Spider nest [Viewer discretion advised ;-)]

Huntsman spiders are a family of mostly large, long legged spiders that don't make webs but catch their prey on foot, hence the name huntsman. There is a very common species in South Africa that we call rain spiders, due to their habit of coming into houses to take shelter a few hours before it rains. Social media is always full of people posting pictures shrieking about the size of the spider that they just found in their house. These spiders do start life in a web though, as the female makes a nest of leaves and twigs to lay her eggs in. She also guards the nest before the eggs hatch and for a while after, before the spiderlings disperse. This nest is on a wall at my house and I decided to go and photograph it today

At the bottom of the nest, you can see the mother spider's legs sticking out, and some spiderlings that have climbed onto them

To get an idea of the average size of this spider, here is a picture I took of one that I found inside my workplace and released outside

Despite the fact that they inspire terror in many people, Rain spiders are not dangerous and do not have venom that is dangerous to humans. They have large jaws and could give a nasty bite if handled roughly but they are nocturnal and sluggish during the day and can safely be handled if treated gently. Before it rains, they come into houses and crouch somewhere up near the ceiling.

Rain spiders are large enough to hunt and eat geckos and there is a video on youtube of an Australian Huntsman spider dragging a dead mouse up the side of a fridge (you can google that one!) but I hate to see people killing these large spiders out of ignorance and fear.