By Sandra Tuszynska

I have been encouraged to create posts related to the encounters with the wild animals that I share the land and more often than not, my home with.

To be honest, I could probably produce a post a day featuring the most amazing creatures that I am constantly surrounded with. Despite the hardship of living as I do in the often harsh conditions of the South Burnett, I feel quite blessed to be living this close to nature. If it was not for the wild residents that surround me, I am not sure that living here would be worth it. Luckily through, there are numerous encounters that make it all worth while for nature lover such as myself.

This morning I was blessed with one such encounter, featured below

Huntsmen spider, Holconia insignis, family Sparassidae

I have seen this beauty before in the evening and had to use a zoom lens to get a pic of her. This time she was very close and even though she is a nocturnal creature, she was on the dome wall within a hand reach.

She is probably one of the largest spiders I have seen in Australia. I estimate her size to be at least 10 cm across.

Huntsmen spiders do not build webs, but definitely use them for mobility. I had one abseil down from a ceiling down to the floor, it was very amusing.

This little lady, and I assume she is a lady as male spiders of most families get devoured during mating, hunts the myriad of insects in the dome. So we have a mutually beneficial relationship and knowing the importance of these creatures, I am more than happy to share my home with her. Plus I find her to be extremely attractive and photogenic, don’t you? Well, just look at those 8 sparkling eyes staring right into the lens, they make my heart melt….