# Black Trapdoor caught in VA...



## -Sarah- (May 2, 2009)

My grandma was transplanting a tree earlier today and came across this Trapdoor spider. Apparently her shovel just missed completely demolishing the burrow it was residing in. Naturally I had to bring it home to get photos  Almost looks like or is an Ummidia spp.? It looks female and it looks gravid... Here's 4 small shots of it that I got while it was in a large petri dish. I have it in a suitable container with deep peat moss and the remains of her burrow and door. She's checking it out at the moment, I expect she'll be busy tonight reconstructing it 

What kind of Trapdoor it is.. *That* I am not sure of. Anyone have any suggestions? She's a gorgeous little thing!


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## cacoseraph (May 2, 2009)

in your first shot i tink i see the bend in the tibia that marks it as Ummidia
here is a good pic that looks quite like your spider's leg  http://bugguide.net/node/view/196493/bgimage

pretty gal you got there


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## arachnofein909 (May 2, 2009)

That is one lucky spider.


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## jsloan (May 2, 2009)

cacoseraph said:


> in your first shot i tink i see the bend in the tibia that marks it as Ummidia


Yup, I see that, too.   In the third picture you can also see what SONA (Ubick, et al) describes as a "transverse thoracic furrow typically very deep and procurved," which is characteristic of the family, Ctenizidae.

So, I also agree it's probably _Ummidia sp_.

Nice find!  You were very lucky to get hold of a female.  

What size is it?


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## -Sarah- (May 2, 2009)

Thanks for the replies! I had a feeling that's what she is. Think she's gravid or just simply fat from eating well?  I hope she is gravid.. She is just beautiful. She is already in her burrow!


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## Protectyaaaneck (May 2, 2009)

Cool looking spider but what is that thing coming from it's mouth? (well at least I think it's the mouth)-I'm not familiar with trapdoor's.


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## Pacmaster (May 2, 2009)

Nice find Sarah!
Id buy a sling if she has em . . .
She certainly looks it to me, but what do I know . . . :? 




Looks like maybe old webbing stuck to her?


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## Endagr8 (May 2, 2009)

WHAT!?!  That's awesome! :clap: I didn't know Va. had any mygalomorphs!

What county did you find her in? I hope it's near Culpeper! (fingers crossed)


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## -Sarah- (May 2, 2009)

She's about an inch or so... Pretty stocky little bugger!  

I'm in SW VA so, it's a good drive from Culpeper Co. Sorry about that Endagr8! From what I've been reading they go down as far as Florida (From Virginia) and they're also out in California. As far as that funky thing... It could be a piece of web or a small piece of grass root? I'm really not sure. It doesn't seem to bother her much, she's kind of covered in dirt...  

I don't know what I'm going to do if she has slings! 

Probably freak out...  I think that's what I'll most likely do.


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## HaploFool (May 2, 2009)

I'm in VA and would love to go hunting for some of those!


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## Big Red TJ (May 2, 2009)

awsome find sarah


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## -Sarah- (May 2, 2009)

Big Red TJ said:


> awsome find sarah


Thanks Matt  She's so purty!!

Personally I'd like to see this girl hunt! Can't wait to throw a small roach in there and see how she does


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## Big Red TJ (May 2, 2009)

here she go's the roach thing


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## Endagr8 (May 3, 2009)

Sarah_88 said:


> I don't know what I'm going to do if she has slings!


You could send one or two up my way!  lol


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## Shrike (May 3, 2009)

Very cool spider!  Nice find.


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## -Sarah- (May 3, 2009)

Big Red TJ said:


> here she go's the roach thing


Just 'cause you're too chicken to have roaches doesn't mean other people can't  



Thanks! If she's gravid this will be very interesting, I might refresh my memory a little by digging up some archives I have. She's wild-caught and super-fat so I will be keeping my fingers crossed.


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## cacoseraph (May 3, 2009)

if she makes eggs let the babies stay with themom as lnog as possible. baby trapdoors *seem* like a cute idea, and they are indeed cute... but they are super hard to care for.  if you keep them in dirt they make these hideously small trapdoors and are just about impossible to feed unless you have a seriously wide range of non-standard feeders.  a buddy had some success keeping the babies singly in vials with just a couple small pieces of paper towel... he would rip open the burrows they would make when it was time to feed them... the babies WILL eat off of prekilled stuff but they seemed quite particular about what triggers them to leave their burrow to actually get to the food.


if she makes babies your best bet would probably be to leave them in her burrow with her for a year or however long they stay in nature... you can feed her as normal and the babies will feed off of her food


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## Pulk (May 3, 2009)

Also, the babies will take forever to mature. I think some second instars What was taking care of took over a year to molt, and there was no measurable growth. (That was B. californicum... maybe Ummidia is different, but a decade(s)-long commitment isn't really something to be excited about)


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## What (May 3, 2009)

Pulk said:


> I think some second instars What was taking care of took over a year to molt, and there was no measurable growth.


Uh... They got measurably smaller... Carapace size went from 1.5mm to 1mm after the molt. But anyways, yes, it took over a year in captivity for it to molt, with no idea how long it had already been a 2nd instar before collection.


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## OwnedByRetics (May 3, 2009)

I live in SW VA (Russell) and had no idea we had those. Great find!


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## Pacmaster (May 3, 2009)

Pulk said:


> Also, the babies will take forever to mature. I think some second instars What was taking care of took over a year to molt, and there was no measurable growth. (That was B. californicum... maybe Ummidia is different, but a decade(s)-long commitment isn't really something to be excited about)


Sounds like fun!
 

Im in!


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## burmish101 (May 3, 2009)

Geat find, that spider looks really cool. Sucks theres nothing too cool in Ohio. There are these spiders that hit about 3in and spin HUGE funnel webs but they look like skinny wolf spiders, thats about the only neat thing up here and I have no clue what they are(far north by lake erie).


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## cacoseraph (May 4, 2009)

burmish101 said:


> Geat find, that spider looks really cool. Sucks theres nothing too cool in Ohio. There are these spiders that hit about 3in and spin HUGE funnel webs but they look like skinny wolf spiders, thats about the only neat thing up here and I have no clue what they are(far north by lake erie).


grass spiders, Agelenidae


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## Flower (May 4, 2009)

Cool critter. But what's the wet looking stuff hanging out of it's mouth?


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## burmish101 (May 4, 2009)

cacoseraph said:


> grass spiders, Agelenidae


Cool never heard of grass spiders Ill have to google. Ive always wanted to keep one for a pet but their webs are so freaking huge I have no idea what to put one in, the only spare cage I have is a big 75gallon tank its web would probably fill less than half of it. Ill probably figure something out.


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## -Sarah- (May 5, 2009)

Thanks for the advice Cacoseraph, I'm debating on what to do with her really... If I should keep her or what. She's gorgeous, I'd hate to stick her back outside...

Flower, I'm really not sure what it is... It almost looks like a root of some sort, possibly a grass root? It didn't seem to bother her too much


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## cacoseraph (May 6, 2009)

well.... if you fed her store bought crix and/or already put her amongst your other captive bugs i would advise against releasing her.  though the chance for any individual bug re-released to be carrying something is probably quite small it still exists and should be considered.  virtually all of the learned and considerate ppl i have seen comment on the subject have said bugs only come in on a one way road to the hobby... the should never be returned to nature by casual hobbyists (which is what you, me, and 99.X% of the ppl here really are)


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## Mr Ed (Jun 12, 2009)

I was in my back yard a little bit ago and caught an adult mature male (he's packing some pretty big bulbs on his pedipalps) about 1 1/2"-2" size.  Granted I'm here in Texas, I really thought is was a small aphonopelma sp. out moving around.  This one appears to have the same tibial depression on leg III as well.  I just caught him long enough to look at him, he's going back outside since he's not a T. neat little arachnid though, nice and shiny. Time for him to go back outside though.


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## Ambly (Apr 8, 2013)

Great find - hope to have some luck finding these in the wild myself.  Not for collection... because I am intrigued by them and their biology, specifically their dispersal/gerographic questions.


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