Potential vagrant spider?

Discuss natural history subjects not strictly related to birds. Reports of interesting mammal, reptile, and invertebrate sightings are welcome.
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Ranger of the North
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Potential vagrant spider?

Postby Ranger of the North » Fri May 10, 2019 11:42 pm

Would this be a vagrant spider? He (or she) appeared scuttling across the floor out of nowhere. Super fast, but comes to a dead stop in a heartbeat. Legspan looks to be about 5cm even without camera-angles skewing things.
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Ranger of the North
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Re: Potential vagrant spider?

Postby Ranger of the North » Sat May 11, 2019 12:04 am

Also possibly jumps? But that may have been me getting distracted with the door and bumping it around, so don't quote me on that :p
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David Riddell
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Re: Potential vagrant spider?

Postby David Riddell » Sat May 11, 2019 9:09 am

Yes, that looks like a vagrant spider, they often come into houses this time of year. It's a male - the females are a lot bulkier, especially in the abdomen, and generally stay close to home under a log. You can also tell it's a male from the enlarged tips to the pedipalps (the leg-like appendages at the front) that make it look like it's wearing boxing gloves - this is generally a good way of sexing spiders.

Many years ago when I was younger and sillier I got bitten trying to pick up a female - it was excruciating! The pain soon faded and there were no long-term problems, though there was localised numbness for about 20 minutes. Not sure if the males bite, and I'm not keen to find out!
Colin Miskelly
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Re: Potential vagrant spider?

Postby Colin Miskelly » Sat May 11, 2019 9:56 am

I have also been bitten by one that I did not notice among leaf litter that I was clearing from a lizard pitfall trap on Kapiti Island. The wound bled profusely, and maybe flushed out any venom, as there was no longer term reaction - and I don't recall it being any more painful than expected for a cut finger.

Colin
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David Riddell
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Re: Potential vagrant spider?

Postby David Riddell » Sun May 12, 2019 10:13 am

My bite (at the base of my thumb) didn't really bleed at all, just a couple of tiny red dots, surrounded by a small white area. The pain was worse than a bee sting, but from memory it had largely subsided after no more than a minute.
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Ranger of the North
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Re: Potential vagrant spider?

Postby Ranger of the North » Sun May 12, 2019 11:31 am

Ahhh, thanks! Glad he didn't seem interested in chomping me when I bothered him, poor fella xD
Olwen
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Re: Potential vagrant spider?

Postby Olwen » Thu May 16, 2019 9:50 am

This was an interesting post, I've only ever noticed the big females. We get many wandering into our bedroom. I'll keep a lookout for the males now.

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