wandering spider

wandering spider (plural wandering spiders)

1. Any spider of the family Ctenidae, some of which have a reputation of being extremely aggressive.
   • 2003, various authors, “Wandering spider”, in Insects and Spiders of the World, volume 10, Marshall Cavendish, page 582:

     Wandering spiders generally attack large insects or other arthropods such as harvestmen, but some prefer to hunt vertebrates (animals with backbones). Some large species of wandering spiders are expert frog hunters.

   • 2003, Astri Leroy, John Leroy, Spiders of Southern Africa, page 49:

     ln South America, wandering spiders in the genus Phoneutria (family Ctenidae) are also rightly feared.

   • 2011, Ross Piper, Pests: A Guide to the World's Most Maligned, Yet Misunderstood Creatures, page 20:

     Unlike the bite of the black widow, the bite of the wandering spider is immediately painful and the victim can go into shock. […] A bite from a wandering spider should be treated as a medical emergency as the patient will need antivenin as soon as possible.

• (spider of the family Ctenidae): running spider