I was out digging a hole in the garden the other day and when I used my hand to help move some soil something grabbed my finger. I knocked it off, then looked at it. I took at pic of it, then realized it was probably injured when I was digging with the shovel. It has a lot of legs...could it be a small Tarantula? I feel so bad! Actually, I like Tarantulas, although I seldom see any...and it probably didn't make it. I left it in the shade near my big rosemary bush.
I don't think it's a tarantula - how big was this critter? It might be some kind of trapdoor spider, family Ctenizidae.
Oh, it must have been more than an inch at least.
I think you are a very lucky lady, that is a trapdoor spider, and their bite can be very painful.
Ooh! But it's related to a Tarantula, I read! Well...I'll have to be more careful digging around here, I see! Something besides scorpions to beware of. Thanks.
This message was edited Mar 29, 2008 7:55 PM
Linda, I have been bitten by 3 different types of Tarantulas, one was a Texas Brown, and it was nothing compared to what I have read about trapdoors. I have kept a number of them, and it is amazing how agressive, and how fast they are.
