Spiderzrule

The name Trapdoor spider covers several families and many different species. Trapdoor spiders include the Funnel-web, Mouse, Whistling, and Curtain-web spiders; they are distinguished by the stocky body, long leg-like palps, and two knee-like lobes to which the fangs join (chelicerae) in front. Most live in burrows with or without trapdoors in the ground, but some live in trees. Trapdoor spiders have powerful chelicerae and four pale patches (the book-lungs) under the abdomen. The correct identification of Trapdoor spiders is often quite complicated. Trapdoor spiders can be distinguished from the more dangerous Funnel web spider by its brown or mottled markings. When in danger, a Trapdoor spider will freeze or flee whereas a Funnel web will rear back aggressively. Trapdoor spiders construct burrows lined by their silk and closed by a hinged door of silk, moss, and soil. There they lie in wait for passing prey, usually an insect; when the prey touches silken threads radiating out on the ground near the door, the spiders quickly open the door and seize it. Closely related to Tarantulas, Trapdoor Spiders make up the family Ctenizidae. They are generally small, are harmless to humans, and are found in many warm climates. They also use their burrows for protection and as nest sites, the female spinning her egg sac for about 300 eggs in the burrow.
Here's some photos of Trapdoor Spiders sent in by viewers. Many thanks for allowing us to use the photos sent in. All photos are copyright to their owners and may not be reproduced without permission. Please choose a section:

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Unidentified Spiders 2012	Unidentified Spiders 2011	Unidentified Spiders 2010
Unidentified Spiders 2009 (1)	Unidentified Spiders 2009 (2)	Unidentified Spiders 2008 (1)
Unidentified Spiders 2008 (2)	Unidentified Spiders 2007 (1)	Unidentified Spiders 2007 (2)
Unidentified Spiders 2007 (3)	Unidentified Spiders 2006 (1)	Unidentified Spiders 2006 (2)
Unidentified Spiders 2006 (3)	Unidentified Spiders 2005 (2)	Unidentified Spiders 2005 (3)
Unidentified Spiders 2005 (1)	Unidentified Spiders 2004 (1)	Unidentified Spiders 2004 (2)
Unidentified Spiders 2003	Unidentified Spiders 2002	Unidentified Spiders 2001
Spiders in Amber	Closeups	Ant Mimicking Spiders
Argiopes/St. Andrew's Cross	Barn Funnel Weaving Spider	Basilica Spiders
Bird Dropping Spiders	Black House Spiders	Bolas Spiders
Brown Recluse Spiders	Candy Stripe Spiders	Common House Spider
Crab Spiders	Cyclosa Conica	Daddy Long Legs
Daring Jumping Spiders	Fishing Spiders	Funnel Web (Aus)
Furrow Spider	Garden Orb Weavers	Giant House Spider
Golden Orb Weavers	Grass spiders/Funnel Weavers	Ground Spiders
Hacklemesh Weavers	Hobo Spiders	Huntsman Spiders
Jewelled Spiders	Jumping Spiders	Ladybird Spiders
Leaf Curling Spiders	Long Jawed Orb Weavers	Lynx Spiders
Marbled Orb Weavers	Micarathena	Mouse Spiders
Mygalomorphs	Net casting Spider	Nursery Web Spiders
Parson Spiders	Pirate Spiders	Pseudoscorpion
Purseweb Spider	Redback Spiders	Red Spotted Ant Mimic Spiders
Running Crab Spiders	Scorpion Spiders	Solfugids/Camel Spiders
Southern House Spiders	Spider Tats	Spitting Spiders
Steatoda	Tailless Whip Scorpions	Tarantulas
Trapdoor Spiders	Venusta Orchard Spiders	Wandering Spiders
White Tailed Spiders	Widow Spiders	Wolf Spiders
Woodlouse Hunters	Yellow & Broad faced Sac Spiders

Other Trapdoor Spiders

Ravine Trapdoor Spiders

OTHER TRAPDOOR SPIDERS

Reply: This is a male trapdoor spider not a tarantula - glen
23 December, 2011:
the 1st foto is clear , the other 2 are kinda clear , he woz hiding in water in my 2nd and 3rd foto , when i took him out he ran back in hahaha , did’nt relise they like water , try and let me no what it is , i think it a breed of tarantula because of its body size , he wasnt as big as the palm of my hand , but he woz big enough to notice him run along the ground , if you could tell me the breed that would be great ,,,,,, cheers man

Reply: This is a male trapdoor spider - glen
23 December, 2011:
Hi Glen, I have a spider for ID... if you have the time of course. Thank you, thank you, thank you in advance just for just reading this long blah, blah email. ;) I have quite the case of arachnophobia but got the gumption up to take pictures of this poor thing before I tossed it in (feel bad about this... a couple houses down, yard, close to the street & crevasses.) But I didn't & couldn't kill it and it wasn't going to be hanging out with me or my family. I hope to God I didn't deliver a poisonous spider to a neighbor possibly & need to tell them about it. I don't kill spiders even if I don't like them unless they are brown recluses or other poisonous spiders for positive. I'm not a murderer! :) Lol. ACTUAL DETAILS ABOUT IT: It was at about 1am, in North San Antonio Tx. It had rained, pored rather, the night before & temps had dropped to the lowest almost so far this season... pretty cold for this area 46 degrees F. This guy or gal was moving quite slowly (thank goodness for me) and seemed to want to seek refuge in my home! (or at least out of the cod & wet, I think it was rained out of it's home, poor thing even though I sincerely dislike to be near these things! Eeek!) It was 1 3/4 - 2 inches with both main body parts and 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 inches with it's legs mostly out. I feel bad for the she/he spidy because he wasn't aggressive & just seemed really tired, cold, maybe old, and was just looking for a better home. I think it is some sort of a trap door spider from what I've researched... painful to do- look at SPIDER PICS!!! But I need to let my neighbors know, definitely if otherwise. I couldn't walk far without my wheelchair or other assistant walking devices- I have an injury to my back I'm trying to recover from. For all those reasons, sorry for the bad pics in advance... it was cold, and it was of a spider!!! Lol. So silly of me. Anyhow, the pictures are attached. Thank you again & I hope you are doing well. Take care. Just incase the images are to large of files I'll send a follow up with a zip folder with them. Sorry to bother you. Hope you can help! Best Wishes & Warm Regards, Nicole

23 December, 2011:
Just wondering if I identified this spider correctly, I think its a black house spider. The second picture kinda give you scope of the size of the spider as my hand is behind it. Thanks

20 November, 2011:
I am hoping you can help me identify these different spiders. I came across the lighter brown spider running around my parents farmhouse in Sacramento. The other spider I am guessing is a Male California Trapdoor Spider? I found it hanging on our screen door in San Diego after our first heavy November rainfall...possibly looking for a mate? I heard these are rare creatures now, my grandma used to catch them as a young girl in Glendale 1930's . I've never encounter spiders this large until I saw your website, super informative and great pictures!! Megan

Reply: It is a myglamorph and could be a trapdoor spider - glen
Click for close ups.

7 August, 2011:
hi there.. while on holiday in spain last week I came across this spider on a wall in the street..it was quite near a market and some gardens.it does not belong there naturally..It looks like a small tarantula to me ..it got very aggressive when I messed with it and reared up attacking a stick I was positioning it with..any idea as to what it is as I released it in some wasteland after taking a few pics..regards Terry... ps I tried to access your spider site but had problems

Reply: This looks like a trapdoor spider - glen
Click for close ups.

6 April, 2011:
I RECIEVED THIS SPIDER FOR AN INDIVIDUAL,IT WAS LEFT AT A HOTEL ROOM IN WV. I NEED HELP TO IDENTIFY IT "I HOPE IT'S NOT WHAT I THINK IT IS" ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED! I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF SPIDER IT IS ESPECIALLY IF IT IS POISONOUS!!!!!

13 March, 2011:
I see this spider just about every summer in my backyard in Elizabeth Colorado. It is always in the hole that is very round and clean. The babies sometimes swarm around the top when she is down below. I have never seen a trap door or web at all. She actually seems to like posing for my pictures. Please let me know if she is dangerous or do I just let her be? Sincerely- Beverly

Reply: These are trapdoor spiders too - glen
Click for close ups.

1 December, 2010:
Dear Sir I found two WC Spiders in North of Main Land China, it is look like a Trapdoor spider species, but i am not sure.... Would you please identify what species it is. Enclosed, Please find the attached four photos for your easy reference. I am looking forward, and thank your for your help. Best regards, John

Reply: These look like 2 male trapdoor spiders - glen

1 December, 2010:

I found these two running across my living room floor a few weeks ago .. I found another one in my kitchen last night and two more in my kitchen tonight .. It has been raining and I've read that males hunt sometimes after rain ... But is it normal to hunt in groups ? I live in a very wooded area north of Atlanta ga ... Are these spiders poisonous? I have read that they are and that they are not .. I am terrified of spiders and completely freaked out! Thanks

Reply: This also looks like a male trapdoor spider because of the extra long pedipalps - glen

1 December, 2010:

Glen, greetings from Pell City, Alabama. I found this spider while I was digging a garden bed by my camper. I think I may have been underground. It moves like a Tarantula. It has unmistakably large fangs and I'm wandering if this is native to my area because I live in a marina and we have a lot of traffic here. Please try to ID this for me. -Kory (photo attached -2.1MB)

Reply: This is a trapdoor spider- glen

21 August, 2010:
Can you identify this? It was found in Arlington, Texas. thanks, Leslie

Reply: The green one was a lynx spider - glen

14 August, 2010:

Glen, I like your web site, it's very informative. As an Arachnophobe, I like to get to know what type of spider(s) I may encounter (friends close but enemies closer). Spiders give me chills but I'm not deathly afraid. I'm from Washington State and currently live in California. I've seen my share of Hobo Spiders, Garden Spiders, Wolf Spiders (been bitten by one), Black and Brown Widow's, a Recluse or two, and even Banana and Huntsman Spiders (Japan and Okinawa). But the photos of the spiders I'm sending you left me dumbfounded the day I saw them. I read that they're not dangerous to humans but I still wouldn't want to get bit by them. The green one is an awesome looking Garden Spider I saw in Oceanside, CA and the other is a Trapdoor Spider that was fished from my in-law's pool in San Diego, CA. I hope you like them enough to post on your site. Thank you. Sincerely, Adam

Reply: This also looks like a male trapdoor spider because of the extra long pedipalps - glen

19 July, 2010:

can u help me i found a spider not sure what kind it is i have three boys two is young & now getting where they want 2 explore just want 2 know what im dealing with i dont want 2 kill them but just need 2 know oh yeah i live in east TN. close to the smokies mtn. thank u much 4 your time

Reply: It looks like a male trapdoor spider because of the extra long pedipalps on either side of its fangs - glen

9 January, 2010:

Hi Glen, Could you tell me if this is a female Trap-Door spider? found this at a high school in Perth, Western Australia. Here is a youtube link (excuse the swearing) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_pSzuQKquQ Regards, Mezo.

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Reply: This looks like a male trapdoor spider (from the long pedipals that look like extra legs) who has gone wandering looking for a mate and fallen in your pool - glen
23 December, 2009:
Can you please tell me what kind of spider this is? It was found in Santa Paula, California. It had fallen in my pool. I had rinsed out my Christmas tree near that side of the pool, could it have come from Organ? It looks like it has 10 legs but two of them have dangers on the end of them. Thank you for your help, Chad
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Reply: The first one looks like a male trapdoor spider but the second one I can't tell from the photo - glen
23 November, 2009:

Hi how are you, Can you identify the spiders on the attached photo? I am a Dutch tourist and stumbled over the first (210) in Eucla, WA and the 2nd (152) near Streaky Bay in SA. Thanks for helping! Best regards, Ronald

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Reply: This looks like a male trapdoor spider - glen
23 November, 2009:

Hi, I live in southern New Jersey, USA and I was hoping you could tell P> me what this spider is. It looks exactly like the California trapdoor spider except I found it by my front door in New Jersey so I am assuming it's not that.

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Reply: This looks like a trapdoor spider - glen
23 October, 2009:

Dear Glen, I found this spider in my house in Pacifica, CA, just south of San Francisco. My first thought is tarantula, but I'm not sure, and I can't find any pictures that are just right. It's definitely way out of range. For size, I put a US quarter in the galss, about one inch in diameter. I would guess that the leg span stretches out about four inches or so. Any feedback? Thank you. Regards, Chris

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Reply: This looks like a trapdoor spider - glen
8 September, 2009:

Hi I wonder if you can help us, we’ve found this spider in our swimming pool pump house and don’t know what it is or how to approach it, at present we’ve just closed the lid and are hoping it dies. We live on the costa blanca in spain. Many thanks Wendy

Click for a larger view.

4 April, 2009:
In Dallas, TX. This lovely creature (~2 1/2 inches) ended up on my foot while walking through a cemetary. Have browsed many pics but can't seem to ID this. Here's a view from the top and from the underside. Can you help? Thanks! Chris

More Info from Mia:
14 April, 2009: We have successfully identified our spider (Named Trapper) Your right she wasnt a wolf spider but a varation of Trapdoor spider closely related to a Tarantula. Ive been trying to figure out some more info in regards to her such as possible hybernation or dormancy and an approximate lifespan. A lil info I thought I would pass on to you. Calisoga longitarsus "Trapper is no wolf spider though. Those eyes are all wrong. This is definitely one of the mygalomorphs. Where do you live? I'm guessing California or out west for sure. Appears very much to be a female Calisoga longitarsus from the Nemesiidae family (Tube-trapdoor spiders). Sometimes referred to as false tarantulas due to the resemblance of their relatives. She's not dangerous, I can assure you of that. Her bite will be painful most likely (in the event of a bite), but should be no worse than that of a bee sting and symptoms should subside within 24 hours. That being said, I'm not sure how well this spider will enjoy being handled so I advise caution. People tend to label any large hairy spider as wolf spiders when the don't know any better. Wolf spiders are actually pretty easy to identify once you know what to look for as they have a rather distinct eye pattern. Spider families are differentiated mostly by eye patterns. A good resource for this can be found here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/84423" I have a few more pictures if you would like as well here is the link for the page she is currently housed upon on your site http://spiderzrule.com/trapdoor1.htm Many regards and thanks so much once more Mia

Reply: This could be a trapdoor spider but it is rather light in colour. It doesn't have the correct eye pattern for a wolf spider- glen
22 November, 2008:
I live in Northern California in the Tahoe area. My neighbour just across the driveway found this in her front yard. I've caught what I think it be a female and she is thriving. However, Im perplexed. Just what is she? I at first thought a Trap-Door Spider. She does burrow but has no trap door. Instead its lined in a fine layer of webbing inside and out. So I am thinking maybe a Burrowing Wolf spider. Could you please shed some light? Also how venomous would she be? Ive not handled her and I really don't intend to. But we have grown to love her and its really for curiosty sake. Thanks a ton for your help and wonderful site. Keep it up.

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Reply: This looks like a trapdoor spider - glen
10 November, 2008:

Glen, I stumbled upon your web site and came to the conclusion that you are the "Spider Man"! I thought you might be able to help me identify this spider. This is the second one I have found in my house. The first one we found running across the floor this past Saturday was twice the size of this one but looked just like it. Thank you in advance for your time. Sincerely, Tonya

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Reply: It is not a hobo. It is some sort of myglamorph, perhaps a trapdoor spider even though it is a bit light in colour, so I'll include it in this section as well as the myglamorphs. glen
9 November, 2008:

Glen, found this guy crawling on my buddy at work last week (Southern Idaho). We both thought it is a Hobo. Over the next few days, we saw 5 or 6 more just like it. They are rather large at about 1 1/2 inches long. Please let me know what it is. Thanks, Ken

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6 July, 2008:

This is a spider I found on my back patio last night we had very heavy rain and I thought it was trying to keep dry ?? I have tried to find out what kind it was and think it’s a trapdoor spider looking at some pictures on the net. I live in Mandurah Perth Western Australia.. any way I didn’t want it in my garden as I wasn’t sure it was a safe spider to have and I have very small dogs so I released tonight in the bush took this pictures hoping some one might know what it is .... thank Mandi

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3 May, 2008:

Hi Glen, I think these were little Trapdoor Spiders. I have seen them a lot since it's turned warm again. Feel free to use the pics if you want. --Damy
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22 December, 2007:
I found these two big guys at the bottom of my pool after a rainy night. I scooped them out and they were soggy and lifeless. I put them in a container to see if possibly they would come back to life, which luckily they did! An hour later they were crawling about inside the container. They seem to have hard "shell-like" bodies. Can you tell me what species they are? I plan to keep them for my 7 & 8 year old kids to see before putting them back in our yard (far away from the pool!) Thanks, Janene W.
PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THAT JUST BECAUSE AN INSECT IS AT THE BOTTOM OF A POOL, DON'T ALWAYS ASSUME THEY ARE DEAD. SOMETIMES THEY JUST NEED TO BE NETTED OUT OF THE POOL AND PUT IN A CONTAINER TO "COME BACK TO LIFE". LATER, YOU CAN SET THEM FREE BACK INTO YOUR YARD, AND YOU HAVE DONE A GOOD DEED FOR THE DAY!

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8 September, 2007:

Hi Glen-- Great page! My wife found this spider near Parkesville, on Vancouver Island, B.C. (Canada) on the beach at low tide (it was in a spot that was definitely covered by the high tide earlier that morning). The naturalist at the park info hut couldn't ID it (she did say there was a species of tarantula on the island). Its head and body are about 1.5 to 1.7 cm, and from tip of front leg to tip of back about 3.75- 4.0 cm. I have supplied two photos -- on my rather old and dark display the high contrast one I manipulated in iPhoto shows the markings on the back more clearly. Its head parts were rather pancake flat (almost as if it had been stamped out in a die) compared to the bulbous abdomen with its markings. A couple of days later I saw a
smaller one just at the edge of the forest near the tide line. Thanks, Mark

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4 September, 2007:

Hi Glen, Thanks for answering my email and for posting my Hobo spider pictures on the website. I thought you might also like those nice shots I recently did of an orb-weaver and of a trapdoor spider. Best wishes, Françoise

3 September, 2007:

Hello, I'm a spider phobic living in Sequim, WA, now spider heaven with the warming... I have lots of pics but will only ask about this one... a fearsome looking tribe of them are taking over my garage.

Reply: This is more likely to be a male trapdoor spider - glen

5 August, 2007:
Greetings! Fished this one out of the bottom of my swimming pool in North Carolina – it was still alive! and after a time it crawled away. I think it’s a wolf spider, but wanted to be sure. Thanx!

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28 January, 2007:
I found this spider inside my house in the Perth Hills. Can you please confirm if this is a Trapdoor, Wolf or other spider...Thanks Mal

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5 November, 2006:

Can you identify this spider? It was found on the floor of my daughters room, in the hills west of San Francisco California. My guess from looking around would be a trap door spider, but the location doesn't match what I have seen. (unless it caught a ride on our dog).

thanks,

Jeff

22 October, 2006:

Hello, I'm sure you receive many requests and do not have time to respond to
each. I'm also sure that the vast majority of these requests are sure they have a specimen of the more dangerous sort. I'm no different it would seem. Everything I read says not possible, but after looking at what seems like every spider picture on the internet, I keep coming back to the
sydney funnel web. It looks like male, but I can't make out any spurs and he won't cooperate and show me. The only problem is this spider was caught in my living room, about 7500 miles away from where it should be. I'm located in the US, Washington State (Spokane). Hopefully these pictures are sufficient, but please request additional photos if you like (esp the underside shot). Higher resolution image files are available. This wasn't my idea of the most comfortable way to learn macro photography. My preference is to be completely wrong-- in the interest of a good nights sleep. We have (or had) fresh cut flowers in the house, which is
the only way I can think one of these gets so far from home. I'm convinced at this point it would survive the trip because it has been outside for 48 hours now and is still very much alive and our temps are
dropping quite low at night. Thank you, Jason

Reply: This is probably a male trapdoor on the move, Sydney funnelweb spiders only live around Sydney. glen

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16 September, 2006:

I am sending two photos of a spider found in my wooded lot in North Central Texas. Since I have children playing in the yard, I have captured him before and relocated him away from the house, but he or it has returned. I would like to know if he is poisonous and exactly what kind of spider he is. He reminds me of a tarantula, but much smaller. One photo is blurry, but gives you an idea of his size. I would very much appreciate your help, as I do not want to destroy anything unnecessarily. Kaye Boyd, Paradise,

Click for a larger view.

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21 August, 2006:
Hi Glen, Here I am again. Sometime ago I mentioned that I was trying to get some outdoor photos of the Sydney Brown Trapdoor Spider. I was able to get some last Thursday and thought I would sent a couple to you for your wesite if you care to use them. This trapdoor is a female and is quite fiesty as trapdoors go. She is quite large, about 30mls to 35 mls in body length. and shows the very nice brown colouration of this species. Hope you like them, Regards, Col Halliday Click for a larger view.

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11 June, 2006:
I have a Sydney Brown Trapdoor that I am feeding and growing and I have attached a couple of photos of her which you may want to use on your site if you feel they are what you are lookng for. Collin Halliday

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24 December 2005:
Hi Glen, While I was hiking in Victoria's alpine area (Australia) I came across a spider. Size is approx. 60-70mm. Do you know what species this is. Hope the photo is good enough. Best regards, Mark

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19 December, 2005:
Hi. Although your site is very extensive, I have not been able to determine what type of spider this is. We live outside of Austin , TX and we found this guy in our garage. He could have been forced into the neighborhood by nearby construction. He has fangs and very distinctive/unusual markings on his bottom side.

Pic 34 is a view of his bottom

Pic 16 is also for scale

Pic 17 is a view of his top side

Pic 19 is his overall profile

Thank you so much for any information you can give me. Angel G.

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Reply: This is a brown trapdoor spider.
http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/trapdoor_spiders.htm

15 December, 2005:
Hi Glen I now have the occupant of the burrow! Any chance you could tell me what it is and whether I need to do something about it? Thanks for your help, Kelly.

27 November, 2005:
Here are some more spider pictures that we have recently taken. We had a huge storm come through and found this on our porch this morning. I've looked at pictures this morning and it looks like a trapdoor spider. It was huddled in a way so we had to try and get it to open up, which didn't make the spider too happy.
Dawn G.
Kingsville, Texas

Reply:
In looking at other photos from this page http://www.whatsthatbug.com/spiders.html, they have it identified as a female trap door spider. Dianna Ray

3 October, 2005:
Hi Glen, Excellent site. I was hoping to have this aggressive spider identified. I live in San Antonio, TX. Found him today (10-12-05) in my garage crawling fairly slowly against the wall. Around an inch and a half long. Not the best climber as it had trouble climbing vertically out of a 2" cardboard lid. Reared up and attacked anything that got close to it (wet cotton ball, popsicle stick... I have a video clip if you want it.) I thought it might be a Southern House Spider, but doesn't quite fit the look. Looks very similar to a Sydney funnel spider, but I don't live in Australia, and perhaps it's a bit small. His fangs have quite a grip (on the stick). I didn't see any other spider that had such short, stout legs and the glossy body. Can you help me? I'm concerned about whether or not it is venomous since I have an 8 month old that's starting to crawl around. Also, any pointers on keeping him alive (feeding, shelter, etc?) Thanks a lot. Aaron

Click for a larger view.

Reply: It is a male and some sort of a myglamorph. Possibly a Trapdoor.

7 October, 2005:
I found this big guy in a water bowl what kind is it and is it and is it harmful, it looks thicker bodied than I usually see around my area(coastal North Carolina)

Reply: Could be a trapdoor spider.
23 September, 2005:
Today my dog caught a spider that I have never seen before. It is about the size of a half dollar. It is black with a big butt that is attached by a very small tube. The Butt is white with spots on the bottom. It has 10 legs and pretty big Fangs. It is black and it looks like it has some sort of shiny black armor on its back and chest area. its legs are hairy. I live in Oregon if this helps you. I will try and send a picture soon so you can get a look at this. Thank you for your time.
Andy