Secretive nocturnal spider from Vancouver island
Hello, I’ve been waiting for your site to be back up to ask you what this spider is. I love spiders and researching them and am slightly embarrassed I have no idea what this is. I found him running full tilt across a sidewalk from a hedge towards a main road about 2 am in the morning in Victoria, vancouver island BC. He froze and posed for a picture (a couple since I couldn’t fix the macro on my camera) I’d say that he was about the size of a quarter around, he was easy to spot in the dark because he was so big, like bulky. I went through every spider picture on your site, is it a trapdoor spider? I realize I should have got a better picture of the eye arrangement.
Holly
Victoria, British Columbia
Hi Holly,
We believe we have matched your spider to a Folding Door Spider in the genus Antrodiaetus that is posted on BugGuide.
These guys are pretty docile! I’ve had no problems handling the males.
They come into the house looking for… well, probably hormonal traces from a reticent household female, or a drink of water from our bathroom or kitchen.
They are not at all aggressive with responsible handling. I guide them gently into my palm and put them outside.
I don’t feel like I need a jar or anything when I hold these relatively slow, poorly-sighted and hardy arachnids. My first meeting with one, however, was a scream! It crawled onto my big toe while I was sitting on my couch. I’d never seen one before. I jumped up so fast, I actually saw it come down back onto the couch from how high up I kicked my foot.
Then I took some pictures of him and took him outside.
Thanks for letting us know of your humorous introduction to the Folding Door Spider. We are happy to learn you have grown to appreciate them.
These guys are pretty docile! I’ve had no problems handling the males.
They come into the house looking for… well, probably hormonal traces from a reticent household female, or a drink of water from our bathroom or kitchen.
They are not at all aggressive with responsible handling. I guide them gently into my palm and put them outside.
I don’t feel like I need a jar or anything when I hold these relatively slow, poorly-sighted and hardy arachnids. My first meeting with one, however, was a scream! It crawled onto my big toe while I was sitting on my couch. I’d never seen one before. I jumped up so fast, I actually saw it come down back onto the couch from how high up I kicked my foot.
Then I took some pictures of him and took him outside.