Where/how to find trapdoor spiders..

[MaartenSFS]

Oke, so I have done my homework and there are trapdoor spiders from at least three families in my area:

Latouchia
Cyclocosmia
Heptathela

There are also funnelweb spiders from the family Macrothele, tarantulas from the family Plesiophrictus, and possibly more types.

The problem is that I haven't seen a single specimen and I have been lifting stones and looking for webs and for holes without a single clue to their existance. Their range extends well up through Southern China right through here and far beyond. I have heard that they live on slopes and on the sides of riverbanks and I know that they are supposed to be difficult to find. But if I can find pseudoscorpions I can find something many times bigger, right?

I haven't had a chance to check out these kinds of places in detail, but an Australian friend of mine said that he saw them in the front yard of one of his mates all the time over there. Also, I've been searching during the day. Should I try at night?

I hope that some of you with experience finding these interesting creatures could enlighten me, as I've never seen one. I've got my mini-shovel and a container ready. Thank you!

[Johnnyster]

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=116439

[MaartenSFS]

Thank you, Johnnyster. I had no idea that there was already a thread. Unfortunately, not that many people have shared their experiences.

[Galapoheros]

That is some info but even so, I find it next to impossible. I hunt around a lot. I've lived in this house for 12 years and never knew Traps where around here until I found one on my kitchen floor about a couple of years ago. Then one day I was pushing some leaves around next to my driveway with my hand and heard a hollow paper sound. I still couldn't see anything and had to locate the hole with my hand, only then did I realize it was a Trap. I saw a lot of males for the first time this fall. I still have that one I found by my driveway because it's a pretty big for an E. stolida. It's webbing came out like a sock so I took a plug out of some sub using an aquarium tube and slipped it down there so she still has her original home in a way.

[MaartenSFS]

Wouw, my Australian friend told me to give up because they are incredibly hard to find and I don't have a house here, just some parks within reasonable distance. That said, I will not give up yet. :cool:

Would you say that a dry sandy area with dry leaf litter would be an ideal location? Can they live in heavily trafficked areas?

Their range extends FAR north of here and from all other directions. THEY MUST BE HERE!!! Another option is funnelwebs and pursewebs. I will continue checking under rocks (Also looking for centipedes) and pieces of discarded debris, but I've got a new lead near tree roots and on sandy slopes. ;)

After seeing this video :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySXCdcnKBgg&feature=related I MUST find them.:drool:

[What]

They can live in highly trafficed areas but the burrows are usually fairly beat up and spider in crappy health.

The best way to find them would be to go out at night and look for slightly ajar lids. For the Cyclocosmia if they are the same as the US natives I believe they can be found mainly near water, you may want to check some species descriptions to find out though...

[Galapoheros]

Also to find an area you know they are in, you could find out what time of the year mating season is and what kind of weather the males come out in at night. Do you drive there? If you do you can drive around at night looking for males crossing the road. At least that would tell you they are in the immediate area for sure. I plan on working on a south Texas project myself sooner or later, but I'm not very hopeful right now. Around here they tend to come out in the Fall after a rain.

[MaartenSFS]

Thanks for the help! I have researched everything that I can in English. I have found some Chinese documents, but my written Chinese is very poor and they don't write the same way as they speak, anyways.

I think that right now the only thing that I can do is go out at night and look for those lids, assuming that they even live around here.

I just came back from searching and found not a trace, but was neraly eaten alive my mosquitoes. I MAY have found some funnelwebs, though. I'll let you know about any developments, if there are any. ;)

[buthus]

Dont forget to check out vertical surfaces ..usually somewhat stable washed out "cliffs" next to streams. We have found some interesting rare species in such areas around our local.

[MaartenSFS]

Dont forget to check out vertical surfaces ..usually somewhat stable washed out "cliffs" next to streams. We have found some interesting rare species in such areas around our local.

I found a lot of small tunnels at the edge of where they cut the roads into a small forest, under a "ledge" where the roots of bamboo come down, but there was never any webbing. Infact, after flipping N number of rocks I still haven't found a trace of a hole with webbing. I'm trying to think of where there is a stream.. There is just one really big river, with similar to a wetland on one shore of an island on said river. We saw some beautiful cranes and another strange type of bird last time. I'll see if I can find some streams.