Funnel Web Spider

 

Here in Australia, we are home to some of the world's most deadly spiders here is some information about three of them which I will share over the next three weeks starting with the Sydney Funnel-Web Spider.

The Sydney funnel‑web isn’t just dangerous because of its venom but because of the combination of venom, behaviour, and anatomy.

Its venom is uniquely potent to humans as it targets the nervous system, causing nerves to fire uncontrollably. However, dogs, cats, and most mammals are barely affected.

They deliver a lot of venom, this may have something to do with the fact that they bit repeatedly injecting large amounts of venom while they hang on.

They have huge fangs up to 6 mm long and strong enough to pierce fingernails, leather shoes, and thick clothing.

They’re aggressive when threatened, they will rear up, show their fangs, and will lunge if provoked. This is defensive, not “attacking,” but it makes encounters more dangerous.

They love humidity and after rain males wander looking for mates. They can be found in pools, shoes, garages and laundries, they also enter houses often.

Most bites happen in summer after rain, especially between January and March.

Symptoms can begin within 10 minutes, they include the following:

• Tingling around the mouth
• Sweating (especially on the face)
• Drooling
• Muscle twitching
• Difficulty breathing
• Rapid heart rate
• Confusion or agitation

Without antivenom, severe cases can progress to respiratory failure.

In 1981 the antivenom was created by the legendary Australian venom researcher Struan Sutherland and changed everything as since then there have been zero deaths as the antivenom is extremely effective with most patients recover fully within 24–48 hours.

Now where do they live they can found in:

• Sydney
• Central Coast
• Newcastle
• Lake Macquarie
• Hunter Valley
• Blue Mountains

They prefer to hang out in the following conditions

• moist soil
• leaf litter
• rock walls
• garden beds
• under logs
• swimming pool filters

The male is far more dangerous they wander at night looking for females.

Females stay in burrows and rarely bite humans.

Their burrows are a silk‑lined tunnel, with “trip lines” radiating out like spokes and are in moist, dark areas such as under rocks or logs.

They don’t make the classic “funnel” shape people imagine — it’s more like a silk‑reinforced hole.

 

Week 25 of 2026

 

I had a good night slept till the alarm went off at 5am, thankfully it was a nice dry day, and I was able to go for my walk and sweep up out the front.

It is 15c or 59f this morning, I slept for 6&1/2 hours and woke feeling good and with it.

Tim got up at 8am he will be spending most of the day working on the trailer.

I didn’t do much today, just couldn’t get motivated.

Steps: 9,063 = 4.5k’s

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Had a good night woke at 4am and got up at 4.20am, washed and dressed for the day and of course I have swept out the kitchen, hall and lounge-room.

The temp this morning is 15c or 59f and I had around 5hr’s of sleep.

Sue picked me up at 9.15am as she had a doctor’s appointment after that we called in at Warner’s Bay Plaza so I could pick up my scrips.

It was lightly raining when I left home but didn’t last long and it has been fined the rest of the day.

Steps: 7,764 = 3.9k’s or 2.4miles

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Had a really good night, slept for around 9hrs and woke with the alarm this morning, it is currently 5.40am and the temp is 10c or 50f and Tim left the heater going when he left for work.

I went for my morning walk, walking down to post a couple of letters.

I went with Sue to have her hearing aids checked, that is all I did today.

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I slept through again, waking only when the alarm went off, it is only 11c or 52f this morning. I had just over 8hrs of sleep.

I just remembered that I woke up when Tim was getting ready for work, he was in state. It was 3.40am and he had confused his sign on time with his pick up time. He was thinking he signed on at 4.50 but no that was his pick-up time he had to sign on at 4.15am. It will be a long day for him.

I went for a walk, but I wasn’t all with it, I felt tired and not right after a bit I realised I should eat something, so I came home and had 2 scones with jam and cream and after that I was ok.

I keep forgetting what day it is.

Steps: 7,342 = 3.7k’s or 2.2miles

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I slept pretty well woke up twice during the night to pee and ended up getting up for the day at 4.50am

It is 11c or 52f this morning. I had just under 8hrs of sleep.

Jess & Sam arrived so Sam could see me and give me a nice hug, it was wonderful seeing her.

I was sitting in my chair when Sue arrived, she was going to pick up her new glasses and wanted to make sure I didn’t need anything at the shops.

Steps:7,663=3.9k’s or 2.2 miles

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I slept ok till 3am after which I only dosed on and off till I got up at 4.30am. I also woke up with not just a headache but a face ache meaning my whole face aches. It was like that last night just before I went to bed. I have already cleaned the kitchen and swept the kitchen and loungeroom’s floors.

It is 15c or 59f at 5am.

I decided to clean out the laundry cupboard took me two hours, and it isn’t finished, I was so worn out and exhausted and in pain, so I decided to finish it off tomorrow.

Steps:5,827 = 3k’s or 1.7 miles

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I had a good 10hrs of sleep waking 5 minutes before the alarm was due to go off, it is 11c or 52f this morning.

At 5.15am Tim got up as he woke to pee and couldn’t settle again so decided to just get up.

I am still working on the kitchen and laundry, it is exhausting and it is causing me a lot of lower back pain.

Tim did the platform extension out the front and he also finished the work he was doing on the trailer.

This afternoon he started a fire in his fire pit out the back so he could burn some old paperwork.

I still have a little more work to do in the kitchen and laundry cupboards hopefully that will be done tomorrow.

Steps: 9,609 = 4.9k’s or 3 miles

 

 

Caturday with Luca

Here I am tasting the dogs food

Photo Friday

 Just some photos of me today

                                                                      ME 2023

ME 2023

ME 2024

SANDY, ME & SUE XMASS 2024

SANDT, DAVE & ME XMASS 2024

ME AND SANDY XMASS 2024

This weeks links

 

My post with links to other posts and a few photos as well

https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2026/06/getting-to-know-me.html

https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2026/06/a-slow-hodgepodge.html

https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2026/06/sharing-my-world_01682808918.html

https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2026/06/tuesday-4.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Blindness

 

Today’s topic is blindness, did you know that the main cause of blindness is cataracts, generally affecting older adults and those living in areas where surgery isn’t easily available.

Other important causes include diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. The exact leading cause can vary by age and country, but globally cataract is the biggest single cause of blindness because it is common, strongly linked to ageing, and often left untreated where access to eye care is limited.

Worldwide, about 0.5% of the population is blind, which is something like 43 million people, based on major global estimates for distance-vision blindness this works out to be around one in 200 people.

Some people are born blind, but this is very rare with only between 0.03% to 0.05% of children born being blind, this is roughly 3 to 5 in every 10,000 births.

Blind people do not all see the same thing. Some see nothing at all, while many others still have some vision. They may be able to see light and dark, shapes or shadows, movement, blurred colours, or only small areas of vision. Very few blind people see complete blackness all the time. For many people, blindness means partial vision loss rather than total loss of sight, and what they can see depends on how much vision they have left and what caused the blindness.

Blindness is generally considered a disability because it can significantly affect everyday activities such as reading, recognising faces, travelling safely, and completing daily tasks, although the exact legal definition can vary depending on the country and the level of vision loss.

 

 

Honeybees

 

🐝 Today we are looking at another creature of the dangerous animal list, and it is the Honeybee, not really that dangerous but still they are on the list, so here is some information about them.

Surprisingly, bees send more Australians to hospital than any other venomous creature on average around 1,000 cases annually due to allergic reactions.  Thankfully on average only 3 people may die each year from a bee or wasp sting.

A common reaction to a bee sting is usually local, mild, and short‑lived. Most people experience only normal, non‑dangerous symptoms, even though they can be uncomfortable. If anything, ever feels severe, persistent, or unusual, it’s important to speak with a qualified healthcare professional.

Honeybees are not native to Australia they were introduced from Europe in the 1800’s, they live in large colonies and are honey producers.

Honeybees are one of the most fascinating and important insects on the planet and in Australia, they’re both incredibly useful and the most common cause of insect‑sting reactions.

They build hives in:

• wooden boxes (managed hives)
• tree hollows
• wall cavities
• roofs
• rock crevices

A strong hive can contain 20,000–60,000 bees.

They only sting to defend the hive and do not sting when foraging unless:

• they’re stepped on
• they’re trapped in clothing
• they feel threatened

This is why most stings happen on feet, hands, or arms.

In Australia there are mostly European honeybees, but we also have Asian honeybees which can be found in far north QLD. They are vital for agriculture but can compete with native bees for food. Of course, there are other types of bees such as the Native stingless bees, Native solitary bees (blue-banded bees, teddy bear bees, leafcutter bees, carpenter bees) and then we have wasps yeah, they are not bees but often confused with them.

Most native bees do not make honey and do not live in big hives.