May 02, 2018 - 6:30 PM
KAMLOOPS - Who knew we had tarantula-like spiders in the B.C. Interior?
A "tarantuloid" spotted at Peterson Creek in Kamloops is the second most northerly recording of the species ever, according to one expert.
Dr. Robb Bennett worked with the Ministry of Forests in B.C. for 20 years, and now that he's retired he focuses on his true passion — spiders. He's a research associate with the Royal B.C. Museum now.
Kamloops woman Caitlin Johnson posted on Twitter last month a picture of a spider she said was spotted in Peterson Creek, and asked for help identifying it.
Johnson wasn't available for an interview before publication deadline, but Bennett says the spider shown in the picture is a "tarantuloid," not a true tarantula but a close relative. This one is a mature female Antrodiaetus hageni.
Bennett says there are four types of Antrodiaetus in B.C., one in the Lower Mainland, one in the Thompson Okanagan, and two in the West Kootenay.
But sightings of these tarantuloids are extremely rare, as they tend to burrow in the ground. This specific species also has a fairly narrow range of where they like to live, Bennett says.
“We don’t see it very often, it's common enough but people don’t tend to see it very often," he says.
Before Johnson posted her picture on Twitter, Bennett says the furthest north this spider had been found was Heffley Creek. They've also been found in the Okanagan Valley, down to Washington and Oregon.
"The interesting thing is, the Peterson Creek one is the second most northerly record we have of that in the world," Bennett says. "Kamloops itself is a really interesting location just because of the confluence of the two Thompsons, but it's about as far north as you get the dry belt, sagebrush, black widow spiders and that sort of thing. I wouldn’t have expected that (species) that far north.”
Because these spiders tend to burrow, and usually males will only be seen out and about during mating season, Bennett says this "fairly large" spider must have been washed out of her burrow.
“A mature female's (body) like that would probably be the size of the end of your thumb," Bennett says.
He adds that himself and his two colleagues at the museum are always interested in what people can find, and they welcome pictures and information being sent in to them. You can find his contact information here.
He also understands why some people can be afraid of spiders.
"I understand completely, they're not everbody's cup of tea," he says. "I often tell people that when I was a child I was terrified of spiders and that, in sort of a weird way, is kind of why I became and entomologist.”
The program for researching spiders at the museum started in 2008 and since then there have been nearly 250 spider species added to the list, which brings the total species recorded in B.C. to nearly 900.
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