On my late-night bathroom visits, my bathroom tenant would look very unimpressed with me for interrupting her dinner! Yes, you read that right. But the tenant was an eight-legged giant spider who made a meal of the cockroaches emerging from the bathroom sink in the dead of the night.
These spiders, belonging to the family Sparassidae, are collectively known as huntsman spiders due to their agility and speed in taking down prey. All spiders in this family feature a distinctive eye arrangement: eight eyes arranged in two seemingly parallel rows of four.
Among the huntsman spiders, Heteropoda venatoria is the most common species we encounter in our homes. However, the diversity within the huntsman spider family is remarkable. For instance, the genus Pandercetes includes a fascinating species that lives in the tropical forests of Asia and Australia. Known as Lichen Huntsman spiders, these arachnids boast textures and colors on their bodies that closely resemble lichen. Their legs are adorned with lateral hairs, giving them a feathery appearance that camouflages them against tree trunks. With their camouflage skills and huntsman lineage, these spiders are masters of their vertical domain.
My quest to see the Lichen Huntsman spider began after I saw an image by Dr. Abhijith APC, who had photographed one in Sirsi. Despite numerous field trips to nearby forest patches in search of this elusive spider, I was often left disheartened and began to question if it even existed in our lowland forests. That is, until a call from my good friend Sanath RM changed everything. He had spotted a Lichen Huntsman in Thirthahalli and was confident of its presence in lowland forests as well.
With renewed hope, I planned a trip to a nearby forest and spent the entire day searching for arthropods. As darkness began to settle, we switched on our torches. I was observing a huntsman spider with a punctured egg sac, with little spiderlings peeking out. Excitedly, I called Sanath over to share this moment.
As he approached, his headlamp reflected a shine from the bark adjacent to me. The shine seemed to come from a lichen patch on the tree. As he got closer, he excitedly exclaimed, “Guys, Lichen Huntsman!” I looked to my left and, there it was—a Lichen Huntsman spider, sitting motionless on the tree bark, right where we had been searching for hours without noticing it.
Hiding in plain sight, the Lichen Huntsman spider blends seamlessly with its surroundings. Since that moment, I’ve encountered several Lichen Huntsman spiders in both lowland and highland forests. I’ve also been fortunate enough to document its breeding cycle. Through this series of photographs, I’m excited to share the remarkable characteristics and breeding cycle of the incredible Lichen Huntsman spider.
Leave a Reply