Grey huntsman

Grey huntsmen are a small species of Isopeda common to south east Queensland. they are easily recognised from their shiny and bulbous chelicerae. these spiders live on eucalyptus trees but are commonly associated to melaleuca.

Grey huntsmen, like other species, are extremely fast and can run sideways and squeeze through small crevices with their flattened bodies. They hunt with sensory hairs (setae), which let the huntsman pick up tiny air movements and vibrations that could be coming from potential prey.

This species lays eggs within an egg sac. They secure the egg sac under loose tree bark and stay with their eggs until they hatch. The slings hatch after a month or two, and hundreds of spiderlings may emerge from a single egg sac. The spiderlings cluster around the mother for a week or two after they emerge and don't eat each other at this stage. Once they leave, if the slings find each other, this usually results in cannibalism.

Like all other invertebrates, huntsmen moult their exoskeleton periodically to grow larger. To moult, the huntsman requires enough vertical space and a dark, quiet area without disturbances such as predators. The moulting process can take between 10 and 40 minutes; smaller huntsmen do take less time to moult. It's easy to distinguish males from females once the huntsmen mature as the males have large and swollen pedipalps and are generally less brightly coloured, and have a more petite body during the exact body length.