Nobody had been out to the old garage for the spring or most of the first half of summer. It had developed unseen as a home for possums and a whole bunch of other stuff. One night there was a job needed doing in the kitchen. The drill-bits were in the drawer in the garage so I went out during the night and shone the torch on the drawer. She was not happy to see me! Above.

She charged into the gap at the top of the drawer and stood showing her rage for several minutes before the urge to be with her hatchlings called her back into the darkness. Right.

She had been handled a few times when I had to remove her from the ceiling of the house because one of the cleaners refused to clean with her overhead. She seemed to cool her anger very quickly once she became used to the light and recognised a person. The silken egg sack they all came of is that big white disk behind her.

Huntsman Spider mother and her hatchlings

Huntsman Spiders are nocturnal hunters and in the light the hatchlings became confused and wandered all over the place, spilling out of the drawer and spreading over everything

Three weeks later she, or another Huntsman female, gathered up a lot of hatchlings and carried them on her back into the house. On the ceiling above the sofa she was disturbed somehow and all of the babies leapt clear and rained down on the occupant. It was a few days before he allowed the house to be vacuumed and until the last of the babies had found their way out into the garden.

Right, One of the hatchlings scurries along the wall where it meets the ceiling

Awful photographs, That little camera did not like close-ups at night. It is still worth telling the story. It was wonderful to see these creatures in all their primal splendor and to share the world with them. Close the page to escape.