Ummidia, the trapdoor spider

Ummidia, the Trapdoor Spider

The boy is 4 years old, a smart fellow somewhat thin with a teasing and slightly malicious smile. He feels a little timid, wants to appear nice and looks neat. He is very tired and weak since 1 year, no sports, feels unhealthy and catches every flu in kindergarten. Stammers sometimes. Does not use the word “I” but talks in third person. He has no sense of fear (according to mother). Dreams of animal monsters with long legs and a tail. Plays with technical tools. Likes fruit and is really wild after kiwis, wants them every day in great quantities if possible. His mother also greatly desired kiwi during his pregnancy. He wants a brother and recently even snatched away another child sitting in a caddy in a food-store.
He likes the colour olive-yellow 1E, quite unusual for a child.

Analysis and Follow-up:
I was too much charmed by the kiwis and gave Titan 1000, which is known for kiwi affinity. Confirming symptoms: likes technical toys and is somewhat timid, feels like stage 4 or 5.
The effect of this remedy opens a window for other remedies and reveals more of his real state: he gets very fearful when he hears or sees horrible cruel things. This time he comes wearing some very peculiar looking gloves:


Spiderman!

He has chosen 1E previously and I overlooked this colour of spider remedies. So I looked for more information:
His parents climb as a hobby and he also likes it. He destroys his own toys when other children are present, the mother thinks he does it to draw attention. He can tease younger children until they weep. So which spider is it? The mother tells a story: they were with friends sitting on a veranda and he walked inside the house. The wind slammed the door and he was shut inside. Boom bang! He was trapped! He got into a wild panic and tried desperately to get out, but the door was shut. Just a few meters away was another door opening to the veranda, but he was so panicked that he did not see it and wept furiously. His mother came and could not pacify him. This continued for quite some time and he had a fever the same day.

This trapdoor story made me think of Ummidia, the trapdoor spider (Araneae: Ctenizi), and he was given Ummidia MK single dose (by Robert Müntz, www.remedia.at).

Second follow-up:
After 3 days he gets an eruption around his mouth (never had this, usually it appears around his anus). Fourth day there is a complete change. His mother says: he is active, full of vim and vigor, runs outside and plays. It’s impossible! He didn’t do this for a year! He is a changed boy. No aggression, just full of energy, no more teasing of other kids. She had repeated the remedy after 2 weeks, but it was not necessary. He’s just OK she says. Recently all the kids in kindergarten were sick and he is the only one remaining healthy.

P.S. He was treated successfully for neuro when he was 1 year old.
Remedies were ka-s and mang-s.
When he was 2 years old he started squinting, left eye turns a little inward. He shudders after urination (platina). As platina is gold series (eye trouble) and sulfuricums had helped him before, he was given Plat-s 200, then some weeks LM12 daily, and it was curative.

The Trapdoor Spider
Trap door spiders are masters in building doors. They dig a perfectly round and neatly polished tunnel and build a hinged front trap door behind which they hide and wait for prey. They keep at least two legs inside to be able to withdraw quickly with the prey. They can hold the lid (trap door) very tight if an enemy wants to intrude. Sometimes they build a little trash room closed by another door and side tunnels also closed by doors.

Here is a brief internet description of this peculiar ingenious fellow:


b c



Trapdoor spiders dig a tunnel in the ground and seal it with a hinged lid. They wait patiently behind this trap door until they sense prey passing nearby. Then they rush out to capture the prey and drag it down into the tunnel.
Trapdoor spiders are medium-sized mygalomorph spiders that construct burrows with a cork-like trapdoor made of soil, vegetation and silk. The trapdoor is difficult to see when it is closed because the plant and soil materials effectively camouflage it. The trapdoor is hinged on one side with silk and the spiders, which are usually nocturnal, typically wait for prey while holding onto the underside of the door with the claws.
Prey is captured when insects or other arthropods venture too close to the half-open trapdoor at night. The spider detects the prey by vibrations and when it comes close enough, the spider pops out of its burrow and captures it. Males somehow overcome the female's aggressive reactions when they find a female's burrow. Females never travel far from their burrows. Eggs are laid in sacs in the female's burrow. Enemies of the trapdoor spider include certain pompi (spider) wasps, which seek out the burrows and manage to gain entrance. They sting the owner and lay their eggs (usually one per spider) on its body.


d e

f g


Trapdoor spiders are close relatives of tarantulas, and their general appearance is similar, but they can be distinguished by their small size, less hairy abdomens, and legs that shine almost as if polished. Trapdoor spiders prey on large terres-trial arthropods, and even occasionally on small lizards. They themselves are preyed on extensively in some areas by parasitic wasps of the family Pompi-li-dae. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these spiders is their architecture. They build tube-like tunnels in the sides of banks in disturbed areas, along natural insect walkways. The tunnel is capped with an ingenious trapdoor. Trap-door spiders are well-adapted for the strenuous activity of tunnel-building. Their chelicerae are equipped with digging rakes (rastella) that are used to loosen earth during the digging process, and then to roll it into a ball which is thrown from the developing burrow with strong, spined hind legs. Once the initial tunnel has been constructed, it is reinforced with a coating of a mixture of earth and saliva. Next a layer of silk is added, this being spun in one piece. The last step, the addition of the door, is the part of the process that differs from species to species. Two types of doors may be constructed. The most well-known is the “cork”-type door, which is very thick and beveled to fit the opening exactly. The other is the “wafer”-type door, which is a simply-constructed sheet of silk and dirt. The species also differ as to whether the tunnels are simple, or branching, with multiple doors. In all cases, however, the doors are equipped with silk hinges for easy opening and closing. The tunnel is used by the trapdoor spider as shelter from the elements and predators, as a nursery, and as a trapping device. The top of the door is usually camouflaged with bits of debris, such as twigs and rock, making its discovery very difficult. This results in fooling prey as well as predators, thereby making it a very effective shelter and trap. When the spider is using the trap to capture prey, its chelicerae hold the lid shut on the end of the door farthest from the hinge. It awaits the vibrations of passing prey conducted by the silk, quickly throws open the door, grabs the prey and returns with it down the tube. Although the lid stays shut easily on its own, attacks by predators can be discouraged by the spider holding the lid closed with its chelicerae, and, at the same time, bracing its legs against the wall of the tunnel. The only predators that are not dissuaded by this seem to be parasitic wasps, which simply chew right through the door. The tunnel is also used by the female as a nursery. She lays her eggs in the tube and immediately covers them in a sac which is attached to the tunnel wall. She remains with them until hatching and beyond, allowing them to remain unharmed in the burrow until they are as much as eight months old.

Ulrich Welte
uwelte@homeo.de
the remedy is from 'remedia'