In yet another story to add to the "reasons to never move to Australia" list, footage has emerged from the country of a rare Huntsman spider nest... And it is every bit as horrifying as you could imagine.
Keep scrolling for the full story, and to see the nauseating photographs that may make you never want to venture to that part of the world...
It's probably the most common phobia...
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Arachnophobia, or more commonly known as the fear of spiders, affects a staggering percentage of people here in the U.S.But why are we so scared of the creatures?
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Considering that (most of) these insects are relatively harmless, it seems quite silly that we freak out so much over them... Doesn't it?Psychologists hold many theories over our somewhat irrational fear...
Some suggest that arachnophobia was a survival technique for our ancestors and that the fear has simply been conditioned into us throughout generations.Though not all psychologists believe this...
As some feel that arachnophobia is more likely based on cultural beliefs about the nature of spiders.But, whatever the reason may be...
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The fact remains that hundreds of thousands of us are completely terrified of the eight-legged arachnids, and nothing about that is going to change anytime soon.Though we do have to count our blessings...
Because we live in a country where most of our eight-legged critters can be caught with a drinking glass and a piece of paper.
This isn't the case in some countries...
Nope. Some places bring with them some monstrous, home-invading spiders that are too big for the old glass and paper trick.And there's one country that instantly springs to mind...
Australia, of course.Australia is completely riddled with gigantic spiders...
Remember this video? When some insanely brave Aussie guy attempts to capture a huge spider with what appears to be a large mixing bowl? And still somehow fails? Yeah, so do I...The country is notorious for its massive creepy crawlies...
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But perhaps the most formidable of them all is the famous Huntsman spider.Huntsman spiders are probably the most feared spiders in Australia...
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Even though they're mostly harmless (which is a rarity in that country...) their sheer size and speed have gained them quite the reputation.They're sickeningly huge...
A typical Huntsman's leg-span can reach fifteen centimeters, while some have been known to reach thirty centimeters. Above, we have a Huntsman dragging a mouse corpse across a wall, just so you can get an idea of how monstrous these things can be.But Huntsmans are generally quite respected in Australia...
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The spiders, which tend to live in the woods and warm, tropical climates, are excellent forms of pest control, as they keep cockroach and mosquito numbers at bay.And they pose no threat to humans.
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Nope, despite how formidable they may look, the Huntsman spider isn't venomous, and very rarely bites humans. Instead, they take shelter and hide until the coast is clear.But none of this changes the fact...
That they're simply terrifying to look at. Sorry, it's just a fact.And now, fresh evidence has emerged that cements that fact further.
Not like we needed it...A Huntsman "colony" was discovered in Western Australia earlier this week...
And it's every bit as terrifying as you could have ever imagined. Conservationists for the non-profit organization, Bush Heritage Australia, a company that helps to protect Australia's landscapes and native species, stumbled across a rather sickening sight when checking on boxes that they'd put out in the bush for wild possums.However, they found a little more than a family of cute possums...
They found a full colony of young Huntsman spiders. Loads of them.Â
Angela Sanders, from the organization, said, "Pygmy possums quickly took up residence in the nest boxes we erected in a restored habitat. What we didn't expect were the large colonies of social spiders that also moved in."
You don't say?!
The box was full of the writhing arachnids...
But, in classic Aussie fashion, Sanders seemed quite unfazed by the arrival of the lodgers:
"But on lifting the lids of some, we found many Huntsman spiders of all sizes whizzing around inside," she recalled.