Spider profile

Tree-Dwelling Funnel-Web Spider (Hadronyche species)

Hadronyche species

Database risk label: CRITICAL
Location: Eastern Australia
Database size: 2-5cm body length

WildGuardian’s CRITICAL label is an encounter-safety label. It is not a conservation assessment. The name “tree-dwelling funnel-web spider” is useful for alerting people to a serious possibility, but it does not identify one single species.

The scientific name in this record, Hadronyche species, is a genus-level grouping: it refers to an Australian funnel-web genus containing multiple related species. The Australian Museum recognises several species groups within Hadronyche. Some tree-dwelling funnel-webs are Hadronyche, including the Northern Tree Funnel-web, Hadronyche formidabilis, and the Southern Tree Funnel-web, Hadronyche cerberea. [1] This page therefore keeps species-specific facts attached to the named species that support them, rather than treating every Hadronyche as identical.

Identification limits: do not rely on a quick visual call

A dark spider in a tree hollow, bark crevice, log or garden is not automatically a tree-dwelling funnel-web. The Australian Museum notes that several other spiders can be mistaken for funnel-webs, including mouse spiders, Sydney brown trapdoor spiders and black house spiders; elsewhere in eastern Australia, other trapdoor and wishbone spiders can also show a dark, glossy carapace. [1]

For that reason, the common name and a broad appearance are not a safe basis for a household identification. The record’s genus label also cannot separate H. formidabilis from H. cerberea, other Hadronyche species, or lookalikes. A phone photo may assist later identification, but ANZCOR says it must not delay calling an ambulance and beginning emergency management after a suspected funnel-web bite. It also warns that attempts to capture a spider can cause further bites, and that a live spider should not be taken to hospital. [4]

The safest reading of an unknown dark, robust spider is practical rather than taxonomic: leave it alone, keep people and pets away, and do not put hands into its retreat. That precaution matters more than achieving a name on the spot. Healthdirect likewise advises leaving spiders alone and taking care around likely contact situations such as gardening and footwear. [3]

Australian range and tree habitat

Australian funnel-web spiders as a wider group occur in moist forest regions along the east coast and highlands from Tasmania to north Queensland. The Australian Museum also records funnel-webs in drier open forests of the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range and South Australia’s Gulf region. That is a group-level overview, not a distribution map for every Hadronyche species. [1]

The tree-dwelling examples in this genus have different known ranges. The Northern Tree Funnel-web, H. formidabilis, occurs in wet forests from the Watagans in New South Wales north into southern Queensland. The Australian Museum reports retreats in surface-opening branch rot-holes and records of the species more than 30 metres above ground; it also describes spiders living and feeding inside the deadwood pipe of large forest trees. [1] The Australian Venom Research Unit at the University of Melbourne likewise places H. formidabilis in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. [2]

The smaller Southern Tree Funnel-web, H. cerberea, is reported as common in Sydney and the Central Coast and ranges through eastern New South Wales south of the Hunter River. It makes silk-lined retreats in holes and rot-crevices of rough-barked trees, including paperbarks, banksias, she-oaks and eucalypts. [1]

These examples show why “tree-dwelling” should be read as a habitat clue for particular species rather than a promise that every Hadronyche will be found in a tree. The Australian Museum says most funnel-webs are ground dwellers and only a few live in trees. [1]

Retreats, activity and what an encounter can mean

Funnel-webs use sheltered, cool and moist places. Across the group, the Australian Museum describes retreats under rocks, in and under rotting logs, and in crevices or rot and borer holes in rough-barked trees. Irregular silk trip-lines can radiate from the entrance of many funnel-web burrows. [1]

For the two named tree-dwellers, the retreat details differ. H. formidabilis may use branch rot-holes or internal decaying wood. H. cerberea can make an exposed silk surface tunnel disguised with bark or wood particles; the Museum describes two entrances with trip-lines across the bark in some retreats. [1] These are useful natural-history observations, but they are not a licence to inspect a hollow or peel back bark. A retreat can be hidden, and many other animals use the same sorts of sheltered spaces.

The Museum says funnel-web activity is generally nocturnal and that high humidity is more favourable to activity outside a burrow. Rain can flood burrows and temporary male retreats, increasing activity. Mature male funnel-webs leave their burrows to seek females, especially in summer and autumn. Those statements describe funnel-webs broadly; they should not be used to predict the movements of every tree-dwelling Hadronyche species on a particular night. [1]

Safer encounters around trees, gardens and bushland

A low-intervention response reduces both disturbance and bite risk. Do not touch, prod, trap or try to relocate a suspected funnel-web. Keep children and animals back, and avoid reaching into hollows, bark crevices, logs or other concealed spaces. In gardens, wear gloves for gardening and check footwear before putting it on, as Healthdirect advises for spider-bite prevention. [3]

If a spider appears indoors or in a place where people are likely to touch it, do not turn identification into a hands-on task. Keep clear of it and seek appropriate local advice if needed. If there has been a possible bite, emergency response takes priority over photographs, species confirmation or removing the spider. [4]

Possible bite: urgent medical response in Australia

Call 000 now if a funnel-web bite is possible, or if the bite was from a big black spider. Do not wait for symptoms or for someone to identify it. Healthdirect calls a funnel-web bite a medical emergency, and ANZCOR says a large, dark-coloured “big black spider” bite in relevant parts of New South Wales or south-eastern Queensland should be considered dangerous and treated immediately. [3] [4]

While waiting for the ambulance, follow the emergency call-taker’s directions. ANZCOR’s first-aid guidance for a suspected funnel-web bite is to keep the person still, reassured and under constant observation, and apply pressure bandaging with immobilisation. [4] The separate ANZCOR pressure-immobilisation guideline lists funnel-web spiders among the bites for which the technique is recommended and says not to remove bandages or splints before hospital assessment. [5]

Do not cut, suck or wash the bite site, and do not use an arterial tourniquet. Those are specifically ruled out in ANZCOR’s pressure-immobilisation guidance. [5] Do not try to catch the spider. If safe, a photo can be useful later, but it must never delay the ambulance call or immediate care. [4]

Possible warning signs listed by Healthdirect and ANZCOR include pain at the bite site, sweating, nausea or vomiting, abdominal pain, tingling or numbness around the mouth, drooling or salivation, muscle twitching, breathing difficulty and confusion. Serious effects can occur quickly; emergency assessment is required even if the bite initially seems uncertain. [3] [4]

Frequently asked questions

Is “tree-dwelling funnel-web” one species?

No. In this record, Hadronyche species denotes a genus-level grouping. Australian sources identify at least two named tree-dwelling examples—H. formidabilis and H. cerberea—with different distributions and retreat habits. [1] [2]

Do all Hadronyche spiders live in trees?

No. The Australian Museum says most funnel-webs are ground dwellers and only a few live in trees. “Tree-dwelling” is therefore not a reliable description of every member of the genus. [1]

Where might a tree-dwelling Hadronyche occur?

The supported examples are specific: H. formidabilis occurs from the Watagans of New South Wales into southern Queensland, while H. cerberea occurs through eastern New South Wales south of the Hunter River. A broader Hadronyche label should not be used to assign an exact local range. [1] [2]

Can I confirm it by looking at the spider or its web?

No quick visual check is conclusive. Dark funnel-web lookalikes occur, and even a photo should not delay emergency action after a bite. Do not handle or capture the spider to obtain identification. [1] [4]

What should I do if a person may have been bitten?

Call Triple Zero (000) for an ambulance immediately and follow official advice without waiting for identification. Keep the person still and follow the call-taker’s directions; ANZCOR recommends pressure bandaging with immobilisation for a suspected funnel-web bite. [3] [4]

References

Last reviewed: 21 October 2026. This is general information, not a substitute for medical care.