Australian resident Christine Jones discovered a giant spider under the handle of a parked car, after which she could not approach the vehicle for a week. The Sun tabloid drew attention to her story.
The Australian admitted that she noticed the arthropod at the very last moment and managed to pull her hand away. At first she mistook the spider for hairy caterpillars, but later recognized in the animal a crab spider, known in English-speaking countries as a hunting spider. She was helped to determine the type of spider in the social network, where the woman posted a photo.
Her post horrified many commentators: users wrote that the sight of a spider makes them anxious, and a collision with it would bring them to a heart attack. Other users took pity on the spider, suggesting that he wanted to hide under the handle of the car from the heat. “The poor thing may have got burned by the metal of the car and was looking for shadows, and in the end he was stuck there,” added one of the commenters.
The size of giant crab spiders can reach 30 centimeters. Most of these spiders feed on insects, but sometimes large individuals eat small vertebrates like frogs, birds, mice, lizards and even snakes. It is noted that it is better not to touch the spiders, as they firmly grip the hand, and when trying to shake off they can bite. Their poison is not dangerous to humans, but it can cause headaches, vomiting and heart palpitations.
Earlier Australian customer Katie Pring ran into a large spider while shopping at a popular store. She wanted to buy underwear and went to the mass market store Kmart. Soon, she spotted a giant crab spider in the cup of one of the bras hanging in the display case.