Funnel-web Spiders
Funnel-web spiders, the most notorious members of our spider fauna, are found in eastern Australia.
Blue Mountains Funnel-web Spider, female
M Gray
© Australian Museum
There are at least 40 species of funnel-web spiders and they are currently placed in two genera: Hadronyche and Atrax. They are medium to large spiders, varying from 1 cm - 5 cm body length. Males are more lightly built than females. Body colour can vary from black to brown but the hard carapace covering the front part of the body is always sparsely haired and glossy. The lateral pair of spinning organs (spinnerets) at the end of the abdomen are longer and easily visible in Atrax spp. but often shorter in Hadronyche spp.
Not all species are known to be dangerous, but several are renowned for their highly toxic and fast acting venom. The male of Atrax robustus, the Sydney Funnel-web Spider, is probably responsible for all recorded deaths (13) and many medically serious bites. This remarkable spider has become a part of Sydney's folklore and, although no deaths have been recorded since the introduction of an antivenom in 1981, it remains an icon of fear and fascination for Sydneysiders.
Identifying Funnel-web Spiders
- Shiny carapace
- Deeply curved groove (fovea)
- No obvious body pattern
- Eyes closely grouped
- Four spinnerets, largest with last segment longer than wide
- Lower lip (labium) studded with short, blunt spines
- Modified male second leg (usually with a mating spur or grouped spines)
- An obvious, conical projection or 'spur' on the lower side of the middle segment (tibia) of the second leg (about halfway along) is characteristic of the genus Atrax, exemplified by the Sydney Funnel-web Spider, Atrax robustus. Males of all other funnel-web species (currently placed in the genus Hadronyche) either have a blunt, spine-covered tibial swelling, or a few spines only, on the second leg. Note also the mating organ on the male palp.
Suspects gallery
These spiders are funnel-webs:
- Sydney Funnel-web Spider (Atrax robustus) male
- Southern Tree Funnel-web Spider (Hadronyche cerberea)
These spiders are sometimes mistaken for funnel-webs:
- Sydney Brown Trapdoor Spider (Misgolas rapax) male
- Sydney Brown Trapdoor Spider (Misgolas rapax) female
- Mouse Spider (Missulena sp) female
- Bymaniella near Guyra, New South Wales
- Black house spider (Badumna insignis)
Where Funnel-web spiders live
Funnel-web spiders live in the moist forest regions of the east coast and highlands of Australia from Tasmania to north Queensland. They are also found in the drier open forests of the Western Slopes of the Great Dividing Range and South Australia's Gulf ranges. Funnel-webs of the genus Atrax have a much smaller distribution than do the more diverse members of the genus Hadronyche. The Sydney Funnel-web Spider, Atrax robustus, is found from Newcastle to Nowra and west as far as Lithgow in New South Wales.
In Sydney suburbia, funnel-web spiders mostly live in the moist upland forest areas of the Hornsby Plateau to the north and the Woronora Plateau to the south, where sheltered burrow habitats abound in both bushland and gardens. The dry, flatter areas of western Sydney and the Cumberland Plain have fewer funnel-webs, their numbers picking up again in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. Two funnel-web species are common in the Sydney region - the Sydney Funnel-web Spider (Atrax robustus) and the Southern Tree-dwelling Funnel-web Spider (Hadronyche cerberea).
While Sydney Funnel-webs were never restricted to the leafy north shore region as some would have it, Sydney real estate does give a rough guide to funnel-web density - the more expensive the area the greater the funnel-web population (the dry, sandy eastern suburbs excepted).
Within Hadronyche several groups of related species are currently recognised. These species groups are:
- cerberea group, found entirely south of the Hunter River into Tasmania, except for a single species, the Northern Tree-dwelling Funnel-web Spider, H. formidabilis, the largest funnel-web spider (body length up to 5 cm)
- infensa group, found north of the Hunter River region into south-east Queensland
- adelaidensis group, isolated in the dry forests of the Gulf Ranges of South Australia; the only trap-door building funnel-web spider
- a single species isolated in the wet forests of the Illawarra region of New South Wales
- 'lamington' group, several species confined to discrete rainforest areas in New South Wales and Queensland
- anzes group, a single, far northern outlier species in rainforests north of Cairns, north Queensland.
Sheltered retreats
Funnel-webs burrow in moist, cool, sheltered habitats - under rocks, in and under rotting logs, crevices, rot and borer holes in rough-barked trees. In gardens, they prefer rockeries and dense shrubberies, and are rarely found in more open situations like lawns. The most characteristic sign of a Funnel-web's burrow is the irregular silk trip-lines that radiate out from the burrow entrance of most species. These trip-lines alert the spider to possible prey, mates or danger.
Rain may flood burrows and the temporary retreats of male Funnel-webs, causing an increase in their activity. Funnel-webs are very vulnerable to drying out, so high humidity is more favourable to activity outside the burrow than dry conditions. Most activity is nocturnal. Gardeners and people digging in soil may encounter Funnel-webs in burrows at any time of the year.
Early warning system
Funnel-web burrows are distinguished from other holes in the ground by the presence of a series of irregular silk 'trip-lines' radiating out from the entrance. If a spider burrow has obvious silk trip-lines around its rim you can be fairly certain that it belongs to a funnel-web spider.
The silk entrance to the burrow of a Sydney Funnel-web Spider has a more or less well-defined funnel-like silk entrance 'vestibule' within which is a collapsed, tunnel-like structure with one or two slit-like openings. The tunnel leads back into a short surface chamber from which the burrow descends. The burrow is often weakly silk-lined and rarely more than 30 cm deep. The spider (hunting mostly at night) sits just inside the entrance with its front legs on the trip-lines. When a beetle, cockroach, or small skink, typical items of funnel web food, walks across the lines, the spider senses the vibrations and races out to grab its meal. The prey is quickly subdued by an injection of venom from the spider's large fangs. Funnel-web spiders may also forage on the surface in the vicinity of the burrow.
Holes are normally found in moist, shaded areas like rockeries, dense shrubs, logs and leaf litter. A small, neat hole lined with a collar of silk which does not extend more than a centimetre from the rim could belong to a trapdoor spider (the common Brown Trapdoor Spider does not build a 'door' for its burrow). Other possible hole owners include mouse spiders, wolf spiders or insects (most commonly cicadas or ants).
The tree dwellers
Most funnel-webs are ground dwellers but a few live in trees. The largest of all funnel-webs is the Northern Tree Funnel-web Spider, Hadronyche formidabilis, reaching 4 cm - 5 cm body length. These spiders live in the wet forests of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland and have been found over 30 m above ground. While many have their retreats in surface-opening branch rot-holes, some spiders appear to live and feed entirely inside the deadwood pipe of large forest trees like Tallow-wood, feeding on beetles and other insects inside this rotting wood habitat. The smaller Southern Tree Funnel-web Spider, H. cerberea, is common in the Sydney and Central Coast regions, but ranges all over eastern New South Wales south of the Hunter River. The abdomen sometimes has a light plum colouration. They make silk-lined retreats in holes and rot-crevices in a variety of rough-barked trees, including Melaleuca (paperbarks), Banksia, Casuarina (she-oaks) and eucalypts. The exposed web surface tunnel is disguised by a covering of bark or wood particles. There are often two entrances, each with trip-lines running out across the bark. Prey ranging from beetles to tree frogs are taken by these spiders.
Wandering and mating
After they mature, male spiders leave their burrows and become wanderers, especially during the summer/autumn months, looking for females in their burrows. Chemicals called pheromones in the female's tripline silk help the male locate and identify her burrow. Well before mating, the male spins a small silk sperm web, onto which he deposits a droplet of sperm from his abdominal genital pore. The sperm it is then taken up and stored in the mating organs at the ends of the male's palps.
The spur and/or spines on the male's second legs are used to hold the female during mating. During mating, considerable sparring occurs until the female accepts the male. Both spiders rear up with first legs raised against each other, while the male engages his mating spurs across the bases of the female's second legs. The male then inseminates the female by inserting the tips of his palpal organs into the female's genital opening on the underside of her abdomen.
The male factor
Only male spiders have been responsible for all recorded funnel-web envenomation deaths - why is it so? The answer lies in a combination of spider behaviour, venom chemistry, and even colonial politics.
During the warmer months of the year (November-April) male funnel-webs wander about at night looking for females in their burrows. Males wandering in suburban gardens may sometimes become trapped inside houses or garages, especially those with concrete slab foundations where entry points under doors are easily reached.
The venom of the male Sydney Funnel-web Spider is very toxic. This is because male spider venom contains a unique component called Robustoxin (d-Atracotoxin-Ar1) that severely and similarly affects the nervous systems of humans and monkeys, but not of other mammals (a difficulty for 'creation science' which believe in a special creation for humanity). The absence of this chemical from female Sydney Funnel-web Spider venom explains why bites by these females have not caused any deaths. However, not all funnel-web species show such a large gender-based difference in venom toxicity. Almost four million people live in the Sydney region, the centre of the distribution of the Sydney Funnel-web Spider. This makes the likelihood of human encounters with this spider much greater than in less urbanised areas like the Blue Mountains. This situation, of course, stems from a political decision made in London more than 220 years ago, to establish a colony in 'New South Wales' at Sydney Cove, a site nominated by Captain James Cook after his voyage of exploration.
Taken together, these ingredients produce a recipe for unexpected and potentially life-threatening encounters.
Funnel-web Spider antivenom
An antivenom for the Sydney Funnel-web Spider was first developed for clinical use in 1981 by Dr Struan Sutherland and his team at the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories. No deaths have occurred since its introduction. At the same time Sutherland experimentally established the effectiveness of the compression/immobilisation first aid technique for funnel-web bite. Much of the venom for this research was supplied through a funnel-web venom milking program at the Australian Reptile Park. This antivenom has also been effective against other dangerous funnel-web spider species. As well, it has been successfully used in cases of mouse spider envenomation. Antivenom is held at major city and regional hospitals.
Other dangerous funnel-web species
All suspected bites by any funnel-web spider should be regarded as potentially dangerous and treated accordingly. Besides Atrax robustus several other species have been sporadically involved in life threatening envenomations. They include the Blue Mountains Funnel-web Spider (Hadronyche versuta) and the Southern and Northern Tree Funnel-web Spiders (H. cerberea and H. formidabilis).
First aid for Funnel-web Spider bites - why and how
Despite the availability of an effective antivenom, correct and immediate first aid is still an essential requirement for funnel-web spider (and mouse spider) envenomation. The recommended first aid technique is pressure/immobilisation (as for snake bite) and this must be done as quickly as possible.The pressure/immobilisation technique compresses surface tissues and reduces muscle movement, greatly slowing the lymphatic flow.
Spider bites usually take place on a limb. A pressure bandage should be applied as soon as possible after a bite has occurred. This should be applied as tightly as for a sprained ankle, starting from the bitten area and binding the entire limb above the bite. A rigid splint should be bound onto the limb to prevent limb movement. The patient should be kept as quiet as possible and medical attention sought. If possible, keep the spider for positive identification.
Funnel-web Spider FAQs
Can funnel-webs jump?
Despite what many people think, funnel-webs can' t jump. However they can move quickly, and they will rear up when irritated and make sudden lunges when striking
Can funnel-webs swim?
Wandering funnel-webs spiders often fall into backyard swimming pools and they can stay alive for hours. They can't swim but they can trap a small bubble of air in hairs around the abdomen, which aids both breathing and floating, so it should not be assumed that a spider on a pool bottom has drowned. As they gradually get waterlogged, their buoyancy decreases and they eventually sink and drown. Funnel-webs have been known to survive 24-30 hours under water.
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Tags spider, dangerous, funnel-web, venom,
96 comments
@zoesmyth - The spider you have found is neither a funnel-web or a trapdoor. It is what most people know as an 'Australian Tarantula' and is in the family Theraphosidae. you can get some more information here http://www.thedailylink.com/australiantarantulas/index.html
@fish4fish3 - Its hard to give you a definitive answer but from your pics the spider IS NOT a Sydney Funnel web, but it is another type of funnel web. Given the lack of a tibial modification on leg 2 and the location of the spider it is most likely to be Hadronyche macquariensis.
@pacha The spider in your pic is a Brush footed Trapdoor spider in the family Barychelidae . Without seeing the spider this is all we can say. If you contact the Queensland Museum they should be able to help you.
@MattO - From your pics of burrow and spider it looks like you have trapdoor spiders in your backyard. If you want a positive ID of the spider you could take it to the SA Musuem. Trapdoor spiders are not considered dangerous, but if you still feel they are a danger to your family you could contact a pest controller.
@MarkB1 - Great photo! It does look like a trapdoor spider, but if you want a positive ID you could get it identified at the QLD musuem. In terms of identifing Funnel-web spiders there are a combination of features. Long finger-like spinnerets are one of the features but you can't go off this alone as other spiders have them too. If you have a look on our Funnel-web page under dangerous spiders you can see a list of identifing features. If you do come accross a funnel-web spider our advice is to leave it alone, if it is in your house but not posing any danger to you or your family you could remove it and put it outside.
@dunnef - The spiders you have found in the house are probably males, the males wander in search of females. The wet weather we've had over the last few months is most likely the reason why they out, they should become less common now we are in winter. To keep them out of you house make sure you always keep doors shut and if you are bringing in anything from outside make sure you check it, they like to hitch rides.
@ slartibartfast - Thanks for your comment, however the holes you are refering too are most likely trap door spider holes. Most people confuse trapdoor spiders and their holes for funnel web spiders. If you have a picture of the holes we would be able to give you some more information about what lives there.
@kerry - Studies have shown that Sydney Funnel web venom is harmful to primates. Other spiders venom has not been specifically tested as they aren't known to kill humans (with the exception of Red Backs).
Dave - Funnel-web spiders won't climb walls and enter through windows. Some people have found them on 2nd floors or in apartments and they most likely hitched a ride in clothing or foot wear that had previously been on the ground.
Giftedmum - its difficult to say what type of burrows these are but judging from your picture they are not Funnel web spiders.
Hi Adam,
You'll find that the spider population isn't nearly as scary as you've been led to believe. Around 4.5 million people live in Sydney without too many problems. Of course, there are a greater number and variety of spiders here than in the UK because it is a warmer climate.
The main spiders of concern are the Funnel-Webs and the Red-Back. Bites are rare and no-one has died from spider bite for over 30yrs as anti-venom is available in hospitals.
There is plenty of information available on the internet, including our web site, concerning these spiders. If you find a spider you think may be dangerous, get it identified by an expert. Most spiders are relatively harmless.
hello Bradley, many kinds of ground-dwelling spiders are effectively trapped by swimming pools - in fact one of the ways we catch spiders for research is by using mini "swimming pools" - ie setting a plastic tub containing preservative into the ground. Your spiders could be funnel webs, they could also be other mygalomophs such as trapdoor or mouse spiders or they might be other large ground hunting spiders such as some species of wolf spiders (or all of the above and more!). If you send in a photo or two I will try to identify them for you. As a precaution you shouldn't handle the drowned spiders because they are reknown for recovering unexpectedly after considerable periods underwater. Apart from when they get flooded out of burrows by rain the main reason male spiders wander is to find females. So the time of year is dependent on the breeding cycle of the spider. Female funnel web spiders hunt from the mouth of their burrows, so do not usually wander, whereas female wolf spiders are active foragers.
hi Leanne, your photo shows an eastern mouse spider, Missulena bradleyi. See my earlier reply about mouse spiders to Margaret on 23 April.
Hello Angela, funnel web spiders do not make that kind of a web at all - they live in burrows in sheltered areas. So no need to worry about those in your car! The most likely culprit is a Steatoda. They are related to redback spiders but far less dangerous and there are a number of species that live around humans and in bush areas. There is a paragraph about these spiders on the Redback spider page http://australianmuseum.net.au/Redback-Spiders/
Hello Carolyn, the web does look like that of a mygalomorph spider, but there is rather more silk around the entrance than I would expect for a funnelweb spider. I suspect it is some kind of trapdoor spider, but I cannot be sure without seeing the web's occupant.
Hello Margaret,
Your photo shows a male eastern mouse spider, Missulena bradleyi. There is information on mouse spiders at http://australianmuseum.net.au/Mouse-Spiders. Whilst mouse spiders do not usually cause problems their venom is potentially dangerous and it is recommended to treat all bites as for a funnel-web bite.
Hello Jimmy S,
The first of the two images you send appears to be the burrow of the Brown Trapdoor (currently Misgolas rappax). It is regarded as a harmless ground dweller which does look superficially like a funnelweb to many people, but is easily distinguished as these spiders are 'matt' rather than 'shiny' like a funnelweb, and the wandering male trapdoors have little 'boxing glove' shaped ends to their palps (the little leg like structures either side of the mouth. The photo in the tree, however, looks a little unusual. Is it possible to take a more detailed close-up of these tree entrances and send it again? There is a tree dwelling close relative of the funnelwebs but your photo looks a little different to the typical form of the burrow entrance.
Thanks in advance.
Martyn Robinson
@Glen86: the lack of extra webbing/silk triplines at the hole entrance suggests that this burrowing spider is not a Funnel-web species, but without seeing the spider it would be hard to hazard a guess - most likely some kind of Trapdoor (not all species make the 'trapdoor'). Even if it was a Funnel-web, I would suggest leaving it alone - spiders really don't bother us unless we bother them! If someone was to garden in this location, sturdy gloves, covered shoes and a spade would be the best idea in any case.
@vikrmac: the spider does look like a species of huntsman, which come in a range of sizes - there are several species with striped legs, plus one with a marking on the underside of the abdomen (the Badge or Shield Huntsman). We hope to put more images up soon on our Huntsman Spiders page, but there is some information there already about different species.
HI Jakal - this spider is most likely to be a female wolf spider - your description of its body being covered with young is very typical of this species, plus the overall body shape, colour/pattern and the lack of long, fingerlike spinnerets also preclude it being a funnel-web.
Hi kettle - your spider is probably not too likely to be a funnel-web. The male funnel-webs that come into houses at ground level occasionally, do so accidentally as they wander during late summer looking for females - but it would be quite difficult for them to be in an apartment five storeys up. Funnel-web spiders are ground-dwelling spiders that do not live in 'nests' or any type of colony, and definitely don't live in buildings.However, to be sure, as we can't really tell what the spider might be without seeing it, you could bring the spider into the Museum for identification (if you live in Sydney) or perhaps take a photograph and attach it here as part of a comment, for identification.
Hi Psmith - the spider you've photographed looks like a male Sydney Brown Trapdoor Spider - the 'boxing glove' palps and the double spur on the first leg are the best clues for this particular species.
Hello Doug,
Your spider looks like one of the mouse spiders (genus Missulena) to me. They are not considered dangerous but one or two people have experienced nasty reactions to their bites. If you can bring the spider in to us at the museum (or get someone to drop it off) we can positively identify it for you.
Mouse spider males are unusual amongst this group of spiders in often being found wandering about during the day. Most of their relatives are strictly nocturnal.
S
M
@sakor: our Arachnology Collection Manager, Graham Milledge advises:
The only species we have records from near Guyra is Paraembolides montisbossi Raven 1978. This was originally described in Bymainiella by Raven, but later transferred to Paraembolides by the same author in 1980. A list of all described spider species and related taxonomic publications can be found in The World Spider Catalog (American Museum of Natural History). Please contact Graham direct if you wish to obtain more information.
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