In Australia, one man is on the hunt for the world’s most dangerous spider
- The Sydney funnel-web spider has made it into the Guinness World Records as the most poisonous spider in the world, and its bite can kill someone within an hour
- Australian Scott Johnson is helping efforts to produce an antidote to the spider’s venom
Only a bit of plastic separates Scott Johnson from one of the most poisonous spiders in the world. On his coffee table in Engadine, Australia, there are several transparent containers in which Sydney funnel-web spiders sit on peat moss.
From this angle, the animals do not seem so threatening – they easily fit in the palm of your hand. And yet, the dreaded Sydney funnel-webs, as they are called in their native country, can kill a human in less than an hour.
Johnson is a spider hunter in his spare time and specialises in this particular species. When he carefully tries to transfer a specimen from one container to another with a metal rod, the spider stretches, climbs over the edge – and escapes. But it lands in a deep plastic tub that Johnson uses for such manoeuvres.
“Funnel webs cannot climb glass. They cannot climb smooth non-porous vertical surfaces,” says Johnson, 42. “So that means very smooth shiny plastic and glass containers are usually the best bet. They just have to be tall enough.”
The Australian has always been fascinated by spiders and knows almost everything about them. Even as a child, he dug Sydney funnel-web spiders out of the ground and handed them in to the authorities. Since then, he has read everything on the subject – also to be able to give the right tips to laypeople in search of advice.