The September Spider of the Month (SOTM) is this desert huntsman spider (Orchestrella sp.; Sparassidae), photographed by Chantelle Bosch near Swakopmund, Namibia.
The spider was not too happy about her presence, and took on this defensive stance, and also bit her on her ankle. Chantelle wrote this about the experience:
“I stepped too close to this beaut of a desert huntsman and it jumped, ran and caught itself a human! I got a GOOD bite but stood calmly (of course the guests and then myself took some photos) and then gently coaxed her down onto the ground again … There was a slight twinge at the bite site, no swelling, no numbness. Usually a slight itch a few days after.”
There are only two Orchestrella species recorded in the world, and they both occur only in Namibia. They look rather similar to two other desert huntsman spiders found in Namibia, namely the dancing white lady (Leucorchestris spp.) and the golden wheel spider (Carparachnespp.) in that they’re also white in order to blend in with the desert sands.
These spiders have adapted to the harsh desert conditions, and they will often bury themselves under the sand, not only to avoid predators and other dangers, like parasitoid wasps, but also to escape the heat. In some cases, they would burrow up to a metre deep, where it is much cooler.
Other than that the genus was created by South African arachnologist Reginald Frederick Lawrence in 1965, there isn’t much else I know about their taxonomy and the etymology of the genus name.
This is Chantelle’s second SOTM; the last one also being a huntsman spider (May sp.) from Namibia. Of a very low number of 173 people who voted (a massive decrease of 76 people from last month), her photo received 76 votes. Congratulations, Chantelle!