Hello -
I pulled one of these guys - ID'd as a species of trapdoor spider as best as I can tell - from the bottom of the pool a couple days ago and assumed him to be dead:
However, I noticed he had 'moved' a few feet when I returned back out there a couple hours later. When I touched him, I noticed he had not stiffened, but remained entirely flexible, and he seemed to react ever so slightly when I did so. So I relocated him to a shady spot near our front door just in case he was convalescing. While doing so, I saw another one of these in front of our garage door - a good 50 feet from where I fished the first out of the pool.
We have a resident 'tarantula hawk' population, and I am beginning to think maybe he was stung by one? The venom from these wasps does not kill their pray, but rather paralyze them, after which the wasp will drag its (still living) prey to its den so its larvae can dine on fresh food.
My question is, *if* this indeed is the case, does anyone know if effects of the venom will eventually wear off? I would think that just as we have evolved, arachnids might similarly have some innate capability to filter out toxins? He seems to be a little more responsive to stimuli than yesterday or the day before. However, I do not know if this is a sign of the venom wearing off - or maybe just a response of a dying organism?
He measures about 3/4" in length from the front of his cephalothorax to the rear of his abdomen.
Thanks and happy Thanksgiving.
I pulled one of these guys - ID'd as a species of trapdoor spider as best as I can tell - from the bottom of the pool a couple days ago and assumed him to be dead:
However, I noticed he had 'moved' a few feet when I returned back out there a couple hours later. When I touched him, I noticed he had not stiffened, but remained entirely flexible, and he seemed to react ever so slightly when I did so. So I relocated him to a shady spot near our front door just in case he was convalescing. While doing so, I saw another one of these in front of our garage door - a good 50 feet from where I fished the first out of the pool.
We have a resident 'tarantula hawk' population, and I am beginning to think maybe he was stung by one? The venom from these wasps does not kill their pray, but rather paralyze them, after which the wasp will drag its (still living) prey to its den so its larvae can dine on fresh food.
My question is, *if* this indeed is the case, does anyone know if effects of the venom will eventually wear off? I would think that just as we have evolved, arachnids might similarly have some innate capability to filter out toxins? He seems to be a little more responsive to stimuli than yesterday or the day before. However, I do not know if this is a sign of the venom wearing off - or maybe just a response of a dying organism?
He measures about 3/4" in length from the front of his cephalothorax to the rear of his abdomen.
Thanks and happy Thanksgiving.
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