Appearance

• A chunky-looking spider, with a body length of 1 – 3cm.
• Females are usually black in colour, but males vary in colour – from bluish-black to brown.
• Mouse spiders have spread-out eyes, a glossy carapace and short spinnerets.

Life Cycle

• Following impregnation, the female constructs an egg sac – containing around 60 eggs – in her burrow. The spiderlings usually hatch in summer and stay with the mother until the weather starts to cool in autumn.
• Males take four years to mature, and die soon after mating.

Habits

• Like many trapdoor spiders, mouse spiders build burrows covered by trapdoors.
• Females usually stay in their burrows, whilst males wander about (day and night) in search of mating partners.
• Mouse spiders are considered less aggressive than funnel-web spiders; however, their venom is still considered deadly (it’s treated with funnel-web anti-venom).