Woodlouse Hunter Spider

[Don Boucher]

Hello,

We were chipping/shredding through our pile of woody debris and Lisa encountered this Woodlouse Hunter Spider (Dysdera crocata). They're about as creepy as there are cool. Introduced from Europe, their primary prey are isopods, like woodlice and sow-bugs. They have scary-looking, large chelicerae with long fangs, adapted to pierce the thick cuticles of woodlice and sow-bugs.

It's not big, not small, maybe a little more than a half inch long. The fangs look scary but a bite probably wouldn't be a big deal. I found this on Bug Guide:

"Bites by the woodlouse spider, Dysdera crocata, are virtually innocuous. The main symptom is minor pain, typically lasting less than 1 hr, probably due mostly to the mechanical puncture of the skin."
- Vetter, R. & Isbister, G. 2006. Verified bites by the woodlouse spider, Dysdera crocata. Toxicon 47 (2006) 826-829.

An interesting spider but I'm sure glad their presence is limited to wood piles, compost, leaf litter, or wherever you find their prey. Fortunately, I never seen one in the house and we're typically wearing garden gloves where we encounter them.

-Don Boucher

Virus-free. www.avast.com

[Bill Gerth]

Ooooh! That is super interesting and a little scary looking. Thanks for sharing!

Cheers,

Bill

On April 7, 2019 at 4:21 PM Don Boucher <donab...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello,

We were chipping/shredding through our pile of woody debris and Lisa encountered this Woodlouse Hunter Spider ( Dysdera crocata). They're about as creepy as there are cool. Introduced from Europe, their primary prey are isopods, like woodlice and sow-bugs. They have scary-looking, large chelicerae with long fangs, adapted to pierce the thick cuticles of woodlice and sow-bugs.

It's not big, not small, maybe a little more than a half inch long. The fangs look scary but a bite probably wouldn't be a big deal. I found this on Bug Guide:

"Bites by the woodlouse spider, Dysdera crocata, are virtually innocuous. The main symptom is minor pain, typically lasting less than 1 hr, probably due mostly to the mechanical puncture of the skin."
- Vetter, R. & Isbister, G. 2006. Verified bites by the woodlouse spider, Dysdera crocata. Toxicon 47 (2006) 826-829.

An interesting spider but I'm sure glad their presence is limited to wood piles, compost, leaf litter, or wherever you find their prey. Fortunately, I never seen one in the house and we're typically wearing garden gloves where we encounter them.

-Don Boucher

Virus-free. www.avast.com

 

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[Mary Garrard]

Although the color is really beautiful!

Mary