Trap pic

[Galapoheros]

I saw this Trapdoor spider on my porch after it rained yesterday. According to somebody else, ..E. stolida.
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r264/galapoheros/Dscn7048.jpg

[josh_r]

neat lookin critter. did u keep it? how big is that thing anyways??

[Galapoheros]

It wasn't very big. I kept it but it died in a few hours. I thought that might be an injury you see on it's abdomen there in the pic but it dried and I couldn't find any external injury. I guess it's body was about 3/4". I took a pic of it next to a much bigger one I found in my front yard. I didn't know they could get this big around here. I didn't even know they were in my yard for 10 years:? ! I'll post that other pic later.

Here it is
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r264/galapoheros/Dscn7056.jpg

[josh_r]

ya know, there is a trapdoor spider in texas that is the size of say.... an adult aphonopelma hentzi in body size. they have short fat legs though. i want to try to get out to texas some time and try to find me one ;) they are called Eucteniza rex

[MaartenSFS]

Very cool. Because most people in China live in apartments I have to actually go out and search for them. So far no luck. Can you describe how you found its hole to me please? :?

[Galapoheros]

Hi Maarten, how I found it I put in an older thread of yours I think, I just happened to rub my hand on the ground and it sounded like paper. Hey Josh, a couple of people have sent me info on E. rex. I know basically where they are. I've been trying to figure out a better way to locate their holes for a few months now. I've got some ideas. I've been looking for a good pic of E. rex for a long time but I can't find a single one. You know where a pic is? Someone told me they look like the ones in this thread, just bigger.

[MaartenSFS]

O, I didn't realise that it was the same one. Since I don't have a driveway I'll have to tweak your approach. ;)

[josh_r]

i havnt seen a pic of E. rex yet, but ill be getting one very soon. ill PM ya when i get it. this particular individual is supposed to be HUGE!!!!!!!!!! E. rex is supposed to make a wafer lid so that will make it very difficult to locate. they blend in so well. ill try to get some more info and let ya know.

[RottweilExpress]

i havnt seen a pic of E. rex yet, but ill be getting one very soon. ill PM ya when i get it. this particular individual is supposed to be HUGE!!!!!!!!!! E. rex is supposed to make a wafer lid so that will make it very difficult to locate. they blend in so well. ill try to get some more info and let ya know.

Please just post the pic here so others can see.

[Galapoheros]

i havnt seen a pic of E. rex yet, but ill be getting one very soon. ill PM ya when i get it. this particular individual is supposed to be HUGE!!!!!!!!!! E. rex is supposed to make a wafer lid so that will make it very difficult to locate. they blend in so well. ill try to get some more info and let ya know.

I'm afraid the door is also like E. stolida in this thread. You can have your eyes 10 inches away from the door and still not see it. Looking forward to a pic. I have a hunch where you're getting it.

[dtknow]

Galapo. you ever see MM's running around?

[Galapoheros]

Dtknow what you're referring to dtknow, what's MM?

[josh_r]

Please just post the pic here so others can see.


sorry, i cannot post the pic as it is not mine to post. if htis person wants the pic posted, he will post it himself.

MM means mature male.

still no pic, but im working on it.

[Galapoheros]

Oh, ha, MM, ..mature male. Yeah I saw the mature males in Sept into Oct with cool rains. But I had never seen the males before until after I saw the female crawling on my kitchen floor after a rain, and I had lived in this house for 10 years before that. It makes me wonder if E. stolida have heavier mating periods after a given number of years instead of it being a yearly/seasonal thing. Last year was the first year I saw several males crawling around and I've been a bug dude all my life, I would've taken notice of any spiders "if" I would have seen them. I hooked the bigger female up with at least 3 males I found. All the males disappeared:eek: , but she doesn't look especially large. don't know if anything happened there but I took mating pics.

[josh_r]

very cool. what part of texas do u live in anyways??

[Galapoheros]

Cedar Park. It's in south Williamson county. It's become part of Austin during the last 5 years. Prop taxes, ...son of a diddly! I might as well be paying rent. Even if your prop is paid off, taxes might equal what you might pay in rent for an apartment eventually. Sorry, I just got my county appraisal in and it's whacked! Anyway, I'm starting to feel like Traps like these can live a very long time.

[josh_r]

yeah, they can live for years. property taxes suck. thats the only bad thing about owning a place eh.

[MalevolentScorp]

Isn't that actually considered a Purse Web Spider?

[josh_r]

Isn't that actually considered a Purse Web Spider?

:wall:


nope. these are considered trapdoor spiders....... because they make a trapdoor. ;)

[Galapoheros]

What I had in mind was wondering if Eucteniza exceed US Aphonopelma on average in years. They don't do much, like a cactus, sit there and grow slow. If I had to make a bet, I'd say "yes", one of the most long lived US spiders. I don't know if anybody has been patient enough to find out. Anybody know? I heard a person call these Pursewebs and came across a website that did too, I don't know if that's accurate though. In a big way, the gov owns all property. If you don't pay taxes/rent, they kick you out:mad: , even if your prop is "paid for". Who was that politician that said, "you only own what you can pull behind your car on a trailer..."

[josh_r]

when you found them, what did the burrow entrance look like?? trapdoor or purseweb?? i talked with a guy that did a study on eucteniza and he says they have a wafer lid and i talked to another guy that actually sent me a eucteniza species and it was a wafer lid maker. maybe the genus has some variability??

[Galapoheros]

This one I have, it has more of what I would call a wafer lid. It's not a well defined door at all. It's very thin and flimsy. When it closes the door, it's more of a cave-in than a close. I will rub my finger on the door and it will cave the flimsy door in even more by pulling in down with its fangs. I'll take a pic of it and post it in a while.

[Galapoheros]

Here are a couple of pics of the entrance.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r264/galapoheros/Dscn7136.jpg
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r264/galapoheros/Dscn7133.jpg