Spiders walk along the Avon River

Trapdoor spiders often emerge from their burrows after rain - but why?

Newly matured male spiders emerge from their burrows and go looking for a mate, after spending anywhere from three to seven years living exclusively underground.

If you live in the micro-world, moist soil is perfect for digging in - so many types of juvenile trapdoor spider emerge after rains to start excavating their own private burrows. It's important for them to find a good spot, as they will stay there for life!!

This Mouse Spider (Missulena spp.) was walking along with purpose under some Jam (Acacia accuminata) trees down by the Avon River in Northam. He seems to know where to go, but he'd better look out - there's an army of obstacles for him to avoid, like:

• large hungry centipedes looking for a bite to eat,
• cunning wasps who would might carry them away;
• sharp eyed magpies and butcher birds who watch for tasty spiders at dawn and dusk, and
• racehorse goanna's and bandicoot's who can dig them out of their burrows!

No wonder he's moving so fast!

So, if you see a big spider walking along the ground this winter/autumn, spare a thought for the hard times it has overcome to get that far and take a moment to watch it go along on it's way.

Do feel free to take a picture though, and send it to info@wheatbeltnrm.org.au so Wheatbelt NRM can help you find out a bit more about it.

The last one we had someone ask us about was a brand new species all together!

Thunderstorms Reveals Interesting Trapdoor Spider

Recent summer thunderstorms in the wheatbelt have uncovered another interesting species of trapdoor spider from the Grass Valley area, Western Australia.

Photo by Dr. Volker Framenau - check out his other images

Found after the storms which rolled across the Wheatbelt on New Years Eve, this new spider is closely related to the Black Wishbone Spider (check the article on Esperance Wildlife Blog). However, this spider is smaller and more brown in colour, making it likely to be a variant from the Black Wishbone Spider.

Wishbone spiders are so named due to the shape of their burrow, which generally have two entrances on the soil surface, leading to a single tunnel where the spider retreats to avoid predators and the heat.

Often regarded as one of the most common Mygalomorph spiders found in the wheatbelt after summer rain storms, this slightly different 'morphospecies' of Aname spp. is currently being investigated by spider experts and the Western Australian Museum's Arachnid and Myriopod Section.

The last time someone from Grass Valley found something interesting, it ended up being an entirely new species of trapdoor spider - and their discovery was considerd one of the Top Ten Weirdest Lifeforms of 2011 by National Geographic!

So, if you have seen any Mygalomorph spiders recently, or even unusual bugs or critters out in the Wheatbelt - all sorts of things appear at the light at the front door in the days after rain - email info@wheatbeltnrm.org.au and Wheatbelt NRM staff will do what they can to find out what your critter might be.