BugsandBiology]

Thanks again!

[@icjich6724]

I dont think theres any spider but the one at the 9 min mark that grew on me that quickly the crazy eyeshadow along with its legs give it a dazzling appearance too bad i almost wasnt able to get info on it because youtuber decided to only name the source for the footage and not the actual spoder but thankfully the source had a more or less easy to find vid with its name also nice vid~

[@smashtoad]

Holy crap! What is that crazy jumper about 10 seconds in????

[@BugsandBiology]

Portia fimbriata. The genus Portia are regarded as the most intelligent spiders on earth. There’s several species, with P. fimbriata being the only one present in Australia.

[@keyharmonyschannel8509]

As an Australian, I approve of this video. Sorry I’m late 😅

[@christiansweden]

I try to inform people about this, yet they persist in their delusions. Costed me ~$2000 and 6 months of work that I will never get back 😔

[@mistsmogguru8378]

If you live in a climate that doesn't support these large spiders, when we see one on the TV, it's horrendous. I hate the things. Yuk

[@dustyhefner2211]

Lycan huntsman spider will trigger any arachnophobia sufferer they are insanely fast camouflaged and aggressive I've almost been tagged a few times by them it's not their fault though you can't see them until they move which unfortunately is to attack lol

[@PrisPrivate]

They don’t attack people :)

[@dustyhefner2211]

@@PrisPrivate I have had them come at me doing tree service multiple times hauling off downed trees they look like The Predator species mutated into spiders didn't leave my hands there long enough to find out if it would actually bite sometimes you just know

[@PrisPrivate]

Incorrect, that in fact not happen to you

[@dustyhefner2211]

@@PrisPrivate Right because you were there and seen it happen, all hail the Three Eyed Raven who sees all and knows all get bent helmet

[@PrisPrivate]

@@dustyhefner2211 I wasn’t there but I know it didn’t happen because spiders don’t do that

[@christiansweden]

*escaping Australia because large spiders* *moving to Brazil* 😆

[@P.ilhaformosatherium]

SPIDER IN BRAZIL: YOU FOOL

[@beccapenny]

Fantastic video, as always!

[@Lightnang_]

Idk what people are talking about. Australian spider and spiders in general are 🔥 and absolutely amazing and interesting! I don’t know why they have such bad reputations and people think that they are associated with Halloween 😢. poor spiders

[@aeidel]

1:29 wht happens if that spider 🕷️ jumps on your face,it's too big. I'll be dead if I see one of those😂. Here in Kerala, I'm so scared of Huntsman spider and orb web spiders. But I like orb web spiders, they are so fascinating. When I see it I try to test the endurance limit of its web like putting small sticks, leaves like that😅.

[@Kidferatu1922]

I Totally Agree Spiders 🕷 do definitely deserve better and need to be treated Better I Personally Love Spiders 🕷 and I even have four Pet Spiders 🕷 🕷 a Green Bottle Blue Tarantula 🕷 a Mexican Red Rump Tarantula 🕷 a small Wolf Spider 🕷 and a super tiny Spider 🕷 I’m So Glad you Agree that Spiders 🕷 deserve better 😀 it’s definitely Amazing 🤩 that you Like Spiders 🕷 like I do I Love Spiders 🕷

[@effy_kujo]

It's probably got some to do with their fangs vv many legs and exoskeleton 😂

[@pauln6803]

​@@effy_kujo ^ This ^ I still have issues from a childhood (more early teens) experience. That said, I'm still fascinated with them - hence why I frequent various aracho channels.

[@Nullified573]

SPIDERS ARE UNDERRATED

[@bundleofbasil]

"By concerning, I, of course, mean I don't have enough" 4:09 😂 I love the dry humor. It pairs very well with the relaxing style of your videos. Great footage and informative, as always! 😄

[@BugsandBiology]

Glad you enjoyed it! I find humour and a relaxing style are a very effective pairing when it comes to presenting “scary” animals in a non-threatening way.

[@allthingsbegin]

Another excellent video, narrated very nicely, and always a pleasure to watch!

[@BugsandBiology]

Thanks! Felt bad for not posting in so long.

[@allthingsbegin]

@@BugsandBiology hey you have to do to and at least you're back now! That's all that matters!

[@craigpater6278]

​@@BugsandBiologyis it true that white tailed spiders do not deserve their reputation for being dangerous and causing necrosis around the site of the bite ? I got bitten by a spider a few months ago I'm not sure what kind of spider it was because I got bitten in my sleep but it caused an itchy lump near the site of the bite and two small puncture marks on my leg not sure if it was a white tailed spider that I got bitten by but white tailed spiders are very common in the area where I live. It could have been any species of spider that I got bitten by since I got bitten in my sleep but it only caused a mild reaction anyway.

[@foursight583]

So glad to see you back! You make some of the best videos about Arthropods on the whole site.

[@bugtalk84]

That's something I can agree with.

[@BugsandBiology]

That’s one hell of a compliment! Much appreciated.

[@hilliard665]

I just went out yesterday looking for spiders for my garden as I've got a caterpillar problem at the moment 😅 I found 2 small Spiders I couldn't identify, they were only 1-2mm big, I found an Australian green jumping spider and I also discovered a whip spider, that was super cool but a quick google search said they eat other spiders so I let him go pretty quickly lol

[@lunaeons45]

I mean to be fair to the whip spider, most spiders eat other spiders. Like if you are a big spider you absolutely eat smaller spiders if they come into your path.

[@stefanostokatlidis4861]

North America has large spiders too. Tarantulas start from the southern US, continue with great diversity in Mexico, and then run through Central America, which geologically is a part of North America. They are plentiful in the Caribbean as well. As the South American ones, they are capable of flicking urticating hairs too. We even have a few tarantulas and large huntsmen here in Europe too. If you remove the oddball species like the funnelwebs, the Australian spider fauna isn’t that different from something that you encounter here in Greece and the rest of Europe. Wolf spiders, jumping spiders, orb weavers, widows and more. I believe that all this demonization of Australian animals comes from a general distrust and or hate for ectotherms and by extension the climates and continents that harbor them by north European culture, which considered them repulsive, primitive and by extension their climates and habitats as undeveloped. This culture has achieved a lot, but this negative perception of those animals is a disappointment. We see complaints against reptiles and arachnids from tourists to several other warmer areas as well. Placental mammals and social insects can also killl, but nobody complains in the same way as with spiders and snakes for example. I think that Australians themselves are used to them and don’t exaggerate as much nowadays. After all, we see so many posts about coexistence with huntsman spiders that eat the cockroaches. They make exaggerate to scare the tourists. By the way, I noticed that my male Grammostola pulchripes had molted during the video.

[@southron_d1349]

Ah yes. The myth of the deadly and gigantic Australian spiders. Great shots of all those lovely spiders. I've always found jumping spiders in particular to be very endearing. I have Densey Clyne's "A Guide to Australian Spiders" which has sat alongside Keith Davey's "Australian Lizards" and Cayley's well-known "What Bird Is That?" since I was about 7 years old. I read those books many times when I was a kid. They're a little dated now but still treasures.

[@BugsandBiology]

I still occasionally go through the wildlife guides (and dinosaur books) I’d read as a kid for nostalgia’s sake. Dated for sure, but, like you said, still absolute treasures.

[@ThePollaton]

Aren’t spiders just silly looking. I mean way too many legs and however many eyes and spitting silk out of their butt end. 😂 why would anyone be scared of them. 😂😂

[@BugsandBiology]

When you look past the “creepy” aspect, there is something very goofy and endearing about how spiders move.

[@P.ilhaformosatherium]

The funny thing is that Despite some being big enough for you to see all their intricate details and Tagmata They are still small enough for you to pick up with zero effort serikodiastids Or really not What I would call Alarming In fact Most i've actually face are pretty docile In fact , ironically The only spider who managed the tag with their Chelicerae Was a juvenile huntsman I guess I must have accidentally Groped her For her to react like that But still Huntsman's are far from medically significant And it was my fault that spider bite me They usually don't bite Hominin apes unprovoked Fear mongering Arthropods is never a rational decision Especially when Said Arachnophobe Knows F All about the animal in question In my 2 year living in Sydney, Australia I have sadly yet to find Latrodectus hasselti nor Atrax robustus the 2 spiders I was hoping to find and free handle 😅

[@ichthyovenator3351]

How can I be wrong about Australian spiders if I love them though??

[@BugsandBiology]

Well you got me there haha

[@Mr_Brinks]

Great video, awesome to see someone working so hard to highlight Australian invertebrates species to the rest of the world without sensationalising them .

[@loyamarioantonio3375]

I love your videos, could you show encounters with wolf spiders? 🙏🏼

[@BugsandBiology]

I’d love to, but I barely ever see them locally. Which is a shame, cause the more remote parts of Australia have got some absolutely amazing ones.

[@loyamarioantonio3375]

@@BugsandBiology I hope you can show species of wolf spiders soon. Even so, the species you show are always impressive.

[@Euro.Patriot]

There's a fuckton of tiny ones where I live.

[@bugtalk84]

People like to sensationalize how big Australian spiders are, Australia is home to lots of SMALL spiders.

[@BugsandBiology]

Yeah that’s the other thing. Most spiders you’ll see here are tiny. People like to make it seem as though Australian spiders are always either big or deadly, but most are neither.

[@gg_sam7847]

And this is just Spiders, Australia is the only inhabited continent that doesn't have a large carnivore. I don't ever go outside with an inkling in my mind that I could be ripped apart by a bear or some sort of Big Cat

[@jayaneyon9316]

You guys do have some really cool and unique spiders though. But even in north america mainly near mexico i think we have a tarantula bigger than your biggest one.

[@callanmurphy9807]

Some people are more sensitive to the venoms, though i do agree that the amputation theory is far-fetched. My wifes cousin was bitten several times in bed and had a few infections arise and had multiple surgeries though no amputations, it still done some damage to her.

[@tarantulasarecool]

Absolute brilliant video Jackson! Yay! Great work thank you xoxo 😊

[@christiansweden]

It's like "a rat the size of a cat."

[@Bunny-ns5ni]

I wish more Australian spider species were available in the pet trade. So many are unique and interesting. Maybe one day.

[@BugsandBiology]

It’s a shame how strict our export laws are

[@MARKYMARKSSPIDERSNBUGS]

Im in the uk and have just been given a small Selenocosmia crassipes. Have you made a video about these specifically? There doesn't seem to be much believable info available. One report of one carrying an adult rat across a road and others of them barking like a dog seem unbelievable tbh 😂. I trust you to not exaggerate for effect

[@BugsandBiology]

The spider called "Selenocosmia crassipes" almost certainly represents a bunch of species lumped under the same name. Australian tarantulas all look extremely similar to one another, and can often only be distinguished on the basis of very subtle traits.

[@effy_kujo]

Great video! As always, very informative & interesting. I hope this video gets picked up by the algorithm & continues to help people like me who used to be irrationally afraid of our long-legged friends due to naivety & ignorance 💜🕷💜

[@BugsandBiology]

Much appreciated! The algorithm can be tough to please but I gotta be grateful for what I’ve got. Plenty of channels struggling much more than me.

[@andrewsmallacombe9468]

... by "concerning" I mean "not enough" I'm glad I wasn't drinking coffee while watching this.

[@crassflam8830]

Nice Porche!

[@sandlmv8301]

Shhh don't let them know this country is actually habitable!

[@BugsandBiology]

I’m sure the magpies will keep the tourists at bay

[@neodymium8936]

What's it with these "do not feature an animal as harmless in TV shows when they're not"? Spiders only kill 0 to 5 humans per year in the world. So same goes with dogs or bees? They're always featured as harmless in kids shows even if they kill much more people per year than spiders. Should we also ban them from children shows as well?

[@BugsandBiology]

Exactly! Barely anyone takes issue with children's shows presenting dogs as harmless, perfect beings - even breeds that are statistically dangerous. Yet as soon as someone suggests spiders aren't as deadly as often believed, it's a problem.

[@neodymium8936]

@@BugsandBiology It's so sad to see that we're creating a generation of kids who are taught to hate an animal only based on its physical appearance. It's with this type of misinformation that racism exists.

[@neodymium8936]

​@@BugsandBiology By the way, I want to ask you something not related to that. I got my first huntsman a few days ago, an adult female Barylestis scutatus, 3 cm in length, I put a water dish in her enclosure and she doesn't seem to drink from it. Do huntsman spiders need a water dish, or are they drinking from the moisture of their enclosure ? She doesn't seem unhappy, she has many places to hide like bark, fake plant and even coconut, and she eats well (I feed her Red Runner roaches), but I don't see her drinking. I'm getting a bit worried about her.

[@Arionid]

in defense of the peppa pig episode, I was the sort of kid into bugs and gross dares and would even catch bees by hand (until I found out), theres were loads of brown and black redback spiders in plain sight along the buildings of my primary school, and if not for being told at one point that redbacks are deadly, theres a chance I might have bothered one until I found out, say what you will now about redback bite survival statistics, but children 6-12 may not handle neurotoxins as well Even if they arent deadly it may not be good to teach gullible kids to f around if theres a chance they can find out 💀

[@BugsandBiology]

Yeah my point about the Peppa Pig episode wasn’t that. It was that banning it in Australia because spiders aren’t “completely” harmless here could apply practically anywhere else too. Australian spiders aren’t unique in that regard.

[@Arionid]

@@BugsandBiology yeah episode should probably be banned in other countries too 💀

[@christiansweden]

Kangaroos can kill.

[@Euro.Patriot]

I've gone out of my way searching for a funnelweb for over a year and the biggest spiders I manage to find are golden orbs and social huntsmen.

[@Euro.Patriot]

I thought tarantulas were part of the mygalamorphae (or whatever it's called) family or genus with funnels amd trapdoors.

[@BugsandBiology]

I’d love to find social huntsmen. They are in my area, but I’ve never seen them.

[@BugsandBiology]

Tarantulas are Mygalomorphae. The Mygalomorphae aren’t a family, they’re a much larger group.

[@tobiasware]

Well done, Mr Skinny-Legs. Your myth-busting, educational message is always appropriate and timely. I'll spread your link far and wide.

[@VALI4NTY0UTH]

Man how I wish I was armed with the knowledge you have especially with the people spreading false information everywhere on the internet.

[@bugtalk84]

It's such a shame that the internet is a hotbed for misinformation, luckily there are people out there to try and change that.

[@BugsandBiology]

My knowledge is in constant need of a brush-up. Definitely not above the occasional mistake. And there’s more pressure to avoid blunders the bigger your audience gets.

[@yellowjackboots2624]

I'm not Australian, but this video smacks of treachery.

[@Chickenandfriends-dj4vt]

Brilliant video as usual mate. It's very refreshing to hear factual information about our Aussie spiders rather than the usual bullshit.

[@snicklesnockle7263]

Funnel web would like to speak to you

[@BugsandBiology]

I talk about funnel-webs in the video. They’re slow, generally timid, and the lethality of their bites is often overstated.

[@AshKingChannel]

Hi, what spider is this 2:25 ?

[@BugsandBiology]

Argiope ocyaloides. A small orb-weaver that spins webs flat against the surface of tree trunks.

[@AshKingChannel]

@@BugsandBiology thanks!

[@torgomaghanyan7633]

Still would travel in s america, east and south asia plus Australia with flamethrower.

[@martinkaleczinski9481]

You´re watching the same YT channels as I do, great taste this man has.👍

[@DJLucas-xv7oe]

I've always wanted to hunt for creatures in Australia.

[@filipsebik6138]

Nice video, but talking about large spiders and showing a H. Maculata made me laugh so much :D That 11cm huge tarantula from africa is weak at size, but great with venom potency. Still not lethal

[@BugsandBiology]

I was struggling to find decent footage of something like P. muticus or H. gigas. Besides, H. maculata is still bigger than most Australian tarantulas, and definitely meaner.

[@vitorbonifacio3550]

i live in the middle of tarantula migration path in california :)

[@itsOnMARS2023]

One of my favourite channels, a deep dive into some of my favourite topics, this channel is always very informative! A pleasure to watch

[@BugsandBiology]

Much appreciated!

[@fantomghost6213]

Great video mate. Keep up the good work!

[@Garbagefly]

I would love to add a hydronyche to my collection but idt we can get those here in Illinois

[@BugsandBiology]

To be honest, funnel-webs are kinda underwhelming as pets. They’re just a generic burrowing Mygalomorph behaviour wise. Although the webs can look cool.

[@ellysejoann4806]

Awesome once again 🙏👏😁

[@felineflixie]

Ahhh a new upload. Love it. Also i gotta say Australian tarantulas dont get enough love or notice.

[@BugsandBiology]

They don’t get enough notice by the general populace but too much notice in the invert keeping hobby.

[@felineflixie]

@@BugsandBiology yeah. But anywhere outside Australia like almost no-one knows they exist lmaaaao

[@Spiderdan-59]

I just purchased a Brazilian giant white knee sling, it's was marked /written down as being from Australia 🇦🇺 until I corrected it 😂🕸🕸🖤🇬🇧

[@BugsandBiology]

Haha, I wish we had those in Australia. Our tarantulas are all brown.

[@Spiderdan-59]

@@BugsandBiology what about the whistling spider I thought they were black

[@BugsandBiology]

Some of our tarantulas may exhibit black post-molt colouration, but they’re normally brown.

[@DJLucas-xv7oe]

You think the brave wilderness Channel improved?

[@BugsandBiology]

Haven’t paid attention to him for a while. But I will say that his camera crew seem to be better presenters than Peterson.

[@DJLucas-xv7oe]

@@BugsandBiology yeah, you're probably right.

[@Azhizi]

Nosir I think hyo ur the wrong 1 here like comon my wife’s bf was BITTEN on the go by a white tail spider and his finger rot off and h w died this is misinfo nd I no your wrong bc I spider asakid but dw Costa Rica is safe

[@BarksAtCrazy]

*AROOOOOOO*

[@PunishMeDaddy]

this one is the most deathly spitder in the whole

[@BugsandBiology]

Which one? And in the whole what?

[@BarksAtCrazy]

*GRRRRR*