Trap-door Spider
Ummidia nidulans
Where is it found?
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Forests in the West Indies
Diet and foraging method
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Trapdoor spiders are sit and wait predators, when a small arthropod wanders near to the trap the spider will jump out using powerful rear legs and eat it.
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Key adaptations
Trapdoor spiders have extra barbs on their legs used for burrowing. Some trapdoor species (not Ummidia nidulans) have a hard rear plate on the opisthosoma to discourage invaders.
Social organisation and mating system
Solitary
The male can overcome the females aggressiveness and enter the trap, but it is not known how.
Did you know that...?
Trapdoor spiders are prey to a few species of specialized wasp, who gain entrance to the burrow and lay an egg in the spider, the larvae of which eat the spider alive.
Taxonomy
Sources:
"TrapDoorSpiderDorsal" by Davefoc - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TrapDoorSpiderDorsal.jpg#/media/File:TrapDoorSpiderDorsal.jpg
"TrapDoorSpiderVentral" by Davefoc - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TrapDoorSpiderVentral.JPG#/media/File:TrapDoorSpiderVentral.JPG
"Trap door spider". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trap_door_spider.jpg#/media/File:Trap_door_spider.jpg
"TrapDoorSpiderVentral" by Davefoc - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TrapDoorSpiderVentral.JPG#/media/File:TrapDoorSpiderVentral.JPG
"Trap door spider". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trap_door_spider.jpg#/media/File:Trap_door_spider.jpg
