The Sydney Brown Trapdoor Spider lives in silk-lined burrows, which are commonly found in the lawns, gardens and bushland of Sydney.
The Golden Trapdoor Spider is a fascinating creature that captures the attention of both nature enthusiasts and arachnid aficionados alike. This unique spider species, scientifically known as “Misgolas spp.,” is renowned for its striking golden coloration and intricate trapdoor burrows.
Found predominantly in the forests and woodlands of Australia, the Golden Trapdoor Spider showcases several intriguing characteristics that set it apart from other arachnids. From its incredible lifespan to its remarkable hunting techniques, there is much to discover and appreciate about this elusive yet captivating creature.
What are trapdoor spiders?
The trapdoor spiders dig burrows under the ground, acting as their homes and as traps for insects and prey. They make these trapdoors with vegetation, silk, or soil. They are carnivorous and aggressive spiders by nature. They generally do not bite humans, but they can cause harm if they do. They are sometimes kept as exotic pets by collectors.
Trapdoor spiders do not make webs to live or catch their prey like most spiders. This sets them apart from most of their other scary spider friends.
golden trapdoor spider Venomous or Dangerous?
The venom of trapdoor spiders is fatal for insects, but as per previous claims by social media posts, it is not fatal for humans. Research and expert opinion say that their venom is not very toxic for humans. They are aggressive but only when instigated or provoked. They rarely bite humans. Their fangs are larger than many other spiders, making their bites more painful.
Despite their large size and fearsome appearance, orb weavers are not considered to be medically important. Orb weavers rarely bite and only do so when threatened and unable to escape. If bitten by an orb weaver, the bite and injected venom is comparable to that of a bee sting, with no long-term implications unless the bite victim happens to be hyper-allergic to the venom.
Identification
The Sydney Brown Trapdoor Spider’s body has a dusty look about it, with golden brown hairs on the carapace (body) and greyish bars on the abdomen. The carapace is usually weakly arched in side profile. Their eyes are arranged in two compact rows. Males usually have a small double spur halfway along their first leg and have thick ‘boxing glove’ palps (front pair of limbs). Females are larger than males, and tend to be harder to identify to species level. These spiders are quite timid, although the male may rear up if threatened, and they are not dangerously venomous. Trapdoor spiders are quite different in appearance from the shiny brown-black funnel-web spiders, with which, being similar in size, they are often confused. Also unlike funnel-webs, they have short, blunt spinnerets.
Habitat
The Sydney Brown Trapdoor Spider can occur in large numbers in urban and bushland areas.
Where are trapdoor spiders found? They are generally found in warm and wet places. They are very common in the Southwestern parts of the USA. Some varieties of trapdoor spiders are also found in Japan, Africa, and Southern America. They mostly stay in low embankment areas with natural soil and vegetation.
They make a small burrow inside the soil in your gardens, lawns, or nearby river banks. They mostly remain inside their burrows and do not mingle with humans until provoked. They only tend to come out during the rainy season. They are generally not known as harmful spiders but can become aggressive when instigated. They tend to run very fast and can scare humans to death with that high-speed splint.
The female trapdoor spiders generally remain close to their burrows. The males tend to go out to find different females to mate with.
Distribution
The Sydney Brown Trapdoor Spider is known from the George’s River in southern Sydney to the Hunter River Valley in the north and just west of Parramatta in the west. However there are a number of other Arbanitis species found in the Sydney region.Orb weavers are found throughout the world, except for the Arctic and Antarctica. In North America, there are approximately 180 species of orb weaver spiders.
Trapdoor spiders are one the most common spiders in California. This is particularly indigenous to the land and can mostly be found during the rainy season. They generally reside inside the ground. So houses near the river and sea have a high chance of meeting these spiders inside their houses. Houses with marshy or damp backyards and gardens are at higher risk than others. A warm and wet climate is best for these spiders to grow and nest.
Feeding and diet
The Sydney Brown Trapdoor plays an important role in controlling ground-dwelling insects and other arthropods such as beetles, cockroaches, crickets, slaters, spiders and even moths that stray too near the burrow entrance.
Other behaviours and adaptations
Unlike funnel-web spider burrows, the burrows of the Sydney Brown Trapdoor Spider have no silk trip-lines extending out from the rim and they are found in more open ground. Despite their common name, most Arbanitis species do not make trapdoors but have an open burrow with a silken rim attached to the surrounding grass or leaf litter. An exception is another Sydney species, M. gracilis, which makes a light, wafer-like trapdoor.
Breeding behaviours
Male trapdoor spiders have a small double mating spur halfway along the first pair of legs, which is a distinction from similarly sized male funnel-webs that have a large spur on the second pair of legs instead. Males tend to wander throughout the year.
Danger to humans
Although often mistaken for funnel-web spiders, the bite of a trapdoor spider is not dangerous, but may be painful and cause some local swelling. Apply a cold pack to relieve pain and seek medical attention if symptoms persist.
Australian researchers have discovered a super-sized species of trapdoor spiders found only in Queensland.
The females of this rare species can live for over 20 years in the wild and grow up to 5cm long – large in trapdoor spider terms.
The males grow up to 3cm.
Unfortunately, much of its habitat has been lost due to land clearing, making it likely to be an endangered species, scientists said.
So-called trapdoor spiders build “trap doors” out of leaves to prey on insects. They typically measure about 1.5cm to 3cm.
The newfound species, Euoplos dignitas, is a type of golden trapdoor spider discovered in the semi-arid woodlands of the Brigalow Belt, a region in central Queensland. It is not dangerous to humans.
In Latin, its name means diversity or greatness, reflecting the “impressive size and nature” of the spider, said scientists from the Queensland Museum, which discovered it.
