All you Wanted to Know About Funnel-web Spiders
Common in Australia and Tasmania, the venomous Funnel - Web spiders
are large black arachnids having a shiny head and thorax. There are 36
species of Funnel - Web spiders and the body length of a large specimen
would range from 1.5 cm to 4.5 cm. The Funnel - Web spiders are so named
because their webs are funnel shaped.
Where do they live?
 Funnel-web spiders live in various spaces, they tend to live in burrows,
mainly in sheltered positions in the ground, in stumps, tree trunks or
ferns above the ground. The burrows where the funnel-web spiders live
remain lined with a stock of opaque white silk and many other strong
strands of silk that block the entrance.
The males and the females
These species of spiders have a smallish head and are usually glossy
black or brown in colour. Together with all these physical
characteristics and a large body cavity, funnel-web spiders resemble the
black widow. They are usually kin to Wolf spiders. The female funnel-web
spiders have a long life sometimes reaching up to 10 years. However, the
male funnel-web spiders are not long-lived because their female
counterparts eat them up after mating.
The female funnel-web spiders are sturdier than the males - they have
shorter legs and a bigger brown or bluish abdomen. The females have
small closely grouped eyes with their fang bases extending horizontally
from the front of their head with the long fangs lying parallel beneath.
Though the female funnel-web spiders are long-lived, their venoms are
not as severe as that of the males. The venom of the male funnel-web
spiders are more lethal in comparison to the females. The bite incidents
mostly occur when the male spiders looking for mates wander into human
habitats.
 Funnel-web spiders spend a long time in the place of its birth, they
usually stay for up to 2 years after the egg sac has opened. This habit
can be attributed to their long lives, which is uncommon among other
species of spiders, which leave their nests quickly. Owing to the fact
that its web is funnel shaped which it builds around its burrow, the
funnel-web spiders are easy to recognize.
How do they hunt?
Their funnel shaped webs make its easier for them to trap insects, which
get entangled in the funnel and fail to go out. In case, it manages to
free itself, the insects will still be surrounded by webs on all sides.
Diet of the spiders
Though most of the diet of these types of spiders constitute of insects,
researches have found that small frogs and lizards also form the food of
funnel-web spiders. Funnel-web spiders are extremely venomous; they
usually deliver a full venom when they bite and at times strike
repeatedly.
About the Sydney funnel-web spiders
Funnel-web spiders are very common in Australia. The
Sydney funnel-web
spiders are of medium to large in size, their body length ranges from
0.9 to 3 inches. The male spiders are smaller than the females. Sydney
funnel-web spiders are the only species in the genus Atraz and belong to
the family Hexathelidae.
Sydney funnel-web spiders and the northern tree funnel-web spiders are
the only Australian funnel-web spiders to have inflicted deadly bites to
humans. Sydney funnel-web spiders are mostly terrestrial spiders that
favour moist sand and clays. The spiders are known to be very aggressive
when provoked - they are attracted to water and survive up to
twenty-four hours under water. The spider is mainly distributed to the
South of the Hunter River to the Illawarra region and west to the Blue
Mountains in New South Wales.
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