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The Creature Awaits #94:

Each week I plan to feature an amazing creature, admiring God’s fantastic artistry.  Hopefully it’ll brighten someone’s day to see something new and interesting if they haven’t seen it before. : )

Welcome back to Green Month!

(Amazing photograph by Jeremy Squire. Be sure to check out his absolutely fantastic gallery. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0))

The Lichen Huntsman Spider

Scientific Name: Heteropoda boiei

Region: Malaysia and the islands of Borneo, Java and Sumatra in Indonesia

Size: About a 5" (12.7cm) leg span

Interesting Note:  It was once thought that huntsman spiders (family Sparassidae) actively chased people, but it turns out that they are actually of a completely non-aggressive and timid demeanor - preferring running away over biting, and if they do bite, they only have a very mild venom (though the bite itself can hurt a bit at first due to their size.)  The misconception seems to have stemmed from their apparent inability to discern the shape of a human from far away.  Though the feeling of being chased by one of these relatively large arachnids may be intimidating, it’s best to just let these gentle giants scurry past and find their next little cozy spot to nestle into. : )