Huntsman spider
Sparassidae
- Size
- Leg span up to 15cm
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Under bark, in sheds and inside houses and cars all over Australia
A big, flat, hairy, grey-brown spider with long legs held out sideways like a crab's.
The huntsman that follows you
This page is a backyard in eastern Australia, under the gum trees. Move your pointer and your bug will scuttle, march or whirr after you. Choose a different bug at the bottom, and tap the notes to open them.
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01 · WebNo web at all
It does not spin a web to catch food. It runs its prey down, which is how it got its name.
02 · FlatFlat as a coin
Its body is so flat that it can slide under loose bark, behind a picture or through the gap round a car door.
03 · SpeedVery fast indeed
It can cover a metre in a second, and runs sideways as easily as forwards.
04 · CarsThe spider behind the sun visor
Huntsmen often shelter in cars, and startle drivers by running across the windscreen.
05 · MumA careful mother
The female guards her flat white egg sac for weeks without eating, and helps the spiderlings out.
06 · BiteTimid, not dangerous
Its bite is not dangerous to people. It would much rather run, and it eats cockroaches.
Meet them all
Who's who in the backyard
Redback spider
Latrodectus hasselti
- Size
- Female body about 1cm, male 3 to 4mm
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Dry, sheltered corners: sheds, fences, pot plants, letterboxes and garden furniture
The female is a shiny black spider with a round body like a pea and a red stripe down her back.
Bull ant
Myrmecia
- Size
- Up to 2.5cm long
- Look for it
- October to December, then January to March
- Where
- Bushland, parks and gardens, in nests in the ground, mostly in the south and east
A very large, red-brown and black ant with long straight jaws and big eyes.
Green grocer cicada
Cyclochila australasiae
- Size
- About 4cm long, wingspan 11 to 13cm
- Look for it
- October to December, then January to January
- Where
- Trees in gardens, parks and forests of south-eastern Australia
A big, bright green insect with a broad head, red eyes set far apart, and clear, glassy wings.
Christmas beetle
Anoplognathus
- Size
- About 2 to 3cm long
- Look for it
- November to December, then January to January
- Where
- Eucalyptus woodland, parks and gardens in eastern Australia
A plump, shiny beetle the colour of polished brass, with spiky legs.
Garden mantis
Orthodera ministralis
- Size
- About 4cm long
- Look for it
- October to December, then January to March
- Where
- Gardens, shrubs and long grass across Australia
A slender, leaf-green insect with a triangular head, big eyes and spiny front legs folded as if in prayer.
Through the year
When to look for them
Australia's summer runs from December to February, so the green months here are the other way round from Britain's. The bug following you is shown in red.
Huntsman
Redback
Bull ant
Cicada
Christmas beetle
Praying mantis
Good to know
Six things about Australian bugs
Summer at Christmas
The seasons are reversed, so cicadas sing and Christmas beetles fly in December.
Shake out your shoes
People who live with redbacks check shoes, gloves and the underside of garden chairs. It soon becomes a habit.
Bites are rarely serious
Since an antidote for redback bites arrived in the 1950s, deaths have become almost unknown.
The sound of summer
A tree full of cicadas can be louder than a lawnmower. People wear earplugs to garden.
Beetles at the window
Christmas beetles were once so common that they piled up under street lights. There are far fewer now.
Gum trees feed them
Eucalyptus leaves feed Christmas beetles, stick insects and cicadas, and shelter spiders under the bark.
Australian bugs: 1 more place
Where next?
Photo gallery
Real photos of the bugs on this page. Tap one to see it bigger.
Huntsman spider
Redback spider
Bull ant
Green grocer cicada
Christmas beetle
Garden mantis
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons and are used under free licences. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews. Open a photo to see who took it.
Big, loud and mostly harmless
Australia's bugs have a fierce reputation, and one or two have earned it. But nearly all of them want nothing to do with people, and the country would not work without them.
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