>> |
Anonymous
ODFW replied to me and id copy paste what they sent me here if the thread hadn't 404ed.
Thank you for your concern in this matter. The spider you found is not a California trapdoor spider, which as you noted, is not found in this area (the climate and habitat are wrong). It is a harmless, albeit fearsome looking, native spider, the foldingdoor trapdoor spider, Antrodiaetus pacificus. The habitat and locality where you found it are absolutely typical for this species. The time of year is also right because the males (which this probably is) wander following the onset of the rainy season. Sometimes females can be found on the surface of the soil repairing their burrow entrances. These spiders live in burrows that are closed with a door or hatch that folds down the middle (hence the name "folding door trapdoor spider"). When an insect or other prey crawls over or near the door, the spiders pop out of the burrow, folding the half-door back as they emerge, and grab their prey and take it back into the burrow. These spiders can be very numerous and prefer banks or road cuts, probably because their burrows are less prone to flooding in those situations. Going out at night with a flashlight, you can often see their eyes gleaming as they rest at the entrance to their burrows.
Although it would be painful and probably pretty upsetting to be bitten by these spiders, their bite is not known to be poisonous. These spiders can be found throughout forested areas in Oregon and also can sometimes be found in gardens, so no need to worry about releasing the spider where it doesn't belong. The only spider known to be poisonous in Oregon is the black widow, which of course looks very different from trapdoor spiders. Hobo spiders have been thought to be poisonous, but review of the available information finds no support for that being the case. Brown recluse spiders, reported to be present by the news media and physicians, are not found anywhere near Oregon.
|